[ad_1]
I’m a fan of the Australian filmmaking duo Danny and Michael Philippou. The two got their start with their RackaRacka series on YouTube, a collection of wild, bloody, often hilarious shorts. Talk to Me, their 2023 debut feature, floored audiences with its fresh originality and gutting exploration of grief. And it appears that’s a theme the filmmakers intend to build a brand from.
The Philippou’s second film, this year’s Bring Her Back, picks up right where Talk to Me left off thematically. It’s a brutal, shocking, emotionally punishing story that assures these are filmmakers who don’t make horror for the faint of heart. There’s quite an appetite for that sort of terror.
What’s Bring Her Back About?
Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) have just lost their father. Sent to foster care, they’re adopted by Laura (Sally Hawkins). Eccentric to say the least, she seems nice enough, but something’s off about her. The same goes for her mute son, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Andy plans on getting himself and his sister out of Laura’s custody as soon as he’s old enough. But their foster mother has other plans that will drag the siblings into the most horrific corners of grief.
The All-Consuming Nature of Grief
If you only knew the Philippou’s from their YouTube channel, you’d be stunned at just how different Talk to Me and Bring Her Back are. The filmmakers have never shied away from excessive gore and violence. Yet, while their early career expressed a flair for comedy, both of their features are anything but funny.
In her review of Bring Her Back, Dread Central’s former Editor-in-Chief, Mary Beth McAndrews, described the film as one that, “verges on emotional torture porn, with gut punch after gut punch delivered ad nauseam,” resulting in, “one of the genre’s most upsetting examinations of the hells of grief supported by incredible performances from actors both seasoned and new.”
I’ll be honest with you…Bring Her Back shattered me. You could argue Talk to Me is the scarier of the two films, but there’s an emotional maturity to the Philippou brothers’ second feature that reaches much deeper into human despair. Through gut-wrenching brutality and heart-ripping tragedy, Bring Her Back captures the all-consuming nature of grief as well as or better than almost any horror film out there. Part of that can be attributed to a devastating performance from Hawkins. A mother who lost her daughter and is desperate to have her back at any cost, we experience the relentless torment of what it means to lose a loved one through her villainous, yet empathetic role.
Themes of child abuse and horrific images involving children make Bring Her Back a difficult watch. But you can take the knowledge that this film had me sobbing in my car afterwards as a testament to its power. If you think you can handle it, stream it now on HBO Max. Though you might want to set aside something comforting to watch afterwards.
Categorized: Streaming News
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
