Bring Her back Summary and Review - Where Grief Becomes the Monster

Bring Her Back is a dark psychological horror that peers into the abyss of grief and the dangerous lengths we might go to in order to ease it. What begins as an intense study of loss gradually morphs into something far more disturbing, unfolding with a confidence that set it apart from more formula-driven genre entries.

An Unconventional Presence

Andy and Piper are step-siblings reeling from the sudden death of their father at home. With Andy just three months shy of legal adulthood, the pair are placed into foster care rather than being allowed to remain together independently. Their new guardian is Laura, an experienced social worker and counsellor who initially only wants to take in the younger, visually impaired Piper. She reluctantly agrees to accept Andy as well, on the condition that he maintains good behaviour.

At first, Laura appears to be an unconventional but caring presence. Her eccentricities are easy to dismiss as quirky, and her background suggests she is equipped to support the youngsters through their grief. She shares the tragedy of her own past: a daughter who drowned and who, like Piper, also had a visual impairment. There is also another child in the house, Ollie - described by Laura as selectively mute - a deeply unsettling figure who exudes an uneasy presence in every scene he appears in. However, Andy and Piper try to ignore this unusual environment and instead count the days in Laura’s home before they can gain their independence.

Intense Psychological Battles

As time passes, Laura’s behaviour becomes increasingly troubling. While she shows warmth and affection toward Piper, she subtly antagonises Andy, gaslighting him and undermining his confidence at every turn. These manipulations escalate into intense psychological battles, with Andy struggling to make sense of Laura’s shifting moods and opaque motivations.

As secrets are exposed and Laura’s desperation grows, the threat level intensifies. What began as cruel emotional manipulation descends into something far more dangerous, placing both Andy and Piper in escalating peril.

Effective in its Restraint

What makes Bring Her Back so effective is its restraint. The film leans into creeping unease rather than predictable shocks, allowing tension to build through careful layering of revelations that keep you hooked. Familiar horror elements are present, but they are developed with care, resulting in a series of genuine “aha” moments that feel satisfying when discovered rather than being telegraphed. I was reminded of how a serialised novel unfolds, drawing the viewer forward with the promise of the next revelation.

The Philippou brothers craft an atmosphere thick with dread, slowly tightening the psychological vice before punctuating it with bursts of shocking madness. While jump scares are kept to a minimum, there is no shortage of discomfort. A surprising amount of gore appears throughout, but even this is deployed thoughtfully, designed to deeply unsettle rather than merely provoke the viewer.

Sally Hawkins delivers a remarkable performance as Laura, her gentler role as Mrs Brown in Paddington firmly sidelined. She skillfully navigates Laura’s emotional volatility, generating sympathy, revulsion, and confusion in equal measure. Jonah Wren Phillips is deeply unsettling as Ollie, oozing menace with the bare minimum of dialogue. Billy Barratt and Sora Wong anchor the film as Andy and Piper, convincingly portraying siblings bound by grief whose bond slowly cracks under manipulation - even if Piper’s character feels slightly underdeveloped until the third act, when she finally comes into her own.

Striking Sound Design

Visually, the film reinforces its suffocating tone through claustrophobic framing and oppressive interiors. Occasional VHS-style footage adds a grainy and disturbing overlay of authentic low-fidelity texture. Most striking, however, is the sound design. Abrasive and intrusive, it underpins the film with teeth-on-edge, discomforting audio that will make you wince when it’s ratcheted up during the most visceral moments.

There are minor flaws: the runtime slightly overstays its welcome, and a few narrative details are left unexplained, such as the origin of the intermittent, gruesome VHS footage. Still, these are small blemishes on an otherwise assured piece of horror filmmaking.

Bring Her Back is a terrifying descent into a grief-fuelled obsession that corrupts the soul. While its themes are familiar, the Philippou brothers orchestrate them with such conviction that the result feels invitingly fresh. The ending, which has received mixed responses, worked for me - circling back to the story’s emotional core and underscoring the devastating cycle of grief, and how the desire to reverse the natural order of things can be just as destructive as the loss itself.

By the time the credits roll, Bring Her Back has earned its place as one of the 2025’s most emotionally punishing but thoughtfully constructed horror films.

★★★★⯪

Character and Production Details

Laura: Sally Hawkins
Andy: Billy Barratt
Piper: Sora Wong
Ollie: Jonah Wren Phillips
Director: Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou
Writer: Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou
Year of Release: 2025
Runtime: 104 minutes