After their breakout hit *Talk To Me*, directing duo Danny and Michael Philippou are back with a new film that promises to be even more terrifying. *Bring Her Back* is a deeply personal story that blends profound grief with occult horror, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the year’s most unsettling cinematic experiences. Are you ready for what they’ve conjured up this time?
💔 A Story Born from Grief
The film follows siblings Andy and Piper, who are adopted by a former child therapist named Laura (played by the incredible Sally Hawkins) after their father’s death. Laura is also grieving the loss of her own daughter. The directors wanted to explore how grief can be an all-consuming force. “We were asking, ‘How can you present grief on screen that’s all encompassing, where it can eat you alive if you let it?’” explained Danny Philippou. This emotional core drives the horror, making it much more than just a series of scares.
📼 Found Footage and Ancient Cults
The mystery deepens as Laura obsessively watches old videotapes. But these aren’t just home movies of her deceased daughter; they are disgusting VHS tapes of an occult cult performing terrifying rituals. The Philippou brothers created an entire mythology for this cult but chose to only hint at it, allowing the audience to piece the puzzle together. “I love just hinting at the mythology, where people can see the clues and form together the narrative, as opposed to just giving it to them,” said Michael.
🎬 A Commitment to Practical Horror
Like with *Talk To Me*, the filmmakers emphasized using practical effects over CGI, with about 95% of the film’s horror being captured in-camera. One of the most challenging scenes involved a demonically-possessed character eating a wooden tabletop, his teeth shattering everywhere. The trick? A small section of the real table was replaced with chocolate. This commitment to tangible, physical horror makes the unsettling moments feel viscerally real and deeply disturbing.
Bibliography:
Shepherd, Jack. “Bring Her Back.” SFX, issue 394, Future plc, August 2025, pp. 50-55.
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