17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) has always been extremely protective of his younger stepsister, Piper (Sora Wong). Partially blind, only able to see lights and vague shapes, making friends has always been hard for Piper. However, she is about to meet somebody who wants to be close to her and won’t take no for an answer.
Tragedy strikes the sibling’s household when their single parent father unexpectedly dies. Still months off adulthood himself, Andy can’t adopt Piper quite yet and the pair fall into the foster care system. They meet Laura (Sally Hawkins), an eccentric woman who is happy to take in Piper… and reluctantly takes in Andy as well.
Laura has a home far out in the sticks; she seems like a free spirit and already has one foster child. A selectively mute young boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), whose behaviour can best be described as strange and only growing stranger. Andy and Piper try to settle; while Piper is welcomed with open arms, Andy can’t help but feel like a third wheel. Laura clearly has an affinity for Piper, reminding her of her recently passed daughter. But it’s okay, because Laura has a plan to bring her back…
Bring Her Back is the sophomore film from Aussie twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. The duo reached massive online celebrity status with their horror comedy videos on their YouTube channel, RackaRacka. With over 6 million subscribers, the next step was the big screen, which they dominated with their debut feature Talk to Me (2022). Earning over $90 million worldwide on a budget of just $4.5 million, it is one of the biggest successes of Australian film history.
Talk to Me was, for its part, a creative, scary, and at times, even funny supernatural horror thriller. So, audiences have been looking forward to what the RackaRacka brothers had in store for us next. Bring Her Back is similar in dark tone and shows the brothers have grown as filmmakers on a technical level. However, in some ways, the movie may not be the crowd pleaser that their debut feature proved to be.
There are still many things to enjoy about Bring Her Back, with the story focusing much more on the domestic horror experiences of its characters. From the confusion and claustrophobia that a teenager may feel when their entire life is uprooted, forced into the lives of others, there’s a desire to please but also a fear at putting a foot out of place, even trying to ignore some truly bizarre red flags to not cause offence.
The relationship between Andy and Piper is an interesting one. Andy is on the cusp of manhood yet clearly has an inner rage building inside of him, one that he tries to hide from his sister, much like he tries to hide the harshness of the world from her. While Piper‘s disability is portrayed in a very immersive way, thanks to the film’s creative cinematography and sound design. We often see the world as Piper sees it, with difficulty and trying to make sense of things through sound, with what limited stimuli we have.
The homeowner however is the real star of the show. Sally Hawkin, known primarily for her meek, loving and nurturing characters such as in ‘The Shape of Water’ or ‘Paddington’, plays quite an unhinged and brutal woman, who runs hot and cold between being someone making you feel right at home, and someone gaslighting you into thinking you’re insane. You know, perfect foster parent material.
There’s a horror element as well, but it’s mostly in the background, which is the film’s major issue. Much of its story, its characters’ histories, and even the supernatural horror of the story itself, is kept secret from the audience for far too long. There’s just so much build up as we await the inevitable explosion of blood and grotesquerie. On this subject, the Philippou twins deliver, although too much of the film is spent hinting at things around the corner.
Sally Hawkins is outstanding and amazingly scary to watch in Bring Her Back, slowly becoming more and more unhinged. Although it’s odd as the film seems to act coy about its plot element, which is literally given away by the bloody title of the film. Perhaps there needed to be a little bit more meat on this film’s bones. Nonetheless, Bring Her Back is a wild ride, thanks to the Philippou brothers’ developed skills at playing with their audience’s emotions.