Predictable but still intriguing horror flick with good performances.
Andy and Piper are taken into foster care when their father tragically dies. Foster carer Laura seems nice to Piper, but Andy suspects something is desperately wrong…
Directed by brothers Michael and Danny Philippou, Bring Her Back stars Sally Hawkins (Shape of Water) and young stars Billy Barratt and Sora Wong. The Philippous previous work, Talk to Me, massively underwhelmed me for how predictable it was, and how unlikeable the characters were. So to say expectations were low for Bring Her Back would be an understatement. Does the film rise above the tropes and bring its own identity? As usual, the answer isn’t cut and dried.
The film begins like many horror movies before it: our protagonists are uprooted from comfortable surroundings. Before you can think “is there a creepy house?” there is a creepy house. This is where Laura (Sally Hawkins) lives, and intends to look after the two children. But she is distinctly uninterested in Andy, and already has a mute boy named Oliver living with her. Laura also lost her own child some time ago…
My distain for Talk to Me was so strong (Cinema Cocoa rating of one and a half cups) that I almost didn’t bother going to see Bring Her Back. But I resolutely did. Initially the film does have tropes: creepy house, creepy child, isolated protagonists. A scene where a boy is defensive of his phone, immediately abandons it so the very person who was trying to snoop on it can just look at it. The film wasn’t ingratiating itself to me.
But then it started to get more interesting. While creepy VHS footage and mystic circles made things transparently obvious what was happening, the characters were convincing. And mostly likeable. Something the Philippou brothers failed to do with their earlier movie. Andy is a boy battling with insecurities, family history, and his public image. Yet he fiercely wants to defend his sister. Piper, a partially sighted young girl, has confidence and chemistry with Andy in spades. This is Sora Wong’s debut performance, and it is a good one.
Sally Hawkins is excellent as well, even though there are some wildly unorthodox scenes. One involving urine which… really wasn’t necessary. This isn’t unlike Hugh Grant in Heretic; this character is clearly the focal point of what is happening. Yet there’s the odd scene here and there where she seems genuine. Which is vital for lifting her away from being completely insane.
The gore is also quite unpleasant and visceral. It is the type of practical effects that aren’t overblown but quite focused on small, relatable pain. It certainly made me twist in my chair a couple of times, which is commendable.
As a horror film, it is mostly a solid effort. But as a film it does have the usual misgivings that the genre provides. Being predictable is one thing, but also “Just call the police?” is one such nitpick that comes up. Or when one drills down even a little into the real world logic at play. Laura being a trained care giver and a well-respected woman in local circles does not mean she gets a free pass to take in children without a thorough check of her living space. You know, thorough enough to notice another random child living with her. It does sort of take the edge off proceedings.
But if you can look past these nitpicks and persistent horror genre problems, you will probably enjoy it. Horror fans should apply. It is a slow build, and has some emotional heft to keep audiences invested, but it does have some unpleasant gore too.
