There’s nothing quite like being in a packed theater for a horror movie. You can just feel the nervous energy around you and sense how invested everyone is, especially if the movie is really good. I was reminded of that this past week when I caught a screening of A24’s fantastic new screamer Bring Her Back.
I’ve been hearing the movie was terrifying for months now. CinemaBlend’s Reviews Editor Eric Eisenberg raved about some early footage he saw back in March, and the social media reactions from the first critics screening were obscenity-laden and over the top positive. Because of that, I knew the screening would probably be fun, but I wasn’t prepared for the collective terror and discomfort we all felt.
fantastic reviews, and the word of mouth is starting to get really buzzy. In fact, it was pretty clear a lot of the people I saw the movie with were about to go home and recommend it to their friends.
If you’re out of the loop on Bring Her Back, I’ll give you a quick plot summary, but I’m going to keep it quick because it’s one of those movies that’s better if you go in fresh. In short, it follows two siblings who go to live with a foster mother. She’s played by two time Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, and she is unhinged in a dark hippy mom sort of way. Hawkins’ chemistry with both of the child actors is fantastic, and the movie is shot with the same sort of gritty realness to it that we saw with Talk To Me, even if the actual plot beats are more askew.
Bring Her Back opens this weekend in The United States and many other English-speaking markets. It’s unlike anything else you’ll see this year, and myself and most of the people we talked to can’t recommend it enough.