"Bring Her Back" - The Racka Racka Brothers Prove Themselves as New Horror Icons

For years, the YouTube duo known as Racka Racka entertained audiences worldwide with their classic, raunchy, absurdist skits. But through all the absurdity, it was clear that the brothers, Danny and Michael Philippou had serious skill and passion for cinema. In 2023 they blew audiences away with their excellent Sundance debut, Talk to Me from A24. Their sophomore feature, Bring Her Back releases in theaters this weekend, and just like Talk to Me serves as a beautifully inspirational reminder that great artists truly can come from anywhere. 

Bring Her Back follows a very similar opening act structure to their first film in the sense that it begins concerningly traditional. The Philippou Brothers are well aware that the stories they are choosing to tell are ones we’ve seen a million times before. They ask you to bear with the formalities in the first twenty or so minutes of both films so that once the ball gets rolling they can show you all of the cool tricks they have up their sleeves… and there are a lot in this film.

The pace of the first twenty minutes or so of Bring Her Back, in addition to following a really basic set of rules also feels a tad choppy. They feel extra impatient to get to the goods, to the point where key introduction and backstory scenes feel moderately rushed. There should have been a bit more time given to our two central child characters’ development at the start because even in hindsight the central mystery can come off as mildly unfocused and confusing.

With that being said though, there is a scene around 45 minutes into the film that is so unspeakably gnarly (and beautifully directed), that any sort of concern you may have for the rest of the film is immediately thrown out. Everything that follows is some of the most supercharged filmmaking of the year. The few moments in the first thirty minutes that could be interpreted as meandering are immediately recontextualized, culminating in a final shot that adds Bring Her Back to the short list of horror films that have made me shed a tear. 

The sheer confidence that these directors have gained from their first film to this one cannot be overstated. It’s abundantly clear, even from just two films, that the Philippou Brothers have such a unique, and haunting approach to the casual close-up. Talk to Me has several memorable ones, but Bring Her Back dials it up to eleven. There are very few wides, or even mediums in this film, and when they are used, they’re gorgeous. It may sound concerning for a film like this to have such a reliance on tighter angles, but each shot moves and is cut with such genuine purpose, that it never once feels stale. Also, strangely, it doesn’t always feel like claustrophobia is the primary goal. There is a much deeper, seedier, tragic intent behind it all, that really sneaks up on the viewer, and it’s an approach I found deeply moving. There are a few visual motifs introduced early on involving the character of Piper that have gorgeously satisfying payoffs. 

After sitting with the film for a while and doing some real thinking, I feel comfortable saying that this is my favorite performance from Sally Hawkins. The work she does in this film feels truly unparalleled. Her character is not unlike most pathetic horror antagonists we’ve seen throughout the years, but the level of empathy and understanding the film makes you feel for her cannot go unrecognized. Her character truly holds some dark, unholy secrets, as the plot summary promises, and every once and a while I had to reground myself, and just praise the filmmakers in my mind for refusing to allow me to hate her. Looking back on some of the earlier characterization choices for her has been such a treat. A select few of her deliveries will be sticking with me for a very long time. 

All of this praise for Hawkins should not be taken as undermining for the rest of the cast, because everyone turns in a beautiful performance. Jonah Wren Phillips was another standout as the unsettling foster child, Oliver.  As the film transitions into its third act, it asks for the audience to suspend their disbelief on a few things that may be considered a bit of a stretch, but given how suspenseful the rest of the film had been, it’s easy to overlook. The one mild gripe I have is that it's clear that even the filmmakers were slightly concerned about the level of suspension they were asking of the audience. I only mention this because the rest of the exposition in the film is delivered so fluidly into scene setups and casual dialogue, that it’s the only time I really noticed it in an unpolished way. 

Horror films about grief are a dime a dozen these days, but despite a bit of a rocky start, I found Bring Her Back to be a shockingly moving, visual, and intellectual feast. The secret weapon of any horror film is its sound design, and there are a few Foley effects here that will not be leaving my nightmares any time soon. To the Phillipou brothers I have one thing to say: congratulations, you sickos, you’re two for two!