Bring Her Back
A Horror Story with Heart
With just two films, previous YouTube pranksters the Philippou brothers, previously known as RackaRacka, have quickly become some of the most exciting new voices in horror. After turning heads with Talk to Me in 2022, their sophomore film Bring Her Back proves once again that they’re not just good at shock value and disturbing audiences, but are very strong storytellers as well. This time, the plot might be more conventional, but the emotional stakes are just as high. What the brothers understand so well is that horror only works if we care about the characters first. And here, once again, we do.
The plot follows Piper, a visually impaired girl, and her older stepbrother Andy—a bit of a troublemaker—as they move into the care of a seemingly kind foster mom named Laura after their father’s death. But Laura seems to be hiding something. Her mute foster son, Oliver, gives off the kind of eerie vibe, and the way Laura hovers around Piper suggests more than just overprotectiveness. From early on, there’s a sense that something deeply wrong is bubbling under the surface.
More than most horrors, Bring Her Back is the kind of movie that truly stays with you. There are no jump scares, no cheap tricks—just a growing sense of dread that tightens its grip scene by scene. The film slowly reveals its secrets with confidence, and while the story is more conventional than Talk to Me, it never feels generic nor predictable. The horror here works hand-in-hand with the characters’ emotional arcs, especially the bond between the siblings and the grief Laura is clearly failing to process. It reminded me of Hereditary in how it uses supernatural elements to dig into real human pain—grief, guilt, the desperation to undo the past. The highpoints include Sally Hawkins, who weaponizes her immense natural warmth, and the young boy, whose actions won’t soon be forgotten. The score might lean too hard on dissonant melodies, but the imagery—especially involving the boy and his eyes—is extremely effective.
Creepy, gruesome, and emotionally devastating—Bring Her Back proves that the Philippou brothers aren’t a fluke. With just their second feature, they show they’re not only masters of atmosphere and dread, but also genuinely good storytellers. They were once attached to a Street Fighter movie, and while I’d still be curious to see how their skills translate to other genres, I’m glad they doubled down on horror. If this is the kind of film they keep making—horrifying, unsettling, but full of heart—I’ll always be excited, waiting to be disturbed but touched. Especially if it bears the name RackaRacka.