Bring Her Back’s dark ending paints a bleaker picture than Talk to Me

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In simpler terms, “Bring Her Back,” the second movie from directors Danny and Michael Philippou, finishes on a much more serious and hopeless note compared to their highly praised initial work, “Talk to Me.” Here’s how the new horror film ends in a despairing manner, without any hint of hope.

In 2022, the Philippou brothers introduced an Australian twist to the horror genre with their groundbreaking film, “Talk to Me”. Although it was intense and distressing at times, its gripping portrayal of violence kept viewers captivated throughout.

Moving forward from that blockbuster movie is no simple task. Instead of immediately jumping into a sequel, the filmmakers chose a different route, delving deeper into a more emotionally charged storyline. The film “Bring Her Back” maintains the same chilling atmosphere and gruesome violence, but it’s set within a narrative about domestic abuse and intergenerational trauma.

In Australia, we were fortunate enough to catch an early sneak peek of the film, and while it might not be as terrifying, it’s equally nerve-wracking. The performance by Sally Hawkins as Laura is frequently chilling, yet nothing ever goes perfectly as planned. As events unfold and eventually unravel in her hands, it makes for quite an unnerving experience.

Of course, it’s almost needless to mention, but here comes a significant spoiler alert! If you still haven’t watched the movie, I strongly recommend keeping your knowledge about it minimal.

Andy’s heroism isn’t enough

Right from the start, when Andy moved in with Laura, a 17-year-old boy, he felt uneasy. There was something odd about his new living situation and its residents. And as it turned out, his instincts were spot on.

The situation reaches its peak, in a way that’s quite gruesome, when Andy steps in to aid Oliver. Meanwhile, Laura goes out of town and inadvertently leaves Oliver confined at home. Recognizing this, Andy releases the child from his predicament and tries to engage with him.

In an act of thoughtfulness, Ollie extends some food, but things take an unfortunate turn as he overlooks essential dining manners. Trying to consume a knife, Ollie ends up causing a gruesome and unsettling scene that left several viewers in our test screening rushing to the restroom.

Trying to rush the child to the hospital, Andy dragged Ollie beyond the property’s perimeter. This boundary, you wonder, has some unusual qualities. To be honest, we don’t have all the explanations, but it appears this border contains a malevolent spirit within its limits.

In layman’s terms outside its “comfort zone”, the malevolent force within Oliver starts to falter and lose its grip. In a heart-stopping instant captured on film, the child pleads for aid, marking his initial spoken words that echoed with raw terror.

Andy intends to confront the issue directly, returning to the social worker facility and asking for Wendy, the individual who arranged for him and his step-sister Piper to stay with Laura initially. Unconvinced by his tales of mistreatment at Laura’s hands, Wendy opts not to summon the police but instead decides to pay a visit to her acquaintance Laura personally.

At first sight, everything seemed peachy keen, but then I noticed Laura was bleeding profusely. The game of cat and mouse ended abruptly as the social worker was cornered and couldn’t run for help. Before Andy and I could make a dash for it, Laura rammed her car into us at full throttle. The impact took my life, while Andy sustained severe injuries.

Laura, completely dedicated to her bizarre action, carries it out. She submerges Andy in a pool of rainwater before going back indoors to complete a wicked ceremony.

Hell breaks loose

At this stage, it’s clear that the demon within Ollie, whose true identity is Connor, has completed its task. To carry out the ritual, the otherworldly entity required some sustenance from the deceased. Reluctantly, Ollie complied, consuming a substantial portion of Cathy’s body, which was stored in the freezer outside.

On the brink of explosion, his body, a human vessel, has swollen to its limit. All that’s left now is for Laura to perform the necessary action. This last step involves recreating the demise of the person she yearns to resurrect – her daughter, Cathy.

Laura says cruelly, ‘I’ll submerge you in the pool,’ as Piper, who has just learned that her step-brother and dearest friend, Andy, has been murdered.

As Laura forcefully submerged Piper in the pool for quite some time, she hesitated to take things further. From what we’ve seen on the VHS tapes, if she had carried out this last action and Ollie managed to expel enough spiritual energy into Cathy, it theoretically could have succeeded. After all, the home video footage showed a woman seemingly resurrected, at the very least.

As Piper emits a final chilling scream for “mum,” it jolts Laura out of her trance. Suddenly, she recognizes she’s profoundly disoriented and can’t bring herself to harm another frightened, blameless soul.

Letting go of hope

Freeing Piper from her grasp, Laura crumbles completely. Overwhelmed by sadness, she stays submerged in the pool as Piper swiftly departs.

After one more scare from the sinister child, Piper manages to break free and seek assistance. As helpful individuals rescue her, we observe Ollie perched on a hilltop. The situation appears to mark the demon’s demise and a fresh beginning for the 10-year-old boy. It seems he is content that the ritual didn’t succeed and Piper escaped, even though it’s causing him temporary discomfort at this moment.

With freedom now fully theirs, we find Piper in the backseat of a stranger’s vehicle. A single tear trickles down her cheek, a testament to the harrowing ordeal she’s just survived – arguably one of the most distressing experiences a child could face. This moment brings us back to an earlier dialogue with her step-brother.

At the start of the movie, Andy makes an effort to console Piper following the passing of her father and her stepfather. He reassures her by saying, “When we die, it’s more like catching a plane rather than being cremated or buried.

In this closing moment, Piper hears a plane soaring overhead.

Returning to the scene of the gruesome crimes, the last image in Bring Her Back is a grim one. Either Laura has drowned or she has bled out from an injury on her arm inflicted by the demon resembling Ollie, as she is depicted floating in the pool, cradling Cathy’s mutilated body.

The tale concludes without a trace of optimism or promise, instead leaving a heavy feeling of foreboding. Andy’s life was in vain. The torment that Connor (Ollie) experienced ultimately served no purpose. And the relentless trauma that Piper must now bear will forever linger in our memory.

It might provide some comfort to consider that Laura, supposedly, won’t be able to cause harm to children in Adelaide anymore. However, it’s hard to tell what’s left of the group that denies being a cult.

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2025-05-29 03:52