Christine N Rifkin – Author

You go to a movie theater to see “a horror movie”.

You don’t know what the movie is, or whether you‘ll like it, but you’re seated.

The lights dim, the crowd quiets, and on the screen pops up the Philippou brothers: directors of Talk to Me.

Do you A: leave the theater and ask for your money back? Or B: see what these fellas are up to?

That was the choice my husband and I faced when we went to a mystery movie Monday to see an unreleased rated R horror movie. Turns out that movie was Bring Her Back, a movie that I knew a little about but my husband knew NOTHING about. He was skeptical at first but I think by the end of our experience in our theater, we both felt horrified by what we saw and impressed by these directors. And isn’t that all a person can ask for in a rated R horror?

The movie focuses on a pair of step-siblings, Andy and Piper, as they navigate life without their father. They are placed with a foster parent, Laura, who is already fostering her nephew, Oliver, and things are weird right off the bat. Oliver doesn’t speak and Laura is clearly not dealing well with the death of her visually impaired daughter. Throughout the film, you can see Laura’s preference for Piper over Andy, as she is visually impaired as well. Seeing some of the ways Laura tries to antagonize Andy really made me squirm in my seat. They were not only malicious but diabolical because she knew Andy would have to defend himself.

I won’t spoil the rest because I truly think you should see it. The film does a great job of revealing to the audience why she favors Piper so much and why she needs Andy out of the picture. And poor Oliver. He was so mesmerizing on screen with his blank eyes and penchant for eating anything that can fit in his mouth. Some of his scenes were so horrifying that I had to turn away and that takes a lot, but that still didn’t stop me from having a few giggles when the groans filled the theater.

A few weeks have passed since I first saw this movie and I can’t stop thinking about it. I liked it more than Talk to Me and I gave that movie four stars as well so that should tell you how good it is. If you don’t like gore, I’d recommend you stay away because I promise you, it’s uncomfortable, even for someone as desensitized as I am.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

See my Letterboxd Review here: https://boxd.it/9Kk6Nz