Bring Her Back

''Bring Her Back'' is a 2025 Australian supernatural horror film directed by Danny and Michael Philippou and written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman. Produced by Causeway Films and Blue Bear, in association with Salmira Productions and South Australia Film Corporation, the film stars Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips and Sally Hawkins. The plot follows two half-siblings who are placed in the middle of an occult ritual to bring their foster mother's daughter back to life.

''Bring Her Back'' was theatrically released by Sony Pictures Releasing International in Australia on 29 May 2025 and by A24 in North America on the following day. It received positive reviews from critics. The film is dedicated to Harley Wallace, a friend of the Philippou brothers who passed away before production started.

Plot

17-year-old Andy and his blind younger half-sister Piper are placed in foster care after finding their father dead in their shower. They are sent to live with Laura, an eccentric former counselor who also cares for a mute boy named Oliver. Before the events of the film, Laura had a daughter named Cathy who drowned in the backyard pool and was also blind. Andy becomes unsettled by Laura's behavior, her favoritism toward Piper, and Oliver's strange demeanor. He informs his social worker, as well as Laura, of his intent to apply for Piper's guardianship when he turns 18. Laura begins subtly undermining Andy's mental state, suggesting he is unfit to care for his sister.

At their father's funeral, Laura steals a lock of hair from the body and later tells Andy that some believe the soul lingers in a corpse after death. That night, Andy shares that their father was abusive toward him but affectionate toward Piper, which caused resentment. Laura reflects on her grief over Cathy's death and says she would give anything to hear Cathy call her "mum" again.

The next day, Andy attempts bonding with Oliver by offering him cantaloupe, but Oliver starts chewing on the knife Andy used. When Andy tries to carry him across Laura's circle property line to get help, Oliver begins to convulse and scream. Laura, arrives and takes Oliver to her room and calms him by rubbing his head in a circular motion. He reluctantly returns to his mute state. Laura then feeds the lock of hair to Oliver. That night, Andy attempts to shower but is interrupted by Oliver, who speaks in Andy's father's voice, warning, "She'll die in the rain." Andy hallucinates this as his father's apparition, slips in terror, and is concussed.

While Andy recovers in the hospital, Laura takes Piper to a padlocked shed and dresses her in Cathy's clothes. Cathy's corpse is seen in the shed, stored in a freezer. It is revealed that Oliver is a demonically possessed child, overtaken by a demon called Tari. Laura summoned the demon through an amateur occult resurrection ritual learned from a VHS tape. The corpse of the person to be resurrected is fed to a possessed host, who then regurgitates the corpse and its lingering soul into the newly dead body of a person killed in the same manner as the one to be resurrected. Laura intends to drown Piper in the pool during a rainstorm to mimic Cathy's death and use Oliver to complete the ritual, but delays the act as she awaits the perfect moment. Meanwhile, Tari grows increasingly restless.

Upon Andy's return, Laura sprays herself with his cologne and punches Piper in her sleep, then convinces Piper that Andy assaulted her. Piper is unsure but notices the scent. Laura accuses Andy of being abusive like their father, provoking an outburst. Andy leaves, and Laura takes Piper to goalball practice to remove her during the ritual's setup.

As Tari's hunger escalates, Oliver trashes the house, bites Laura, eats inanimate objects, and then parts of himself. Meanwhile, Andy visits the foster agency and learns Oliver is actually a missing child named Connor Bird, and that Laura's foster background was never vetted. He convinces his social worker, Wendy, to investigate. During their drive, Andy warns Piper via voicemail about Laura and reveals the truth about their father. Laura intercepts the message, cleans the house, and deceives Wendy during the visit, until Wendy notices Laura's bleeding arm. Upon questioning, Laura hysterically claims she can resurrect Cathy. Wendy and Andy discover Oliver eating Cathy's corpse but before escaping are run down by Laura in her car. Wendy dies while Andy survives, but is badly injured. Laura then drowns Andy in a rain puddle.

Laura retrieves Piper and brings her home. Having eaten some of Andy's flesh, Connor now speaks with Andy's voice to lure Piper. She follows the voice and touches his face but is stopped by Laura. Suspicious, Piper locks herself in the bathroom and finds Andy's body. Laura breaks in and explains the ritual to Piper then drags her to the pool. But when Piper screams "mum," Laura hesitates and releases her. Piper escapes to the road and is rescued by a passing couple. Connor makes it past the circle and collapses as the demon leaves his body, and police arrive to find and identify him. Laura, now despondent, carries Cathy's partially consumed corpse into the pool and cradles it as officers surround her.

