Bring Her Back ★★★★☆

CONTENT WARNING: The following film contains sequences of child abuse and frequent gory violence towards children. Viewers discretion is advised.

I went into this movie completely blind, only knowing that it's an A24 horror film. I also want to preface by saying I was deeply disturbed by the contents of this film and was not expecting to be uncomfortable the entire time. I really don't know how else to explain how I felt watching this film, but I think any horror fan should see it for themselves (with the content warning in mind of course). The story follows a brother and a sister who are now placed under a foster mother after their sole guardian perishes. The sister is legally blind and the brother has always been the second guardian to her. The foster mother takes a liking to the sister and not so much for the brother, and the brother starts to see disturbing rituals relating to the foster mother's other child living with them, who has an odd appearance and is mute by choice. Soon the brother sees too much and tries to convince the sister that the mom is crazy, only to realize leaving the mom is harder than it seems. Like I said before, this movie made me feel extremely depressed and disturbed to the point where I tried to look away multiple times (it did not help). I had to literally sit and think about the movie multiple days later since I was trying to process the disturbing shit I just saw and was finally able to accept the fact that the film was good. Yes, I was deeply disturbed throughout and wanted it to end so badly, however the characters and the story were so good to where it made me feel that way which is impressive. I love to say I am never disturbed that much by any film anymore, and the fact that this film was able to get to me is really good. The characters are by far the best part of the movie, especially the foster mom. Her acting really sold the disturbing, bleak, and depressing outlook of the home. The acting done by her was so good to where anytime she was on screen I had literal chills and was full of so much dread for the entire scene. The acting done by the children has to be the best child actors I have ever seen, and all the horrific things they go through in the film are portrayed so well by the sister and the brother. The mute child's actor was on par with the foster mom because that performance was deeply unsettling and unnerving to sit through. The disgusting and vicious things that happen to that child throughout the film are some of the most hard to watch scenes I've ever sat through, and I cannot believe that child acted it all out so well. The pacing of the story is relatively quick and does not slow down at all, and until the credits roll you just have to watch the gruesome events unfold. On a lighter note, the film has a lot of symbolism through literal symbols (such as "the circle") and more figurate notes (such as water), and I know that seems confusing but I won't go into detail due to spoilers. As per usual with A24, the cinematography was amazing, especially towards the end when things get extra crazy, and the dialogue was really good between all the characters in this film. Overall, I do encourage anyone who isn't trigged by the content warning to see this film and experience it for themselves, since I cannot be the only one who thought this film was amazing, albeit after I had 72 hours to recover!