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Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Bring Her Back review: Sally Hawkins weaponises her Paddington-mom screen persona in this gorily audacious horror
Bring Her Back Director : Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou Cert : 16 Genre : Horror Starring : Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally Hawkins Running Time : 1 hr 43 mins Not too far into Bring Her Back, the latest iteration of the A24 'grief is the real horror' subgenre, a recently orphaned 17-year-old, Andy (Billy Barratt, leading an excellent youth cast), slices a triangle of melon for his damaged, mute foster brother, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). The film's directors, the brothers Danny and Michael Philippou , cleverly cut away from the younger, leaving the viewer to savour the sound of breaking teeth. It's the first of several self-harm-themed Grand Guignol spectacles in a film that's strewn with gristle but is curiously short of starts and frights. The energetic chaos of the film-makers' breakout hit gives way to something more restrained, not necessarily more profound. Bring Her Back opens with promise: Sally Hawkins plays Laura, an eccentric foster mother who welcomes two grieving siblings – Andy and the visually impaired Piper (Sora Wong) – into her chintzy home on the edge of nowhere. READ MORE What begins as a twisted riff on Hansel and Gretel spirals into a grisly meditation on trauma, punctuated by unsettling dark-web videos, gaslighting and a supernatural ritual that is never satisfactorily explained. Hawkins is the film's greatest asset, weaponising her gentle, whimsical Paddington-mom screen persona to discombobulating effect. Her Laura is motherly, dotty and menacing, coaxing Piper with sweet nothings while psychologically tormenting Andy. The house, littered with relics from Laura's past and VHS tapes of a long-dead daughter, becomes a mausoleum of psychic distress. The Philippous lean heavily on body horror to drive the story's emotional beats, finding novel, sickening uses for kitchen utensils along the way. For all this gory audacity, the film falters when it tries to articulate its emotional core or its plot mechanics. Third-act revelations are head-scratching. The exploration of trauma and parenthood – especially Andy's memories of abuse and Laura's grief-fuelled delusion – can feel tacked on. Piper's impairment is treated with care, especially through immersive visual techniques; however, she often functions more as a plot device than a fully developed character. No matter: the Philippous can still freak you out with flair.
Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Don't ask what Sally Hawkins keeps in the freezer
There are the horror movies that make you jump out of your skin and there are the horror movies that get under your skin and stay there. The Australian film-making brothers Danny and Michael Philippou were responsible for the extremely well-made Talk to Me (2023) — a séance-gone-awry shocker full of horrifying images of self-harm and the squelchiest sound design of any film in recent memory. You couldn't look away from the screen because then it was somehow worse. Now they are back with something similar — Bring Her Back is a tale of grief and dread with horrifying images of self-harm and squelchy sound design — all wrapped around a modern-day version of Hansel and Gretel. The witch of the story is a former child counsellor named Laura (Sally Hawkins) who lives in a cabin in the woods. Decorated in cheerful, hippy-dippy colours, it has a taxidermied dog, a mysterious chalk circle and an empty swimming pool in which Laura lost her daughter to drowning. Now she keeps a little feral boy (Jonah Wren Phillips), shaven-headed and mute, locked in a room. You don't want to know what she keeps in the freezer. All this would surely constitute enough red flags to set any foster agency on high alert (has nobody learnt the lesson from Psycho about taxidermied animals?), but the film's secret weapon is Hawkins, from Mike Leigh's Happy Go Lucky and Paddington. Dressed in reassuring knits, she rabbits away in a stream-of-consciousness fashion that pushes her flaky persona to the edge of unsettling and cloaks her trespasses with a chipper smile. The latest unsuspecting adoptees to come under her care are 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) and his younger, partially sighted sister, Piper (Sora Wong), who have been assigned to Laura after the death of their father. Everyone seems to be grieving somebody. As with Talk to Me, you're not sure whether you're in for a horrorfest or a counselling marathon. What we get is a mix of the two — a marathon of gaslighting — as Andy smells a rat and Laura does everything she can to turn his sister against him. • The best films of 2025 so far Disappointingly, the film is far more interested in Andy than Piper, who is exploited for traditional blind-girl-in-peril frights. The idea that she is slower than her brother to notice Laura's evil vibe is unimaginative to say the least: wouldn't her sixth sense be more developed? I would have loved to have seen a film from her point of view, blur and all. True, she cannot see the grainy snatches of video that Laura has on repeat in her living room that tip us off to the horrifying ritual to come. You want to look away and you don't dare because, as with Talk to Me, the greatest shocks are delivered by the sound engineer Emma Bortignon's sound mix, one that goes way beyond the stabbed watermelons of countless horror films. Get ready to be excruciated by the sound of kitchen knife on gums, and teeth on splintering wood. You cannot say you haven't been warned.