On July 31, the psychological horror film “Bring Her Back” from the tandem of brother directors Danny and Michael Philippou, also known as RackaRacka YouTubers. These guys made a lot of noise with the release of their debut horror film Talk to Me, which was released three years ago, earned $92 million on a budget of $4.5 million and received universal acclaim. What can we expect from the ambitious and talented horror makers this time around — we tell you in the review below.
Genre psychological horror
Directors Danny and Michael Philippou
Starring Sally Hawkins, Billy Barrett, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally Ann Upton, Stephen Phillips
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb
After 17-year-old Andy and his half-sister Piper, who is practically blind, discover their father dead in the shower, the relevant services send the minors to their foster mother Laura. At first glance, this quite pleasant lady greets the children with a smile on her face, but later the young man notices some strange behavior in the woman.
The strange boy Oliver, who is another of Laura’s foster children, does not add to the joy. He doesn’t speak at all and doesn’t seem very happy to be in her home. So what is the newly minted guardian of the unfortunate orphans hiding?
In their second film, the popular YouTubers, twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, essentially follow the same path as in their debut, “Talk to Me”. The new film is actually about the same topic as its predecessor, but the directors allow themselves to go much further in terms of courage.
In addition to the obvious similarity in the titles, which implies an appeal to some otherworldly entity, we have here again bizarre occult rituals, in the best traditions of “The Ring” shown in VHS format. The visitation of sinister spirits in the bodies of children. Again, we see their suffering, including that of the boy, who is defenseless against a terrible supernatural obsession. Finally, there are passages about the pain of great loss and the inability to come to terms with it, to survive it. Only if in “Talk to Me” it was about the suffering of a daughter who grieves for her dead mother, now it’s the other way around.
The merciless approach of the Australian filmmakers really allows us to talk about “Bring Her Back” as one of the best horror films of the year, which was promised to us by Western reviewers. At least one of the most frightening. But there is a nuance. This movie is depressing, it will shake your soul out of you. So it’s hardly worth watching if you have the mentality of an average Ukrainian.
What is Philippou’s courage? For a long time now, horror filmmakers have made it a habit to frighten not children who are left alone at home and get hold of a horror movie forbidden by their parents, but children themselves. Whether they turn into some kind of dybbuks or are possessed by the devil himself, as in the classic of the genre “The Exorcist” (1973) by William Friedkin.
The brothers have no qualms about doing things to the child in the frame that make your hair stand on end – no wonder little Oliver turns out to be the most eerie character in the film, and the scenes with his participation, which include elements of body horror and even a splitter, are guaranteed to be remembered for a long time.
Yes, the film is based on tropes that are well known to fans of the genre; no one is going to reinvent the wheel. And let’s be honest: the girl’s near-blindness has a cheating effect on key events — without it, the film’s plot framework would have crumbled like a house of cards.
But at the same time, Philippou is far from the licked, glossy, and bloodless image of modern Hollywood horror films about the supernatural, such as “The Conjuring” or “Astral”.
This is the most harsh, unfriendly, disgusting and depressing movie that will definitely make you sick. Not physically, but morally. And it is saturated with such a dense layer of suspense that the viewer has no chance of not plunging headlong into this feast of horror. Even though everything started out rather weakly, in the spirit of gloomy, terribly slow and drawn-out slasher films.
Philippou knows his job very well. In terms of emotional impact, “Bring Her Back” is a powerful film, but it is only about negative emotions. The camera treacherously does not look away even during the most vile episodes. As a result, the narrative is still fascinating, despite the fact that what is shown on the screen cannot be liked in any way. However, this is exactly what the type of shock horror offered by the authors requires.
The constant rain in the frame pours down like a bucket, and for good reason. It characterizes both the internal state of the characters and, given the death of Laura’s child, symbolizes the pain of losing the main character, played by the brilliant Sally Hawkins (somewhere here, perhaps, it is worth mentioning “The Shape of Water”). Laura is literally drowning in grief, drowning, she sees no other way out of her psychological hole than the way that involves great harm to others.
And in this context, the Australians resort to unimaginative self-repetition, not to mention the fact that the narrative of deeply traumatized, broken sufferers has itself become a genre cliché.
You should watch “Bring Her Back” only if you are an ardent fan of the creepy genre and are mentally prepared for the shocks offered by local shock content (the scene with the knife in little Ollie’s mouth is instantly embedded in your memory). The rest of us should avoid this horror movie like the plague, because there are plenty of negative, depressing emotions in real life today.
Контент сайту призначений для осіб віком від 21 року. Переглядаючи матеріали, ви підтверджуєте свою відповідність віковим обмеженням.
Cуб'єкт у сфері онлайн-медіа; ідентифікатор медіа - R40-06029.