The Shape of Maternal Madness

Sally Hawkins has made a career playing women who beam kindness, so naturally the Philippou brothers cast her as a psychopath.

Actually, wait. That's not entirely fair. Laura isn't simply a psychopath in Bring Her Back. She represents a more tragic case because her grief has consumed her completely which turned her into a disgusting imitation of motherly love. Hawkins uses her Paddington-mom sweetness to full effect in this scene which creates a disturbing effect that makes my teeth ache.

The house reveals all its secrets to anyone who enters. The camera of Aaron McLisky reveals these disgusting elements which exist throughout every scene: birds in taxidermy positions appear suspended in air while VHS tapes form grave markers and a white boundary surrounds the land without anyone questioning it until the situation becomes fatal. The rain continues to fall without any interruption. Neither does Laura's smile, this fixed gash of forced cheer that Hawkins maintains even when locking Oliver in his room for the night.
Oliver. Jesus.

The child actor requires my attention because Jonah Wren Phillips delivers outstanding physical performances which make me wonder if child performers need enhanced union protection. He doesn't speak, this boy who Laura says stopped talking when her daughter Cathy drowned. He eats everything starting with his meals then moves to kitchen knives before he begins to eat his own body parts while his teeth shatter against metal objects that will haunt you in your own house.

Meanwhile Billy Barratt's Andy wets the bed and tries to protect his visually impaired stepsister Piper (Sora Wong, bringing genuine vulnerability to what could've been pure victim). The foster care nightmare plays out in these small humiliations. Laura gives Piper cake while she tells Andy that he is unstable. The film presents a version of classic triangulation which it shows through its VHS recordings of occult rituals that remain unclear to me.

The mythology presented in this case lacks any logical structure. Something about a demon named Tari who enables resurrection if you feed the right corpse to the right possessed vessel at the right time? The Philippous focused on delivering a powerful impact rather than maintaining logical storytelling in his work which he seemed to prefer. Horror achieves its effectiveness through sensory experiences instead of requiring logical comprehension.

But that sensation. The film commits so hard to body horror it wraps around from disturbing to almost numbing. The act of refusing to show fear exists independently from using disturbing content to create audience disconnection. After the fifth scene of dental mutilation, I started checking my phone.

Anna Cahill creates a clever effect through her costume design which shows Piper wearing Cathy's clothing as Laura's plan becomes clearer. These soft sweaters in sickly pastels that make the girl look smaller, more childlike, more replaceable. The film maintains a loud tone throughout its entire duration except for this single delicate moment.

Actually, that's also unfair. The movie achieves its most authentic emotional moment when Oliver utters "help me" through a croaked voice after Andy pulls him across the white border. Children must fight against supernatural threats while their safety remains unprotected because the system has broken down.

Hawkins continues to stay in my mind. She starts by showing motherly love but then reveals her cruel nature while maintaining a blank expression. She observes VHS instructions about demonic resurrection with the same interest that she would show when watching a cooking program. Hawkins shows this disgusting nonchalant attitude when she punches Piper during her sleep before making Andy take the blame for it. Just mom stuff.

The 90s had more elegant psycho-biddy films. This lacks What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'s gothic camp or even the nasty precision of early 2000s French extremity. The Philippous want that A24 grief-horror prestige but can't resist their YouTube stunt-performer roots. The story builds up to a point where everything becomes more intense until there are no more dramatic moments left.
The story concludes with all characters experiencing complete destruction. Of course it does.