Content Warning: The following home release review will include descriptions of child abuse and death, which may be difficult for sensitive individuals.
Death is inevitable. At some point in our lives, we will all be touched by grief due to the loss of a loved one. Grief is impossible to describe to someone who has never experienced it. It is personal. It can be relentless. Without a support system and healthy coping mechanisms, grief can creep into every crevice of your existence. It can fester and reappear unexpectedly at the most surprising times. Grief is hard to accept; denial is a common component of grief. It’s natural to want to bring back someone we love from the grips of death, but how far would you go to achieve this? Who or what would you be willing to sacrifice in exchange for a deceased loved one? How much pain would you be willing to inflict to stop your own emotional pain caused by a loss? Would it be worth it? These are the questions posed by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou in Bring Her Back, the follow-up to their wildly popular horror film Talk to Me (2022) from A24.
If you’re interested in learning about Bring Her Back in a spoiler-free context, head over to EoM Contributor Justin Waldman’s theatrical release review.
Center L-R: Co-directors Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou on the set of BRING HER BACK. Photo Credit: Ingvar Kenne. Photo courtesy of A24.
Written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, and directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, Bring Her Back follows a brother and sister, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong), who are reeling from the sudden death of their father. Andy and Piper are close and Andy is often protective of Piper, who is blind. With no other family, the siblings are suddenly thrust into the foster system and beg their caseworker not to be separated. They are eventually sent to live with foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins), who seems welcoming and a bit quirky at first. Laura has another foster child living with her, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), who is a quiet, unusual child. Andy and Piper find out they aren’t the only ones in the house dealing with grief. Laura’s daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), drowned in the pool behind their house. Laura has preserved Cathy’s room so that it’s exactly as it was when she died. Andy and Piper find it odd that Laura puts Piper in Cathy’s old room and convinces her not to change anything. The siblings remind themselves this situation is only temporary; in a few months when Andy turns 18, they can get their own place.
BRING HER BACK digipack interior. Photo courtesy of A24.
Andy is having nightmares about finding his father dead in the shower, so when Laura takes him and Piper to the funeral, Andy doesn’t want to look at his father in the casket. Andy is visibly mortified when Laura not only makes him look at his dead father, but she also insists it’s customary for Andy to kiss him goodbye. Andy isn’t just rattled about finding his father in the shower; not even Piper knows that their father was abusive to Andy.
Sally Hawkins as Laura in BRING HER BACK. Photo Credit: Ingvar Kenne. Photo courtesy of A24.
Later, Laura talks to Andy about grief and trying to figure out how to cope with the death of a loved one. She shares with him the fact that she didn’t cope when her daughter Cathy died. In trying to get Andy to open up to her, Laura comes across as caring and concerned, when, in reality, she is secretly manipulative of both Andy and Piper.
BRING HER BACK digipack exterior. Photo courtesy of A24.
Meanwhile, Oliver is exhibiting extremely weird behavior, which Laura tries her best to normalize in front of Andy and Piper. He doesn’t speak much, often has bloodshot eyes, and has what appears to be a strange birthmark under his eye. In private, Laura tells Oliver she knows he’s hungry; he just has to be patient and wait for the right time. She makes a circle around the house with salt and obsessively watches disturbing video tapes of some sort of ritual, which shows people who look possessed. She calms Oliver by repeatedly drawing an invisible circle on his forehead with her finger.
L-R: Sora Wong as Piper and Billy Barratt as Andy in BRING HER BACK. Photo Credit: Ingvar Kenne. Photo courtesy of A24.
Laura gives the illusion of an outgoing, sometimes even nurturing foster mother, but she is secretly consumed by grief over the loss of her daughter and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring her back. Grief has become a special kind of madness for Laura, and Hawkins (Paddington) gives an exceptional portrayal of a mother who has allowed the loss of her child to eat away at her psyche. She is willing to do anything to ease her own pain, even sacrifice another child’s life in exchange for bringing back her daughter from the dead. Bring Her Back is brutal and even difficult to watch sometimes, partially due to extreme body horror highlighted by grotesquely effective makeup and practical effects and disturbing themes of ritualistically resurrecting the dead, but in large part due to Hawkins’ menacing performance.
L-R: Sora Wong as Piper and Sally Hawkins as Laura in BRING HER BACK. Photo Credit: Ingvar Kenne. Photo courtesy of A24.
The Philippou brothers have crafted a deeply emotional, thought-provoking story around themes of grief and trauma, anchored by strong performances from Hawkins, as well as Barratt (Mary Poppins Returns) and Wong. Wong is great at conveying Piper’s vulnerability, while Barratt gives an outstanding portrayal of a teenager who is not only embarrassed and traumatized by the abuse his father inflicted on him, but is haunted by the memory of finding his father’s dead body.
L-R: Actor Sally Hawkins, co-director Danny Philippou, and actor Jonah Wren Phillips on the set of BRING HER BACK. Photo Credit: Ingvar Kenne. Photo courtesy of A24.
The moody, grey cinematography in Bring Her Back, including the consistently overcast, rainy weather, sets the tone and gives the film the atmosphere of death. Andy and Piper’s father died in the shower. Laura’s daughter drowned in the pool. The overwhelming use of water combined with images of an occult ritual represents a supernatural conduit for the manifestation of spirits.
BRING HER BACK collector cards. Photo courtesy of A24.
This is not a feel-good movie, but it is incredibly effective storytelling. Danny and Michael Philippou’s Bring Her Back is a grim, occultic essay on the deeply personal components of grief and the resulting madness and severe consequences of unchecked trauma and lack of coping mechanisms.
Bring Her Back Special Features:
- Director Commentary with Danny and Michael Philippou
- Deleted scene
- “Coming Full Circle: Making Bring Her Back” Featurette
- Six (6) collectible postcards with behind-the-scenes photography by Ingvar Kenne
Available on digital July 1st, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray August 19th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official A24 Bring Her Back webpage.
To purchase, head to the official A24 Shop Bring Her Back webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5
Share this:
Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply