Can a mother's grief justify the supernatural resurrection of her deceased child?
In short: In the 2025 horror film Bring Her Back, a grieving mother attempts to resurrect her daughter using a dark ritual involving a kidnapped child and a demon. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, this unsettling story explores the extreme lengths of parental obsession and the terrifying consequences of refusing to let go.
Directed by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, Bring Her Back serves as a follow-up to their breakout debut, Talk to Me. The narrative centers on Laura, a mother mourning her daughter Cathy, who drowned in a backyard pool. Laura’s desperation leads her to orchestrate a complex, supernatural plan to bring Cathy back to life. She uses a kidnapped boy, forced into a demonic possession, to consume the corpse of her daughter and regurgitate it into the body of a living host—specifically, her foster daughter, Piper.
The film’s production, which took place in Adelaide, Australia, relied heavily on practical effects to achieve its visceral, often grotesque imagery. For scenes involving the possessed foster child, Oliver, actor Jonah Wren Phillips utilized props like foam knives and chocolate-filled countertops to simulate self-mutilation. The directors, inspired by the psycho-biddy horror subgenre, aimed to balance these shocking, high-tension sequences with the emotional weight of a family tragedy. Sally Hawkins, who stars as Laura, received widespread critical acclaim for her portrayal of a mother driven to madness by her inability to process loss.
Upon its release in May 2025, the film earned $39.1 million worldwide. Critics were generally favorable, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%, though opinions on the film's narrative coherence were mixed. Some reviewers praised the Philippous' mastery of pacing and tension, while others felt the film struggled to reconcile its extreme gore with its deeper emotional themes. Despite these critiques, the film solidified the Philippou brothers' reputation as significant figures in modern horror, demonstrating their continued interest in blending supernatural elements with the raw, often painful realities of human grief and trauma.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Bring Her Back
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