BRING HER BACK – Review

Just because the Summer movie season is officially in full swing (Memorial Day was last Monday, already), it doesn’t mean that there isn’t room at the multiplex for a daring original (and often brutal) horror flick amongst the family-friendly fantasies and the action “tentpoles”. Well that was the thought three years ago when a spooky Australian chunk of “nightmare fuel’ opened (some might say that it crawled out of the “bad place”) and alerted genre fans to a new pair of suspense cinema siblings, Danny and Michael Philippou. It’s title was really a “command”, TALK TO ME. And now the brothers have another adamant ‘request” for their sophomore effort, which veers a bit away from the supernatural to explore the real horror and caranage (lots of it) that human beings inflict when they pull out “all the stops” to BRING HER BACK.

The directing duo throws moviegoers “off balance” with the film’s monochrome opening images, as though we’ve popped in an old VHS tape that we shouldn’t attempt to view (shades of THE RING). After a few unnerving minutes, we’re back in the present day as a visually impaired teenager, Piper (Sora Wong) tries to interact with her school’s “popular girls”. Thankfully, her seventeen-year-old big brother Andy (Billy Barratt) shows up to take her home before the moment gets too awkward (the girls silently mock Piper). He scolds her for not using her cane, but Piper pleads that it’s too embarrassing to use. Home should be a safe refuge for both, but tragedy awaits when they find their father lifeless on the bathroom floor, having crashed through the shower door. After Dad is taken away by the authorities, the siblings have a meeting with the brusque Wendy (Sally Anne-Upton), the child services supervisor. Andy wants to be Piper’s legal guardian, but he’s months from eighteen and will have to provide a stable home. Luckily, Wendy’s got the perfect foster parent lined up. She takes them to the off-the-beaten-path house of former social worker Laura (Sally Hawkins), who has recently lost her own sightless daughter. It’s a big sprawling place that they’ll share with another orphan, pre-teen Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), a mute who silently wanders the yard. Laura seems to be kind and caring, but Andy soon becomes aware of her intrusive and nearly smothering behavior, leading to some tense confrontations. Yet Piper adores her, which puts Andy between a rock and a hard place. Can he get someone, perhaps Wendy, to believe his concerns over Laura’s “quirks” before his sister becomes too attached? Andy wants to leave with Piper, but what bizarre scheme is Laura planning for them?

For this follow-up flick, the Philippou brothers have scored a gifted veteran actress to anchor this twisted tale. And Laura might be the most twisted role of all, perhaps due to the powerful and completely unpredictable performance from Hawkins (hey, she starred in the Oscar-winning horror/fantasy THE SHAPE OF WATER). This “queen mother” appears to be a perfect fit for the just-orphaned duo, though some of her choices are far from the “foster parent manual”, especially has she shares a bottle of booze with her new charges. But that’s the least of her questionable “parenting” decisions. Hawkins commands our attention through the most vile and cruel acts, and keeps us “strapped in’ for the wild “ride”, if only to learn of her final destination. Barrat is the closest character to the horror “hero” as his Andy deals with his regrets over past violent acts, while trying to “sound the alarm” when nothing seems to make sense, especially in protecting his adored sister. But Wong as Piper is no mere “damsel-in-distress” as she tosses off some epic “burns” ( her “favorite activity” answer is hilarious), and pushes back on anyone, even Andy, who tries to pity her. But that fierce independent spirit may place her in greater danger. She erects a tough outer shell to contain her sadness. Also impressive is Phillips as the hovering, staring wanderer. His quiet, sullen stare reminded me of Karloff in THE OLD DARK HOUSE as we wonder if he’s a real threat or yet another potential victim of this haunted, decaying house.

The Philippous built upon the promise of their first flick, giving us a modern fear fable full of shocks and surprises, courtesy of the original story from Danny and co-writer Bill Hinzman. Some might post “trigger warnings” or other cautionary advice. I’ll just say that the scares and sights of TALK TO ME seem very tame to many of the brutal sequences that have been created to make the most jaded “gorehounds” squirm in their seats. This is some rough s…stuff concocted by an expert makeup team, enhanced by some inspired editing choices from Geoff Lamb, punctuated by effective music bursts from Cornel Wilczek. By the harrowing final act showdown, most of our questions are answered in an exhausting crescendo of chaotic carnage. It’s one well-made “thrill ride” that many may never wish to endure again, unless they bring a friend to another screening to revel in their reactions. Aside from the searing set pieces, the Philippou brothers give the entire story a feeling of menace and a sense of moral and physical “rot” while illustrating the devastating after-effects of grief (maybe the story’s true “monster”). For those cinephiles with a strong heart (and stomach), BRING HER BACK is a true nightmare-inducing “chiller thriller”. Consider yourself warned (or perhaps encouraged)…

3 Out of 4

BRING HER BACK is now playing in select theatres