Movie Review: A deeply disturbing portrait of grief in gory horror ‘Bring Her Back’

Beware the quirky foster parent who introduces herself arsenic a spot of a weirdo. That’s however Laura (Sally Hawkins) cheerily greets the recently orphaned teenage siblings Andy and Piper successful the caller fearfulness “Bring Her Back,” which opens successful theaters Friday.

The comment, much telling than the kids recognize astatine the time, comes aft Laura excitedly introduces Piper, who is non-sighted, to her dog. She thinks it’s a bully gag to not explicate archetypal that the carnal is not alive.

The taxidermy is successful information the slightest weird happening astir Laura. Australian filmmakers Michael and Danny Philippou, besides down the teen chiller debut “Talk to Me,” person dreamed up a caller nightmare of trauma, grief, resurrection and the heavy failures of Australia’s kid protective services. That past portion is not really a salient throughline successful the film, but aft witnessing what these kids endure successful the brisk 99-minute runtime, you excessively mightiness person immoderate questions astir that department’s modular practices.

Many fearfulness movies and stories person utilized non-seeing characters to heighten the suspense. “Bring Her Back” strives to marque Piper (newcomer Sora Wong) much than a gimmick but a young pistillate trying to asseverate her independency — she refuses to usage her cane, which she thinks makes everyone babe her.

Piper’s main protector is her saccharine and attentive older member Andy (Billy Barratt). The movie gives the assemblage a morsel of normality with these 2 earlier plunging america into the horror, archetypal with the abrupt decease of their father, and past with the unusual goings connected astatine Laura’s secluded home.

They’re amazed erstwhile they get to find there’s different kid determination arsenic well: Olly (Jonah Wren Phillips), who is mute, profoundly unusual and, erstwhile not locked successful his room, getting into bloody messes of his ain making. If you’re squeamish astir gaping wounds and the afloat situation dependable acquisition of their squishing and oozing, this mightiness not beryllium the movie for you. For those who delight successful the crafts down it all, the constitution and dependable enactment present is genuinely apical notch.

Like galore of “Bring Her Back’s” genre peers, the occult, nude older men and grainy VHS tapes besides co-star successful the proceedings. Laura, whose non-seeing girl drowned recently, is peculiarly fixated connected Piper and arsenic arsenic dismissive of mediocre Andy.

While you tin astir apt conjecture her endgame, the mode it comes unneurotic is much of the point, and the Philippou twins surely infuse the movie with a just magnitude of foreboding earlier thing genuinely deranged starts happening. It’s a amusive enigma to ticker Laura’s unusual behavior, which 1 eventful time includes encouraging Andy to buss his dormant begetter connected the lips ("it's custom"), getting the kids drunk and peeing successful a measuring cup.

Andy, 3 months shy of 18, was not primitively expected to travel his sister to the foster home. But helium convinces the societal idiosyncratic to springiness him a accidental until helium tin use for ineligible guardianship. Unfortunately, Laura seems intent connected driving him away. He already has lingering trauma from uncovering his dormant begetter (and different things that volition beryllium revealed successful time), and present there’s this chipper, tiny pistillate acceptable to gaslight him into insanity. Barratt, who won acclaim for his portrayal of a 12-year-old accused of sidesplitting his mother’s fellow successful the British tv movie “Responsible Child,” is fantabulous successful a hard role.

Hawkins, meanwhile, gets to beryllium bigger and wilder with Laura, shedding the nurturing mothers of “Paddington” and “Wonka” for thing defiantly disturbed. She’s besides got a fewer delightfully chilling lines that I won’t spoil. And yet someway Hawkins is besides capable to enactment wide of campiness and marque Laura, unhinged though she whitethorn be, the teeniest spot empathetic.

The movie doesn’t rather gain the affectional catharsis it seems to beryllium striving for. It’s a small excessively insane and besides underdeveloped, particularly Piper’s character, to fto the assemblage successful connected that level. But if you’ve travel for unexpected scares and creativity, “Bring Her Back” volition not disappoint.

“Bring Her Back,” an A24 merchandise successful theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “some grisly images, language, graphic nudity, beardown convulsive content, underage drinking). Running time: 99 minutes. Two and a fractional stars retired of four.