Directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou.
Bring Her Back was theatrically released in Australia on 29 May 2025 and in the United States on 30 May 2025.
Distributed by A24 (United States) and Maslow Entertainment (Australia).
Movie Review
Bring Her Back is a chilling horror movie that mixes family grief with supernatural terror.
Directed by the Philippou brothers, the film slowly builds fear instead of rushing into jump scares, making ordinary moments feel truly unsettling.
Sally Hawkins gives a powerful performance, showing both warmth and hidden menace, while Billy Barratt and newcomer Sora Wong bring real emotion that makes the story feel believable.
The movie also stands out with its eerie sound design and haunting visuals, pulling viewers deeper into the fear.
While the plot can feel a little messy at times and not all questions are answered, the emotional weight and creeping tension make it a memorable watch.
If you enjoy horror films that focus on loss, family, and atmosphere rather than just quick scares, Bring Her Back is worth watching.
It’s the kind of story that stays with you long after the credits roll.
Ratings
• IMDb: 7.2/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
• Google Audience Score: 77% liked this movie.
Bring Her Back (2025) Actors
Billy Barratt as Andy
DOB: June 16, 2007.
Bio: British actor who rose to prominence as the youngest-ever winner of the International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Responsible Child (2019).
Known for his emotional depth and natural intensity, Barratt has built a career playing characters who navigate trauma, moral dilemmas, and the challenges of adolescence.
Role: Andy is a 17-year-old stepbrother who becomes fiercely protective of his younger, visually impaired sister following the death of their father.
In Bring Her Back, Andy’s grief and his growing suspicion of their foster mother form the emotional and psychological core of the film.
What to Expect: A raw, emotionally charged performance filled with nuance.
Barratt conveys Andy’s simmering anger, fear, and deep loyalty, balancing quiet vulnerability with explosive confrontation.
Interesting facts: Barratt is already an award winner (youngest International Emmy Best Actor) and continues to take tough, demanding material.
Notable Works: Responsible Child, Crater, Invasion (TV).
Sora Wong as Piper
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Sora Wong is a newcomer cast from a Facebook casting call; she was chosen in part because she lives with limited sight herself (coloboma and microphthalmia).
Her naturalism and lived experience give the role of Piper particular authenticity.
Role: Piper is Andy’s younger step-sister who is visually impaired.
Her outsider innocence and trust make her both sympathetic and vulnerable, and the film uses her perspective to heighten unease and to complicate the family dynamics at the movie’s center.
What to Expect: Quiet, grounded moments and potent emotional beats, a child performance that feels lived in rather than showy.
Interesting facts: Wong had no prior professional acting experience before this role and returned to regular school life after filming; her younger sister also appears in the film as young Piper.
Notable Works: Bring Her Back is her breakout role.
Sally Hawkins as Laura
DOB: 27 April 1976.
Bio: Sally Hawkins is an award-winning English actress celebrated for her versatility across independent dramas, mainstream studio films, and theater.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), she first gained wide recognition with her Golden Globe–winning performance in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008).
Role: Laura is the film’s unsettling foster mother figure.
At first maternal and hippy-ish, Laura’s soft mask slips to reveal controlling, strange behavior that becomes the film’s main source of dread.
Hawkins plays ambiguity and menace with slow, unsettling precision.
What to Expect: A chilling, layered performance that alternates sweetness with menace; she makes ordinary gestures feel loaded.
Interesting facts: Sally Hawkins has a history of choosing roles that challenge audience expectations.
Known for warm, empathetic characters, she often surprises by leaning into darker or eccentric roles.
Notable Works: The Shape of Water, Happy-Go-Lucky, Paddington films, Wonka.
Jonah Wren Phillips as Oliver / Connor Bird
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Jonah Wren Phillips is a young Australian actor emerging as one of the new talents to watch.
Coming from a family with acting ties, Phillips has quickly built a reputation for handling emotionally complex material at an age when most performers are still learning stage basics.
Role: Oliver (also credited in early press as Connor Bird), a mysterious child already living under Laura’s care when new arrivals Andy and Piper enter the household.
Largely non-verbal, Oliver’s stillness and watchful presence inject unease into the family dynamic.
What to Expect: Tense, unsettling non-verbal scenes and a performance that uses silence and stillness to disturb.
Interesting facts: Casting for the role required children who could withstand emotionally heavy material while maintaining authenticity on screen.
Notable Works: Bring Her Back (major feature role).
Mischa Heywood as Cathy
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Mischa Heywood is an emerging Australian actress with experience in independent film and television.
She has built a reputation for portraying emotionally complex and intense characters, often in psychologically driven narratives.
Role: Cathy is a deceased daughter whose absence shapes Laura’s grief and the film’s ritual-driven plot.
Cathy’s presence is felt in flashback, memory and the objects that populate the house, giving the movie an unnerving emotional center.
What to Expect: Ghosted, melancholic beats and material that fuels the film’s narrative of loss and obsession.
Interesting facts: Casting Heywood allowed the filmmakers to dramatize grief as both a psychological driver and a source of horror, providing a poignant yet chilling emotional core to the film.
Notable Works: Australian indie films and TV roles; Bring Her Back raised her international profile.
Sally-Anne Upton as Wendy
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Sally-Anne Upton is a British-Australian actor with extensive stage and screen experience.
She has built a career portraying grounded, professional characters, bringing credibility and subtle depth to her roles.
