2025 has seen a range of horror with sub-genres and plots that are far from the idea of a typical horror film from the 2000s. With drama, supernatural elements and psychological factors taking the forefront, a new kind of understanding for the genre has emerged. Bring Her Back is another such film; it focuses on body horror with gore and blood, which makes you look away. But the focus on these ends up overshadowing the real psychological horror of the film: a mother lost to grief, the broken foster system and the trauma all kids go through in the film.
Stars: 2.5/5
Bring Her Back follows Andy and his partially blind stepsister Piper, who find their father dead on the bathroom floor. While the two are going to be split up and sent to foster care, on special request, Laura agrees to take them both in until Andy can apply for Piper’s guardianship in three months (as he turns 18). However, things don’t go as planned. To the audience, it is pretty evident that something is wrong with Laura and her so-called son, Ollie. The early reveal takes away the biggest mystery of the story and sets a different tone for the film. The thrill of finding what is wrong is what the audience and Andy need to figure out before it is too late.
However, Andy is still a child even though he is ready to apply for the guardianship of his sister. He has his own demons to deal with. From an abusive relationship with his father to being parentified all his teenage life, Andy doesn’t have the chance to take care of his own well-being, even in foster care. He is still seen looking out for Piper, and Laura often takes advantage of this situation to push him further away from her. The film explores how easily kids can be manipulated, and they need to be protected, but the system fails them again and again.
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On the other hand, Laura is the mother in grief, the one who would go to any lengths to get her child back, and she does. She goes to lengths further than any of us could imagine, including kidnapping a child, fostering two others with the intention to kill one or both of them. The supernatural and horror aspect of the film goes unexplained, and it doesn’t even need to be, as clips from some old ritual show her and the audience what it is about and how it works.
The makers choose not to focus on the supernatural element, but the psyche of the mother, who, until a few months ago, was just a normal mother who worked in the system and cared for other kids as well. Despite the writing and the performances, this part of the story is told very nonchalantly. The impact is minimal as there are barely any consequences for the deaths that come in the way. The ending feels rushed, while the set-up takes too long, even though all aspects of the film are revealed early on. It comes off more as a drama exploring these different people.
The film does offer great performances from all three kids: Billy Barratt as Andy, Sora Wong as Piper and Jonah Wren Phillips as Ollie. Meanwhile, Sally Hawkins is known for playing unusual characters with twisted mindsets in one way or another, and she does justice to this character enough to make you want to hate her. The background score, the makeup and design team have given their all to amplify the horror elements in the film, but the flow of the film doesn’t leave the needed impact in the end.
Overall. Bring Her Back is a good watch for fans of body horror and good visuals. The film doesn’t quite pick up the horror or thriller aspect of its own story and ends without much to say.
Cover Image: Instagram
