Bring Her Back (2025)

Directors: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Starring: Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sora Wong

A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.

The Directors of ‘Talk to Me’ is back with another tale of terror – and this one is not recommended if you are not a horror fan and can’t stomach some truly disturbing scenes.

After their dad’s death, 17-year old Andy (Billy Barratt) and his visually impaired step-sister Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live with counselor Laura (Sally Hawkins). She seems cool and pleasant at first, but we soon learn she harbours a terrible secret. She also looks after 10-year old Oliver (magnificently played by 12-year old Jonah Wren Phillips), who is mute and comes across as very weird at first, but there’s something far more sinister going on…

This slow burn horror gets more and more disturbing as the story unfolds, and some scenes are bound to make you feel sick. Be forewarned, some scenes are just as shocking as some of the blood-curdling scenes in ‘When Evil Lurks’. Even as a die-hard horror fan, some of the scenes involving Oliver were very difficult to watch, but insanely well made. The make-up effects are absolutely incredible!

Andy is the first to notice something very wrong at their new foster home and tries to warn Piper, but being blind she is oblivious to the horrors around her. I found it highly effective having a blind character in a movie like this. When watching the strange events unfold, keep the film’s title in mind: Bring her back, and the fact Laura recently lost her teenage daughter Cathy.

Ok, and now for some spoilers, so skip this part if you haven’t seen the movie yet. Laura is trying to bring her dead daughter back to life. She kidnapped Oliver and “put an Angel inside him”, in Laura’s words, but it clearly is a demon. The ritual involves Oliver eating Cathy’s face, but I’m curious: how will this bring Cathy back? How did Oliver become possessed and how did Laura achieve this? She’s watching a video telling her how to perform the ritual but we are still not given enough information. I understand Oliver is not meant to bring Cathy back, but the demon inside him instead, but this was still not enough to make it believable.

This issue aside, ‘Bring Her Back’ is an incredibly well made movie with superb performances by the entire cast, and stunning make-up effects. It is a unique take on the possession genre and a film that will make your skin crawl.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.