From Danny and Michael Philippou, the filmmaking Australian twins behind Talk to Me, Bring Her Back centers around siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong). Piper is largely blind—she perceives shapes and colors but lacks full sight—and Andy has always been her caretaker. Following their father’s sudden death, Andy and Piper are placed in the care of Laura (Sally Hawkins), who also has a mute son named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Laura is still grieving the loss of her own blind daughter. What begins as an uneasy adjustment after tragedy evolves into a desperate fight for survival when Andy and Piper discover Laura’s intentions for them. Talk to Me was a striking horror debut from the Philippou brothers/RackaRacka, fueled by the compelling idea of seeking thrills through possession. Bring Her Back feels more familiar in its premise, revolving around a woman attempting to resurrect her daughter by inhabiting another body. Cinematographer Aaron McLiskey and the sound effects editors Lachlan Harris and Lee Yee deserve considerable credit for creating an immersive experience that conveys what it might be like to see as someone with limited vision. Visually, the film frequently focuses on elements in the foreground while blurring the background, providing just enough movement for the viewer to understand what’s happening. For example, when Piper and Andy meet Wendy (Sally-Anne Upton), the foster care placement worker, the first thing noticed are the bracelets on her wrist as she types. During the drive to Laura’s house, Andy lowers his visor to shield Piper from the sun. He observes that Piper can't sense the warmth of the day and raises the visor, immediately altering her behavior and body language. Andy and Piper encounter their deceased father in the shower, an event that triggers a lasting trauma related to showers. During the wake and whenever Andy contemplates showering, he experiences panic attacks—breathing heavily and visibly shaken, with the sounds of his surroundings muffled by his rapid heartbeat. The film establishes that Laura’s care is intended as temporary; in three months, Andy will be old enough to become Piper's legal guardian. However, Laura has been secretly devising a plan to resurrect her daughter, patiently awaiting a blind girl entering the foster system. She greets the siblings with manipulative tactics from the start. Like Talk to Me, Bring Her Back can be jarring and unrelenting at times, pushing boundaries of physical comfort with disturbing moments. Oliver’s scene in the kitchen involving a knife serves as a prime example. The standout performance is by Sally Hawkins; she has consistently chosen challenging roles, but this marks her first foray into horror, and she delivers impressively. Laura is an unsavory character driven by a single purpose, and Hawkins's portrayal blurs the line between sheer terror and unexpected empathy. Despite Laura’s brutal actions—including murder—she remains a mother grieving the loss of someone deeply cherished, eliciting a degree of sympathy even at the film’s conclusion. The contrast between Laura presenting herself as a caring foster parent and the dark ritual she's planning for Piper is somewhat disappointing. Knowing Laura’s intentions early on—a detail revealed by the title and marketing—makes some slower scenes feel extended. The gradual unveiling of Oliver’s role proves more engaging. There’s an initial sense of suspense where Laura could be either a practitioner of dark arts or simply someone with a strange fascination with death, but who genuinely cares for Andy and Piper. Prolonging this ambiguity might have led to a greater payoff. It's as if contemporary horror films, particularly those released this year, expose too much too soon, leading to stretches of monotony. Bring Her Back is another captivating work from the Philippou brothers, featuring disturbing sequences that sometimes verge on being excessively graphic. Sally Hawkins delivers a terrifyingly perfect portrayal of a maternal figure who embodies both nurturing and nightmare qualities.

Source on TMDB