The Creators of “Talk to Me” Return to Make The Most Unsettling and Frightening Movie of the Decade So Far
Well that was just not okay.
That may seem like a hyperbolic headline, but I think the previous title holder for Scariest Movie of the 2020s belonged to “Talk to Me,” so it’s only appropriate that the film to dethrone it is by the same filmmakers, the Philippou brothers. They basically take everything that made “Talk to Me” such a great and terrifying movie (an incredible lead performance, a spooky but profound look at grief’s reverberations, visceral body horror, and an incredibly unsettling and haunting tone that sticks with you) and improved and ramped it all up with “Bring Her Back.”
I actually can’t really call a more disquieting and unnerving viewing experience that I’ve had in a theater maybe like … ever. From the jump, “Bring Her Back” makes it abundantly clear that you are in for some shit. My stomach was just in knots the whole time, as I watched the story of two newly orphaned kids play into the hands of a desperate and disturbed foster mom, to the point that at one point I thought I might legit be sick.
Having said all that, this is definitely a horror movie you can’t miss. Sally Hawkins is fucking dynamite as the aforementioned foster mom going to great and occult lengths to resurrect who passed daughter, just so unhinged and offputting. Her performance would be worth the price of admission alone, but include incredibly well-crafted horror and a legitimately heartfelt and emotional theme of coping with loss, and you’ve got an instant horror classic.