There are so many winking scary movies now, or bloated franchise fare, or the elevated horror, and not many that are just actually purely terrifying. With Bring Her Back, RackaRacka is now on my must-watch list of directors, marrying the straight classical horror with a Gen-Z sensibility that is all their own.
Since their impressive directorial debut Talk to Me, the Philippou twins have brought their trademark imagery and talent for kinetic, anxiety-inducing moments, with some incredible shots and camera tricks that shows they have well and truly graduated from YouTube levels of ingenuity to the ranks of some of the very best horror filmmakers today. Bring Her Back is an even bolder (and darker and bleaker) step up for RackaRacka.
Set in Australia, the story follows recently orphaned 17-year old Andy and his visually impaired younger sister Piper as they go to a foster home and a foster mother (Sally Hawkins playing against type in one of her very best and most effective performances) who has a creepy-looking mute foster son. From there, events transpire and unravel, in a manner that is thoroughly traumatizing.
Although there are some horrifying scenes that will linger on in the memory, the film is smart and detailed enough to engage you intellectually and emotionally. Ultimately, the scariest things that happen are not physically gory or supernatural, but are rooted in the lengths of what humans are willing to do, and the difficulties we can have letting go. There are some impactful themes of manipulation and gaslighting, and sight – both what we are shown and what we choose to see. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so utterly helpless as I did in the third act. Bring Her Back is truly breathtaking in every sense of the word.
Now playing in theatres.
