Brief, ghosts, and a melon scene you’ll never forget. The Philippou brothers return with a second helping of teen trauma and supernatural horror. But does it hit as hard as Talk to Me?
🧩 The Setup
Andy (Billy Barratt) comes home from school with his half-blind little sister Piper (Sorah Vaughn) to a horrifying sight: their father’s dead body in the shower. Officially, it’s ruled a suicide — but something feels off.
With no family left, the siblings are separated by the system. Piper ends up in the care of Laura (Sally Hawkins), a soft-spoken social worker who seems a little too eager to play mom again. Andy, considered a “problem kid,” is pushed aside — but he’s convinced something isn’t right with Piper’s new home. Laura lost a daughter not long ago… and she may not be done being a mother.
From there, Bring Her Back turns into a claustrophobic, emotionally charged horror-thriller that blends The Babadook with Hereditary, but through the chaotic lens of two guys who clearly watched Evil Dead 50 times growing up.
✅ What Works
The Philippou energy is alive and well. The directors pull out all the stops: jump scares, body horror, occult rituals, nerve-shredding sound design, and one melon-related moment of violence that could become the most paused scene in horror this year.
Billy Barratt holds the screen. As Andy, he’s the rare horror teen who isn’t insufferable. You believe his desperation and his protectiveness. His performance grounds the film when things get nuts.
Sally Hawkins goes full chaos. Her Laura is fragile, terrifying, deeply sad, and completely unpredictable. Hawkins brings a prestige-layered madness to the movie that elevates every scene she’s in.
The house is a character. Most of the film takes place in Laura’s home, and the Philippous make it count. Every room feels lived-in, every hallway hides a threat. The film nails the atmosphere.
The themes land. Under all the blood and screaming is a story about grief, obsession, and the crushing weight of refusing to let go. It’s heavy — but effective.
❌ Where It Falls Short
Logic takes a backseat. The rules of the supernatural here are loose at best. What’s deadly in one scene is harmless in another. If you’re looking for airtight world-building, this isn’t it.
Pacing problems. The first act is tight, and the last 20 minutes are wild, but the middle gets sluggish — especially when characters wander around the house reacting to increasingly vague ghost stuff.
Some twists don’t twist. A few “big reveals” are telegraphed too early, while one major line of dialogue seems like it should mean something… and ends up meaning nothing.
Less fresh than Talk to Me. It shares similar themes and vibes — teens, grief, the supernatural — but this time it’s messier and less focused. Still good, just not lightning in a bottle.
🎯 Final Verdict: 3/5
Bring Her Back doesn’t reinvent anything, but it confirms that the Philippou brothers are here to stay. It’s a creepy, gory, emotionally resonant horror movie that knows how to keep you on edge — even when the story wobbles.
Come for Sally Hawkins in full “prestige horror lunatic” mode. Stay for the melon. And leave remembering that the scariest ghosts are the ones we’re too afraid to let go of.