★★★★☆18, 104min August will go down as the month Pedro Pascal earned his movie star spurs. He's in three films this summer, starting with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Matt Shakman's reboot of the Marvel comic book, in which Pascal plays Reed Richards, the elasticated superhero at the head of a family of superheroes, including Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who has a baby on the way. Can they juggle saving the world with childcare? Will the baby also be superpowered? Will they need extra-strong diapers? Does this set-up sound the teensiest bit familiar? Set in a retro 1960s world of chrome and neon, Fantastic Four: First Steps is probably best thought of as an intermittently entertaining live-action remake of Brad Bird's 2004 classic, The Incredibles. (Shakman even nabbed Michael Giacchino for the score.) The film is at its best in the first 20 minutes when it introduces everyone — with the Human Torch, Johnny Storm, coming in handy during a power cut, and Sue Storm making herself invisible to provide her own ultrasound. Her greatest trick, though — probably the film's best moment — is giving birth in zero gravity while escaping the pull of a black hole, which makes the real-time childbirth that Kirby enacted for Pieces of a Woman (2020) look like a walk in the park. • Read more film reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews But oh dear, the plot, which follows the time-honoured Marvel two-step: introduce the villain, then kill time for two hours waiting for him to arrive and play wrecking ball with New York. The villain is a lumbering galactic deity named Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who plans to destroy Earth unless the four hand over little baby Franklin. As a plot idea this is something of a nonstarter, involving a lot of tedious wrangling from which no one — not the Fantastic Four, nor the people of Earth demanding the baby's sacrifice — comes out looking good. The climactic bout is a ferocious yawn. Once you've seen one skyscraper crumble like cake, you've seen them all.★★★☆☆12A, 95min Times+ members can enjoy two-for-one cinema tickets at Everyman each Wednesday. Visit to find out moreWhich films have you enjoyed at the cinema recently? Let us know in the comments below and follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
Metro
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Horror sequel with 89% Rotten Tomatoes score has left critics 'disturbed'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An eagerly anticipated horror sequel dubbed 'horrific perfection' is finally being released in the UK. Bring Her Back is the second film from directing brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, best known for smash hit 2022 film Talk To Me. Their latest release follows siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong), who are placed with foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins) following the sudden death of their father. As Laura's behaviour towards Andy becomes increasingly hostile, and their new foster brother Oliver's (Jonah Wren Phillips) behaviour deteriorates, Andy begins to suspect something isn't right in their remote home. The eerie film has landed an 89% Rotten Tomatoes rating following its release in the US before it arrives in UK cinemas on July 26. The critics' consensus reads: 'A domestic nightmare that draws its most profound scares from Sally Hawkins' deranged performance, Bring Her Back is an exemplary chiller that reaffirms directors Danny and Michael Philippou as modern masters of horror.' The Australian said in their review: '[Bring Her Back is] scarier without resorting to chainsaws or any of the other instruments of mayhem that on-screen psychopaths are fond of. It's tense from start to finish and it shows [Danny and Michael Philippou's] strengths as filmmakers.' Chicago Reader went as far as to laud the film as 'horrific perfection', and ScullyVision said it left their theatre 'squirming in shocked discomfort.' Rolling Stone wrote: 'The filmmakers want to jolt folks, for sure. But they also want to bring you to a place where the emotional after effects of that juddering linger long after the jump scares have faded away.' Riot Us said it left their critic feeling 'disturbed', while Always Good Movies added: 'Bring Her Back will probably stick in your gut for a little while, and don't be surprised if you walk away feeling hollow inside.' Many heaped praise on Paddington star Hawkins as Laura, branded 'the rotten heart and spoiled soul of the movie' and a 'boundlessly talented actor.' Globe and Mail raved: 'In the devilish hands of Australian filmmaking brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, evil has been concentrated into an exceptionally and impressively nasty 104 minutes.' 'Bring Her Back is an absolutely bonkers horror film, disturbing in the extreme. I don't think I've ever come so close to throwing up in a movie. That's not a criticism, more like a demented badge of honor,' Arizona Republic surmised. More Trending Speaking ahead of the film's release, Danny shared that the film taps into a painful family memory for him after he, at age 13, found his grandfather dead at home. 'Our father was trying to give him CPR, and I remember so vividly the vomit in his beard,' he told the New York Times. 'That became an inspiration point. Freaky to think about, so you write about that.' Bring Her Back is released in UK cinemas on July 26. It is available to watch on VOD in the US now . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 9 deliciously bleak films and where to stream them after 'soul-crushing' new horror MORE: 'Spine-chilling' horror remake with near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating now streaming MORE: Leonardo DiCaprio blockbuster rudely snubbed by Oscars now streaming on iPlayer