Cast

* Billy Barratt as Andy, a guilt-ridden and traumatized 17-year-old boy
* Sora Wong as Piper, Andy's visually impaired younger half-sister
* Sally Hawkins as Laura, a grieving mother
* Jonah Wren Phillips as Oliver / Connor Bird, Laura's foster son
* Sally-Anne Upton as Wendy, Andy and Piper's social worker
* Stephen Phillips as Phil, Andy and Piper's deceased father
* Mischa Heywood as Cathy, Laura's deceased 12-year-old daughter

Production

In April 2024, it was announced that Danny and Michael Philippou (known as RackaRacka) were developing an original horror film follow-up to '' Talk to Me'', with producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton at Causeway Films. The film had Sally Hawkins attached to star and A24 was handling sales for distribution worldwide. The Philippou brothers originally planned to direct a film adaptation of ''Street Fighter'' in 2023, but exited the film to focus on ''Bring Her Back'', inspired by psycho-biddy horror. The script was written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, and it was produced by RackaRacka with financing from the South Australian Film Corporation and Salmira Productions.

In late May, Billy Barratt, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally-Anne Upton, Stephen Phillips and Sora Wong joined the cast of the film. In an interview with ''People'', Wong stated that she had "zero experience with acting", auditioning after her mother discovered the casting call on Facebook.

Principal photography began in June 2024. The Philippous returned to their home state of South Australia to film in Adelaide and its surrounding areas, like Lightsview. Filming concluded after 41 days.

Release

In February 2025, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the international distribution rights to the film excluding China, Russia and Japan. ''Bring Her Back'' was released in Australia on 29 May 2025 by Stage 6 Films, before releasing on the following day in the United States by A24. It is set to be released in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2025.

Reception

Box office

, ''Bring Her Back'' has grossed $19 million in the United States and Canada and $3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $22 million.

In the United States and Canada, ''Bring Her Back'' was released alongside '' Karate Kid: Legends'' and was projected to gross $5–7 million from 2,449 theatres in its opening weekend. The film made $3.1 million on its first day, including $850,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $7.1 million, finishing in third.

Critical response

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 80% overall positive score, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend the film.

Monica Castillo from ''RogerEbert.com'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing that it is "perhaps more chilling—if slightly less focused—than their breakout feature debut". Castillo noted the film's fast pace and shocking moments, but criticized the VHS segments as being an "unnecessary scare tactic". She praised the performances of Hawkins, Barratt and Wong for their emotionally-deep performances and the film's sustained tension, but ultimately wrote that it did "not meet the high watermark of the brothers' first outing." Jeanette Catsoulis of the ''New York Times'' acclaimed the "sublime lead performances" with particular praise for Barratt's performance as Andy. Catsoulis also praised the film's visual shock value and emotional weight, but called it "more logically muddled than its predecessor". David Fear of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that the film is a strong follow up to '' Talk To Me'', boasting a "superior grasp of pacing and catch-release tension". Fear also praised Oliver's character as rising above "the whole creepy-youngster trope", having derided it as being "overused and lazy in most cases".

A review by Sammie Purcell from ''Rough Draft Atlanta'' praised the practical effects and upsetting nature of the film, but "it doesn’t earn the depth of emotion it wants to achieve." Purcell praised Phillips' performance as Oliver for being "one of the film’s best and, oddly enough, manages to offer a little bit of humor in an otherwise bleak narrative." She further writes that
"it’s hard to balance really effective emotionality with the type of viscous storytelling the Philippous appear to be interested in", having found the mix of grotesque visuals and emotional themes to be ineffective. Barry Wurst from ''HollywoodinToto'' was far more critical, giving the film one and a half stars. Wurst wrote that he found the film's violent scenes far too intense, criticizing it as being "desperate for attention." However, he gave high praise to Hawkins' performance as being the "reason to see he film"

Accolades

References

External links

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{{Portal bar, 2020s, Film, Australia, Speculative fiction, Horror

2025 horror films
2025 films
2020s Australian films
2020s English-language films
A24 (company) films
Australian horror films
English-language horror films
Films directed by Danny and Michael Philippou
Films shot in Adelaide
Films with screenplays by Danny Philippou
Films set in 2024
Stage 6 Films films
Psycho-biddy films