12-Year-Old Star Jonah Wren Phillips Talks Crazy Self-Destruction Scenes in Bring Her Back

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Bring Her Back,” now playing in theaters.

12-year-old Jonah Wren Phillips, the lead actor in “Bring Her Back,” isn’t fond of horror films, even though he portrays a demon child who consumes his own arm tissue and a frozen corpse’s leftovers in the Philippou brothers’ newest production. Initially, he considered refusing the part — not due to fear, but for some other reason.

He shared, “I’m not into horror. The ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Halloween specials from the Simpsons make me jumpy. However, I understand that creating something is distinct from watching it. Initially, I was considering turning down the offer because I had quite long hair at the time. I made a promise to myself never to cut my hair for a film and I would have declined. But then I watched some of Danny and Michael’s YouTube videos, and I couldn’t resist this opportunity.

Initially, Danny and Michael Philippou, identical twins, embarked on their filmmaking journey via YouTube under the moniker RackaRacka, producing over-the-top action, horror, and comedy content. In 2022, they made their directorial breakthrough in the feature film “Talk to Me” under A24, a chilling production that garnered praise from critics and horror enthusiasts alike, with a sequel on the horizon. Now, the Philippous brothers are back with another harrowing horror titled “Bring Her Back,” which promises an emotional impact alongside its shocks.

In the recently released film, the children, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong), shift residences to live with their new caregiver, Laura (Sally Hawkins), following the tragic demise of their father. Despite her peculiarities, Laura is currently caring for a boy named Ollie (Phillips) who doesn’t speak, which Andy describes as “quite peculiar” or “definitely strange.

Phillips, who has appeared in the TV shows “Human Error” and “Sweet Tooth,” slowly transforms over the course of the movie as Laura’s unnerving backstory is revealed. It turns out Laura wants to bring her dead daughter back to life via a demonic ritual using Piper and Ollie, who has a gluttonous spirit living inside of him.

As a dedicated cinephile, I must admit that the most jaw-dropping scenes in the movie unfold when Ollie’s demonic side takes control, causing him to chomp down on the edge of a table and even a sharp knife – an act that serves as a gruesome feast for the malevolent force residing within him. To bring this table-biting scene to life, Larry Van Duynhoven, our skilled prosthetic FX designer, along with his team, crafted custom dentures for Phillips to wear and built a balsa wood table that appeared as if it had already been gnawed on prior.

Van Duynhoven stated that he was able to enjoy himself fully since we provided him with dentures that safeguarded his teeth and oral cavity. The dental technician had ingeniously incorporated detachable teeth into these dentures, causing some of them to break off.

Despite finding the scene where Phillips bit into a table rather nauseating, Van Duynhoven mentioned that Phillips apparently relished shooting it. “He seemed to appreciate the wood,” Van Duynhoven quipped playfully, “he even enjoyed its taste.

Phillips explained that they mentioned adding a bit of chocolate, but he couldn’t detect it due to having blood in his mouth. Instead, he felt the texture of it, as it had been hollowed out and was quite crunchy. The challenge came when using the fake teeth, as he couldn’t get enough leverage to bite down on the table, making it difficult to crack the wood. To help him, they had to glue the teeth in so he could bite it properly. The taste wasn’t discernible, but he enjoyed the unique texture, and discussing eating a table feels strange.

In another instance, Andy gives Ollie a kitchen knife to prepare a quick snack, but just for a brief second, Andy turns away. Instead of using the knife as intended, Ollie starts biting on the razor-sharp edge. Consequently, blood spurts and teeth are lost as the strange child continues to bite into the blade relentlessly.

Van Duynhoven stated, “We employed a rubber prop knife for Jonah, along with some dentures. In certain scenes, we utilized an actual child and then substituted him with a handcrafted puppet head. For close-ups, we opted for a more precise knife to navigate a small channel within the teeth and gums that would slice through the silicone lip. The atmosphere on set was quite intense as we had just one opportunity to capture the lip.

Van Duynhoven’s group sculpted a complete body mold of Philip’s physique in order to portray Ollie’s entire demonic metamorphosis towards the end of the film. During this transformation, he displays a protruding stomach, visible ribcage, and intricate blue veins running over his torso.

Van Duynhoven stated that they brought Jonah into their workshop and created a comprehensive mold of his entire torso. They sculpted the rounded, somewhat plump appearance, similar to what you might call ‘E.T.’s’ stomach. This included his ribcage, which extended to the back. Afterward, they painted it all. They added numerous tattoos of decaying veins, which added depth to the final product.

The process kept Phillips completely immobile and lasted up to six hours.

He mentioned that he couldn’t enjoy any media on his phone due to the use of prosthetics and sprays, and listening to music was also impossible given his current situation. He explained that he was surrounded by prosthetics, making it challenging for him to relax. Additionally, he found it difficult to fall asleep because the environment was ticklish and the glue was quite uncomfortable. Larry suggested that he should try to sleep, but he found this task particularly challenging under the circumstances.

Van Duynhoven commented on the young star saying, “Picture yourself enduring it for five hours, not to mention a young boy of 11 years old. It requires someone extraordinary to tolerate such long periods.

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2025-06-02 23:17