Telegraph
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
This is one of the most disturbing horror films I've seen in years
Bring Her Back offers cult rituals and Sally Hawkins plotting in cable-knit cardigans: it's hard to decide which is freakier. This Australian indie horror is strong meat – it takes quite a lot these days to earn an 18 certificate with 'injury detail' – and often batteringly violent. It's the opposite of a gateway horror for the trepidatious. It beckons in the brave. The directors, Danny and Michael Philippou, got famous with stunt videos on YouTube before their hit debut Talk to Me (2022) – the one with an embalmed hand as a spirit-conjuring device, ruining lives. You look at the characters in Bring Her Back, which is possibly even bleaker, and worry if a single one will make it out alive. Teenage siblings Andy (a mightily promising Briton, Billy Barratt, who won awards for the 2019 BBC drama Responsible Child) and his younger sister Piper (partially sighted newcomer Sora Wong, also amazing) are orphaned at the start, when they find their ailing father dead in their bathroom. The social services pair Piper with a foster mother called Laura (Hawkins, garishly dressed even at the funeral, and unnervingly overfamiliar). Laura is grieving after her own blind daughter drowned in their weird, triangular swimming pool. Andy refuses to be separated from his sister and moves in, too. It's instantly clear Laura wants rid of this third wheel – the only question is how. We learn to trust nothing she says or does. Another alleged child of hers called Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) prowls around the garden mutely, a feral urchin who keeps breaking his teeth on things and molesting the cat. He also tries to eat a kitchen knife, which doesn't go well and is impressively hard to watch. Whatever Laura has put in him – we know there's black magic afoot, from scratchy camcorder footage of occult rites – seems as diseased as it is demonic. The horror DNA here is a three-fold splicing of Stephen King's Pet Sematary, Ari Aster's Hereditary and Kate Hudson's chiller The Skeleton Key, a slice of supernatural body-swap hokum for which I have a real soft spot. Bring Her Back could have done with a twist or two, like that had, but this isn't to say it doesn't inflict shocks: there's no safe ground here once we grasp the resurrection agenda, and how single-mindedly Laura's devoted to it. Hawkins deepens tremendously. She makes this person comically dreadful, then manipulative, then dangerous; but what's waiting in the role is an abyss of desolation she really commits to. Laura's a villain who has brainwashed herself into thinking she's the heroine. That's genuinely tragic. The ways she tricks Piper into distrusting her brother are pure Iago tactics – it's a wrench to watch them paying off. All three of the young actors give a lot, too. You could get PTSD from the rain-drenched, howlingly sad Bring Her Back just as a viewer. It would be nice to hear the cast were treated to a relaxing beach holiday afterwards.
Hype Malaysia
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
Contest: Win Tickets To Watch Chilling Horror Film 'Bring Her Back'
With their 2022 debut feature and horror phenomenon 'Talk to Me', filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou established themselves as two of the most exciting new voices in genre cinema. Now, 2 years on from their breakout success, the duo return with 'Bring Her Back', a chilling exploration of suburban family life, elevated by raw emotional intensity and some of the most visceral gore seen in a recent horror release. The film stars Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally-Anne Upton, Stephen Phillips, Mischa Heywood, and Sally Hawkins. If you're a fan of horror, disturbing storylines and unflinching gore, this is one you won't want to miss — and we've got the tickets for you to catch it! Film synopsis: A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother. We're excited to announce that we'll be giving away 10 pairs of movie tickets to watch 'Bring Her Back', courtesy of our friends at Sony Pictures Malaysia. Details of the screening are as per below: Date: 29th July 2025 (Tuesday) 29th July 2025 (Tuesday) Time: 8:45pm 8:45pm Venue: TGV 1UTAMA Terms and conditions: Like Hype Malaysia's Facebook, follow us on Instagram @hypemy and Twitter @HypeMY. Share the post on your Facebook. Increase your chances by getting your friends to like and share your social media posts. Tag your friends and help spread the word. Private Message us the link to your contest post on Facebook after you're done. Include your Twitter and Instagram account links so that we can verify. Ensure that your post privacy is set to public otherwise, we won't be able to see it! There will be no winners announcement post as winners will be contacted privately via Facebook by 26th July 2025. This contest is only open to those living in the Klang Valley. HERE is a step-by-step guide to help you from getting disqualified.