Role: Wendy, the social worker responsible for Andy and Piper’s case.
Acting as the procedural and moral anchor of the story, Wendy connects the children to the wider world outside Laura’s household.
What to Expect: Professional, realistic scenes that remind the audience of the systems surrounding vulnerable children.
Interesting facts: Upton also works as a set nurse and celebrant and brings practical on-set experience to intense child-actor scenes.
Notable Works: TV and stage work in Australia and the UK; recurring soap and drama roles.
Stephen Phillips as Phil
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Australian actor and voice artist with experience across theatre, screen, and voiceover work.
He is known for bringing naturalism and authenticity to his performances, making even supporting roles feel grounded and emotionally resonant.
Role: Phil, the deceased father of Andy and Piper.
Though he no longer appears in the story’s present timeline, his absence drives the narrative, shaping the sibling relationship and Andy’s sense of responsibility.
What to Expect: Quiet flashback scenes and credible domestic beats that show the family before tragedy.
Interesting facts: Phillips’ voice and stage experience help the film’s interior family moments land with texture.
Notable Works: Turkey Shoot, Eye of the Needle.
Olga Miller as Macia
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Australian actress with experience in film and television.
She is known for bringing authenticity and grounded performances to supporting roles, helping create a believable social environment on screen.
Role: Macia is one of the peripheral adults whose interaction with Laura and the children helps to populate the community setting and reveal how isolated and strange Laura’s household really is.
What to Expect: Naturalistic small scenes that enlarge the film’s social context and heighten the sense of wrongness around the household.
Interesting facts: Casting local talent like Miller reinforced the film’s sense of place, grounding the story in recognizable suburban and regional Australian settings.
Notable Works: Australian TV and film credits.
Liam Damons as (supporting role)
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Liam Damons is a young Australian actor with experience in both film and stage.
He has built his career through background and supporting roles, gaining a reputation for reliable, grounded performances that add authenticity to ensemble casts.
Role: A supporting figure who appears in scenes that flesh out the town and the foster care reality the kids must navigate.
His role helps the film feel lived in beyond the central household.
What to Expect: Short but meaningful supporting moments that contribute to texture rather than plot.
Interesting facts: Damons’ profile includes both screen and stage work; he helps the film with local credibility.
Notable Works: Mortal Kombat 2 (small credit), regional stage work.
Kathryn Adams as Anna
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Australian actress with experience in television guest roles and independent films.
She brings depth and reliability to supporting parts, often lending veteran presence that strengthens ensemble casts.
Role: Anna is a community member whose interactions with the new foster family expose local tensions and provide a measure of how outsiders view Laura and the children.
What to Expect: Credible, characterful small-screen work that helps ground the film’s social world.
Interesting facts: Regional casting choices gave producers access to trusted local performers for authenticity.
Notable Works: Australian TV and indie credits.
Brian Godfrey as Ivan
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Australian actor with experience in film, television, and stage.
He is known for bringing grounded, naturalistic performances to supporting community roles, giving ensemble casts a sense of authenticity and depth.
Role: Ivan is one of the local adults who, through small interactions, reveals the wider world outside Laura’s house and the way the community allows or questions her behavior.
What to Expect: Small but necessary beats that help the film feel like a functioning community drama as well as horror film.
Interesting facts: Roles like Ivan are often cast from experienced regional actors to create a believable environment quickly.
Notable Works: Australian TV and stage credits.
Brendan Bacon as Anton
DOB: N/A.
Bio: Australian actor with experience in supporting roles across film and television.
He is known for providing natural, believable performances that help create a fully realized ensemble around the central characters.
Role: Anton is a local presence whose scenes help show how the town initially receives Laura and the children, and whose reactions later underscore the film’s social isolation themes.
What to Expect: Economical, realistic supporting work and believable community interaction.
Interesting facts: Casting directors relied on local talent like Bacon to make the suburban or regional setting feel authentic and lived-in.
Notable Works: Regional film and TV credits.
More Actors
• Nicola Tiele as Berta.
• Frances Cassar as Katrina.
• Asha O’Connell as Naomi.
• Arianny Ross as Kimmy.
• Amya Mollison as Samantha.
FAQ – Bring Her Back (2025) Movie
How long is the movie and what is the rating?
Runtime is about 104 minutes, and it carries an R / 16+ style content advisory for strong violence and disturbing material.
Is Bring Her Back based on a true story?
No. It is a fictional horror film, though the Philippou brothers say the movie was inspired by real-life tragedies and a true idea about a blind girl’s desire for independence that influenced the story.
What is the plot of “Bring Her Back”?
Bring Her Back (2025) is a supernatural horror about two foster siblings who try to bring a child back from the dead.
Their desperate act of love turns into a nightmare, unleashing dark and uncontrollable forces.
Where was the film made?
Bring Her Back is an Australian production and was shot in Australia with a largely Australian crew and cast.
Is Bring Her Back a sequel to Talk to Me?
No, Bring Her Back (2025) is not a sequel to Talk to Me (2022).
Both are directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, but they tell different stories.
Conclusion
Bring Her Back (2025) delivers a unique blend of grief, family drama, and supernatural horror.
It may not answer every question, but its emotional depth, eerie tension, and standout performances make it one of the year’s most unforgettable horror films.
For viewers who enjoy slow-burn scares with heart and haunting atmosphere, this movie is definitely worth experiencing.