Bring Her Backis the latest horror feature from Michael and Danny Philippou, the acclaimed filmmakers who made their name with 2022’sTalk To Me. Much like their previous movie,Bring Her Backis an extremely stylish and atmospheric piece of horror that uses bold visuals and sharp writing to explore many important themes, such as overcoming grief and dealing with trauma. AlthoughBring Her Backis tangentially connected toTalk To Me,it’s still a very isolated story that works on its own and doesn’t require any existing knowledge of their previous film.
There are somemajor deaths inBring Her Backthat immediately catch audiences off guard, proving from the very beginning that nobody is safe in this atmospheric tale of possession and demonism. The directors do an excellent job of using this terrifying story to highlight the film’s themes,never settling for cheap thrills or easy jump scaresbut rather capitalizing on the atmosphere to tell a more mature, lingering story of death and grief. This is emphasized by the brothers’ decision to dedicateBring Her Backto their friend Harley Wallace, whose death inspired much of the film’s thematic resonance.
Harley Wallace Is A Friend Of Bring Her Back’s Directors
Wallace Is Described By The Directors As A Family Friend
When the credits roll at the end ofBring Her Backand the film reveals itself to be dedicated to the memory of Harley Wallace, audiences would be forgiven for assuming that he somehow inspired one of the film’s characters. However,Wallace was actually the long-time friend of the Philippou twinswho tragically passed away in 2024. Though neither of the brothers has explicitly talked about Wallace or their shared history, it’s clear that his friendship was a driving creative force for the brothers and his death impacted them greatly.
Harley Wallace Died Before Bring Her Back Started Filming
Their Friend’s Death Impacted The Twin’s Approach To The Film
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter,Michael Philippou said that “[Harley] was a very close family friend, and he passed away at the beginning of pre-production. It was so out of nowhere, and it changed the way some of the scenes played as well.”The brothers’ new film offers such a rich and ubiquitous exploration of grief and lossthat’s clearly inspired by their own experiences with Wallace’s death, so it’s only fitting thatBring Her Backwas dedicated to him.
“When you’re dealing with grief,” Philippou says, “you almost try to close yourself off from it, but then it comes out in different ways while you’re shooting.”Clearly, whileBring Her Backwasn’t inspired by Wallace’s death (as it was written before he passed), the experience of losing such a close friend strongly impacted the way the brothers navigated this story. It gave them a more tangible connection with the subject matter, allowing them to channel their grief into this story.
How Harley Wallace’s Death Changed Bring Her Back
The Brothers Took A Unique Approach To Telling This Story
While it’s impossible to say exactly which scenes inBring Her Backwere changed by Wallace’s death,the experience gives a whole new authenticity to the story as a whole. It’s one of the reasonsBring Her Back’s reviews have been so strong; the exploration of grief and anguish feels so visceral that it’s impossible not to care about these characters. This may not have been so tangible without the Philippou brothers channeling their own first-hand experiences into the project.
WhileBring Her Backhas a great script, it’s the visual language of the film that really elevates it into something excellent. The brothers have such a dynamic and energetic eye for what makes horrorgenuinelyscary, and while this project isn’t quite as frightening asTalk To Me, it’s not necessarily supposed to be. It’s a more gradual, methodical exploration of how grief shapes us and distorts our perception of the world; it’s fair to assume from the brothers’ comments that their experience with Wallace may have impacted this fresh, new direction for their filmmaking.
