A24’s BRING HER BACK: An Exclusive First Look at the Philippou Brothers’ Latest Horror
- creepykingdom
- Mar 31
- 5 min read
By Shannon McGrew
This past Friday, I attended an exclusive first-look event for A24’s newest horror film, BRING HER BACK, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, the co-directors of 2022’s Talk to Me. Though much of the film remains shrouded in mystery, we know that it follows a brother (Billy Barratt) and sister (Sora Wong) who uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.
The event at NeueHouse in Los Angeles featured a Q&A with the directing duo, who offered insight into their latest horror film. Much like Talk to Me, BRING HER BACK delves into themes of grief, drawing inspiration from a deeply personal experience the Philippou brothers endured. When discussing the origins of Bring Her Back, they shared:
“We were in the middle of writing BRING HER BACK, and our cousin lost her 2-year-old. We were in the hospital, and we were seeing her on the bed holding this kid, and the family were all around him, and they were holding his feet, hands, head, and arms. Eventually, over time, everyone let him go, and our cousin was the last one.
Horror is a fun way to look at dark things like that, and the idea of her never being okay again after that was an inspiration point. How far would she go to heal herself from it? The idea of a never-ending grief cycle and seeing raw grief like that is terrifying.”
Once the story took shape, the next challenge was finding the right cast to bring it to life while preserving the authenticity of its grief-centered themes. Casting Sally Hawkins proved to be a pivotal moment, as her involvement instantly elevated the project. To their surprise, Hawkins felt an immediate and profound connection to the script.
“We sent her the script, and she got back right away and said she was in love with it, how much it meant to her, and how much she connected to it. We were like, what the fuck? We love those old-school psycho-biddy films. We love Bette Davis and those really big performances and are obsessed with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. We were obsessed with the idea of having this amazing character actor, Sally, take on this role and the fact that she’d never done any horror before - this was her first proper horror film playing a horror character. We love her so much and are in awe of her.”
Playing foster siblings who move into Sally’s home are Billy Barratt as older brother Andy and Sora Wong as younger sister Piper. The casting marked a significant step for the production as Sora is a vision-impaired actor taking on her first role. Discussing the casting process and how Wong’s real-life experience as a partially sighted individual influenced the story, the brothers explained:
“A friend’s little sister is non-sighted, and she was at this crossroad where she wanted to be able to experience the world for herself, catch the bus by herself, and it’s an awkward transition for parents to allow her to do that, and she didn’t want to be babied through life. She won’t have those parents when she’s older, and they won’t be able to help her get to work, so those conversations were happening. When talking to her and asking her about seeing and what she thinks seeing would be like, she said, I’m glad that I don’t have to see because I don’t have to see the ugly things in the world. That line became very thematic throughout the film.
It was so important to try and find an actual vision impaired actor, so we reached out to those communities and met with a bunch of kids. The pool for 12-year-old vision impaired actors isn’t very big, but she was one of the people that blew everyone away. She second-guessed herself a lot, but we saw throughout the film her transformation from day one of never acting before to the final date where she looked like a seasoned pro. It was the most amazing thing to watch. Billy Barratt, who at 13 was the youngest actor to win an International Emmy Award, was an actor we really wanted to work with. He came to Australia, and his Australian accent was on point.”
Rounding out the cast is Jonah Wren Phillips, who plays Oliver, a new sibling to Andy and Piper. Even from the brief footage shown, it’s evident that there’s something profoundly unsettling about his character. Discussing the casting process, the directors shared:
“Jonah Wren Phillips, who plays Oliver, both his parents are actors, and they were both on set. They would help us get certain performances and scenes because he had these intense scenes to do, and he just nailed it every time. He’s a really multi-talented kid cause he’s an actor and musician, he plays the guitar really well, and he’s a Muay Thai fighter, and he’s only like 10 years old!”
Although I wasn’t familiar with the directors through their YouTube channel, it was clear from their film Talk to Me that they have a passion for practical effects. Jolly, full of life, and undeniably hilarious, it’s surprising to see how much they relish pushing the boundaries of gore and crafting visceral scenes. Reflecting on the gore in BRING HER BACK and how the young cast handled it, the directors shared:
“Seeing the behind the scenes of those old-school practical horror films was always so mindblowing and inspiring and so crazy that you can create these traumatic scenes and that it was all fake and everything was done in a fun way. We get excited by trying to accomplish a scene that hasn’t been done before or an effect that hasn’t been done before. With Riley and his eye in Talk To Me, we built a side of his face to practically get in there and pull his eyeball out. Things like that are just so much fun to do and visceral and metaphorically can represent a fun way to explore darker themes.
The gore is so shocking and graphic when you [watch the movie]. However, it’s just so much fun on set, and everyone’s having the best time. When there are those kinds of serious dramas, those are the ones that really take a toll mentally because you’re putting yourself in those head spaces. With the gore stuff, it’s always a ball on set and kind of refreshing.”
One striking element of the event was the series of video loops depicting a ritual projected onto the walls of the spacious venue. These eerie visuals made it clear that BRING HER BACK wouldn’t be your typical, run-of-the-mill possession film. While the earlier scenes we previewed were crisp, modern, and polished, these videos had a grimy, retro aesthetic. Addressing this contrast, the directors explained:
“One of the fun parts of when you’re writing is designing your own mythology and your own lore. We love not overexplaining everything and having the audience piece things together. [In this film], there’s a ritual tape, and it’s sort of an inversion. There’s a character in this that has this childhood footage to look back on in a healthy way of grieving and processing, and then there’s this inversion of that which is this upside-down macabre version of grieving.”
From the footage we saw—which was so brutal that some of you will never look at melons the same way again—to the candid discussions with Danny and Michael, it’s clear that BRING HER BACK is poised to shock and disturb audiences while exploring grief through the lens of horror and boundary-pushing storytelling. Talk to Me was a smash hit for many reasons, but it also proved that the directors are passionate about blending authentic storytelling with horror elements.
BRING HER BACK has definitely captured my attention, and I’m sure it will do the same for my fellow horror enthusiasts. Although we still have a few months to wait—the film doesn’t hit theaters until May 30—it’s safe to say that this will be a horrifying and unforgettable cinematic experience.
