A few nights ago I decided to watch a horror movie during a "Boys Only" night with my cats, and as my wife wasn't home, I could watch the most gruesome movie I could find. And I'm glad she wasn't home to see this one with me.

From the same directors of "Talk to Me" (Danny and Michael Philippou), this movie brings back what makes their first movie such a hit: a good story, nice practical effects, and really good acting from new actors.

Bring Her Back tells you the story of Piper and Andy, two teenage siblings who lost their father and now have to go to a foster home. Afraid of being separated into different houses, they decided to go to a temporary home till Andy's 18th birthday, when he can apply for Piper's guardianship.
They got matched with Laura, a middle-aged woman living in a secluded house with her nephew Oliver. As days pass by, Andy starts to see that Laura's behavior is way more dark and weird than just eccentric.

"Bring Her Back" is, for me, one of the best horror movies I've seen recently. And for me, it has to do with not only the story, which is pretty well written, but also two main points:

1. The use of practical effects
   The Philippou brothers choose to use mostly practical effects, going against a big wave of massive CGI horror movies we have seen lately. To be pretty honest, I can't remember a single time I could clearly remember a weird CGI being used in a scene. I know makeup, prosthetics, and realistic dummies can be pricey, and horror movies have a low budget. But it really turns me off to see a horrible CGI ghost that could clearly have been used in a Goosebumps episode. It makes everything so unrealistic.
   Sometimes even nothing can make things way scarier than a game-like floating woman right on your face with a loud bumping sound.

2. Writing characters we can care about
   As in "Talk With Me," the cast here is mostly unknown actors, with the only exception being Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) as Laura. That doesn't mean their characters are disposable or that we just cheer when the killer gets them.
   For me, the two main stars are Sora Wong (Piper) and Jonah Wren Phillips (Oliver), both pretty young but with so much talent to show us.
   It is pretty wild to think that this is Sora's first work; her mom saw a Facebook ad looking for a teenager with visual impairment to act in a movie. She makes you care about her well-being, to cheer for her and her brother to get out of that situation. Piper is the kind of character that makes you want to put her in a jar, away from these dangers, but at the same time shows you she can be a "final girl." Wong was a nominee for two awards and won one, and I'm not even surprised about it.
   Jonah, on the other hand, has more experience; he appeared on Netflix's Sweet Tooth and another not very known Australian movie, "How To Make Gravy." In "Bring Her Back," he gives you this weird, almost eerie look, making you feel uneasy even when he's just existing in the background during other characters' interactions. I think he has only one full sentence, but only his existence makes you feel like something pretty off is going on.

Bring Her Back is one of those movies that make you feel dubious feelings about all the characters; sometimes you fear them, and sometimes you fear for them. You can be mad about their decisions but at the same time feel empathy for all they are going through. It scares you and makes you feel on edge without having to use jump scares for it. I'm excited to see what Danny and Michael will bring for us next, and I hope they keep this level of quality.