So it turns out Australia can present plenty of horror even without the lethal zoology. I suppose we knew this long before Bring Her Back, but when I think of “horror” and “Australia,” I generally think about snakes and crocodiles and jellyfish and emus and drop bears and stuff. Sure, I’ll eventually get to Mad Max, but I don’t see that as horror so much as the bi-product of the end of civilization.
Today, however, Australia presents good old-fashioned horror with one small f***ed up foster family.
The true tragedy here is that Andy (Billy Barratt) is tantalizingly close to being a respectable guardian on his own. He’s 17, adult-sized, and already has the anxieties and trauma of a full-grown adult. His sister Piper (Sora Wong) is effectively blind and Andy is just shy of both the correct age and correct temperament to handle all the parenting duties himself. How did Andy and Piper become orphans? Their single-parent father died in the shower.
Their new foster mom is Laura (Sally Hawkins), who seems almost normal. Well … almost. Laura’s got some issues. Is she in a cult? Piper reminds Laura of her own daughter, who drowned in the -now drained- backyard pool some time ago. While Laura can pass for normal under most circumstances, her existing foster son Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) cannot. Laura implores the noobs not to let the cat out. The reason is obvious upon inspection and has nothing to do with the cat’s behavior. 10-year-old selectively mute Oliver immediately starts strangling the cat.
With Oliver locked in his room for his own good, the three attend the funeral for the father of Piper and Andy. Laura urges Andy to kiss his dead father
on the lips “for tradition.” When nobody is looking, Laura snips and collects some of dad’s hair.
Oh, we’re just beginning here. There’s plenty of creep to go round in Bring Her Back. The mystery is confusing to say the least. I’m not sure I understood exactly what was going on until I read the wiki summary in the aftermath. The horror, however, in unmistakable. I haven’t deliberately averted my glance from a screen for horror reasons in years. However, one scene in particular was so intense and ugly it was physically difficult to keep watching the film. I say this as a good thing. Much as the cringe level spiked beyond measure, I want horror to scare me, to repulse me. That’s what horror ought to do. Why else am I here?
I won’t call Bring Her Back genius, but this was solid and unique horror. With Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, the brothers Philippou have already established themselves as the top horror directors in Australia. Where do they go from here?
There once was a little orphan Andy
Gobbled up like a stray piece of candy
His sister is blind
And he, not unkind
But being her father was not part of the plan-dy
Rated R, 104 Minutes
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Writer: Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman
Genre: WTF?!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Horror fans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Everybody else
