King Loke's Kreepshow - Bring Her Back - Review

Trauma and loss are frequent themes in horror movies these days of independent distribution, but in this era where studio horror like It Chapter Two (2019) have budgets pushing 100 million dollars and runtimes creeping towards three hours, and ridiculous CGI effects, well, it’s pretty remarkable to see a movie like Bring Her Back releasing from Sony Pictures.

I was hesitant to see a movie about possession, as they tend to work within the Catholic dream-logic of exorcism and Jesus-magic, never venturing too far from that framework and mythology, but considering the pedigree of the directing duo of Danny and Michael Philippou, whose last movie, Talk to Me (2022) was a sleeper hit, I dutifully showed up to see what lay behind the spooky, cryptic trailers for their latest release.

Our heroes are two young kids thrust into the foster system, 17 year old Andy and his much younger step-sister, Piper; when they find Andy’s father dead in the shower, (Piper’s mother, whom Andy’s father married, is already gone), they find themselves sent to a foster parent’s home. An eccentric counselor, Laura, it very quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems with her and her other foster child, Oliver, who never speaks and lingers mysteriously, eating things with reckless abandon throughout the movie.

No spoilers here. This movie needs to be seen to be believed, and I offer only trigger warnings. Those unable to handle extreme mutilation, especially of the mouth and teeth, cannibalism, and extreme, horrifying sadness should steer clear.

What I will tell you is that Laura has an old, creepy VHS tape that appears to detail the process of summoning a demon in order to resurrect a dead loved one. The body of the dead one is involved. A new vessel for the soul is required as well. That vessel is, naturally, another, still-living child. Let the bodies hit the floor, as the classic song goes.

Much of the drama involves Andy’s desperate attempts to figure out what’s going on with Laura and Piper. Piper is medically blind, and relies on her older brother to protect her, which is an issue for Laura, as she needs Andy gone in order for her to use Piper for her ends. Laura is abusive in ways that those of us with abusive mothers will instantly recognize, her manipulation, clever schemes, and subtle machinations driving Andy to the brink of physical violence against her, which will get him taken away from Piper.

What Bring Her Back highlights, for this reviewer anyway, is the fact that, once the religious veneer of the exorcism story is, well, exorcized, we are left with the ability to use this ancient motif for more humanistic purposes. If you’ve lost a child, this movie is for you. If you’ve experienced the dreary grief of loss, the final scene of this movie will haunt you for decades to come, and possibly even bring you closure.

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Daniel Sokoloff is the Editor in Chief of Death Wish Poetry Magazine, the writer of the Demon Land series, and host of the Demon Toast podcast.