Exactly what is going on in Australia’s foster care system? The wonderfully twisted brothers Danny and Michael Philippou showed us their demented ways of partying with their creepy first feature, Talk To Me. Bring Her Back shows bigger budgets and bigger starts don’t affect the quality of their work, taking one of the UK’s beloved sweethearts and turning her into an abomination. An incredible, horrifying abomination.
Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) have sadly just entered the foster system, after their father tragically passed away. Because of Piper’s visual impairments (she’s mostly blind), Andy demands from social worker Wendy (Sally-Anne Upton) that they be placed together. The pair get placed with foster parent Laura (Sally Hawkins), because she has experience raising blind children. Andy’s hoping this is temporary, since he turns 18 soon and can get a place with his sister. But Laura isn’t exactly inspiring hope for that plan, based on the other foster child Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and his blankness, a creepy empty pool, a locked shed in the back, and well, I think you get the idea.
Bring Her Back is not for the faint of heart. Feel bad horror movies are a high wire act to pull off, since most people don’t want to live in dark places while they’re hoping to be entertained. But such is the talent of those Philippou Brothers, who learned how to walk this tonal line masterfully. They do so not by incredible plot twists (if you’re paying attention, you’ll figure out what’s happening pretty easily) , but by their ability to understand the shock line incredibly well. In an age of a glut of horror films, the ability of one to shock the audience is the comedy equivalent of making someone laugh. Those twisted Australian psychos had me writhing in my seat more than a few times, but only crossing the line a couple times (this is the first time I almost got sick in a movie, but only once for a couple minutes in a scene). Some of the shock yes is for the blood averse, but others are more interesting, and remind us some of the societal norms we’ve grown accustomed to. There’s one scene in a bedroom that had me squirming as much as any of the blood stuff, because of how many taboos the Philippous are challenging in the most sinister ways possible. These choices are intentional, as they use this “entertainment” tactic to keep the audience looking through their eyes while underneath they build out their characters, and all the emotions they are going through. Those emotions help smooth out the straightforward evil acts done in here, to help at least understand where everyone is coming from and have Bring Her Back feel more like a sad story than a creepy sadistic exercise.
Helping those Philippou brothers is their bigger budget to bring in a star. And they couldn’t have picked a better one. Fresh off a few Paddingtons, fish sex, and a general career of goodwill, the audience will usually smile when Sally Hawkins shows up in a movie. But those demented Aussies have different plans for this lovely lady. The heel turn Hawkins does here is horrifyingly effective. All those wonderful smiles, empathetic touches, and disarming Britishisms get turned on their head. Hawkins essentially plays two people in this: the front facing foster mom trying to make the kids feel safe, comforted, and welcome…and a master manipulator driven by grief hell bent on getting back to the real life she wants. She’s so effective here it altered how I look at her from now on, a testament to how impressive she delivered for the movie. Billy Barratt and Sora Wong are also excellent as the kids. Barratt plays raw and frustrated very well, and becomes part of the emotional fulcrum of the film. Sora Wong gives us a new type of character we haven’t seen before, immediately likable in that first scene, showing an inner resolve and sweet naivete for the movie to work. The shock winner though is Jonah Wren Phillips, who maybe is a little too good at playing “emotionally dead inside” for my liking.
Danny and Michael, congrats! You’re 2 for 2, and A24 loves you. I can’t wait to see what horrors you conjure next, and what sweet person you’re going to turn into an evil maniac. Maybe Keanu Reeves? Everyone seems to love that guy. Ooohhh, an Aussie team up with Margot Robbie, love it! Now that’s the Barbie Sequel I’d like to see, as Ken gets decapitated in the most blood wrenched way possible. Pretty sure that’s an instant veto from Mattel though.