Latest news with #MichaelPhilippou
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
When Is New Horror Thriller ‘Bring Her Back' Coming To Streaming?
Sally Hawkins in "Bring Her Back." Bring Her Back — A24's new horror thriller starring Sally Hawkins from the directors of the horror hit Talk to Me — is now in theaters. When will it be available to stream at home? Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, Bring Her Back opened in theaters on May 30. The logline for the film reads, 'A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.' In addition to Hawkins (Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water), Bring Her Back also stars Billy Barratt (Kraven the Hunter), Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally-Anne Upton, Stephen Phillips and Mischa Heywood. Rated R, Bring Her Back opened in theaters on May 30 and came in at No. 5 in its debut weekend at the domestic box office with $7 million in ticket sales from 2,409 North American theaters. When Bring Her Back comes to the home entertainment marketplace, it will first make its debut on digital streaming via premium video on demand. Typically it takes films released by A24 a month between the time they arrive in theaters to the time they debut on PVOD, give or take a few days. For example, Nicole Kidman's erotic thriller Babygirl opened in theaters on Dec. 25, 2024, and debuted on PVOD just over a month later on Jan. 28. In addition, the Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd's horror thriller Death of a Unicorn premiered in theaters on March 28 and pivoted to PVOD just over a month later on April 29. Also, directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's war drama Warfare premiered in theaters on April 11 and arrived on PVOD about three and a half weeks later on May 6. If Bring Her Back follows the same release pattern as A24's Babygirl, Death of Unicorn and Warfare, then viewers can expect the film to arrive on PVOD anytime between July 1 and July 8, since new films on PVOD generally are released on Tuesdays. Since A24 has a deal with Max to stream its films first, the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform will be the first to offer Bring Her Back on streaming video on demand. Typically it takes about four months before A24's theatrical releases arrive on Max, which will revert to the streamer's original name, HBO Max, sometime this summer. For example, A24's horror thriller Heretic opened in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024, and debuted on SVOD on Max just under four months later on March 7. Also, Babygirl, which opened in theaters on Dec. 25, 2024, and arrived on SVOD on Max exactly four months later on April 25. If Bring Her Back follows the same release pattern as Heretic and Babygirl, then viewers can expect the film to arrive on SVOD on Max sometime between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, since new films generally debut on Max on Fridays. Bring Her Back is now in theaters.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Aussie film Bring Her Back called one of the best horror movies of the year
A new Australian horror film has left viewers terrifyingly glued to their seats. Bring Her Back has cinemagoers both disturbed and impressed by the movie, which stars British actress and two-time Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins as a foster parent who takes in two orphaned children after the death of her own child. The horror flick is directed by the same duo behind the widely acclaimed 2022 Aussie supernatural thriller Talk to Me. Twins Michael Philippou and Danny Philippou wowed the industry when they went from YouTube pranksters known as RackaRack to filmmakers who raked in a cool $143 million at the global box office for Talk to Me, their debut film. And now they're back with this psychological thriller filmed in Adelaide that they've described as 'harrowing, traumatic and fun'. 'We wanted to do something different from talk to me. It's still a horror film but it's more psychological,' Michael said in a promo teaser. 'I always knew Bring Her Back was the next film I wanted to make next. I was excited doing a character study and a psycho-biddy film,' added Danny. 'My hope is that audience go away saying it's a horror movie but why am I emotionally moved by this too?' Michael shared, as Danny teased, 'There's some f***ed up s**t in this film.' The audience agrees, with many saying the film has stayed with them long after leaving the cinema. 'The sombre quietness of everyone in the theatre walking out of Bring Her Back was something else. What a movie,' one tweeted on X, as another added, 'Saw the movie bring her back last night & it might be one of the best horror films i've seen so far in the past couple years.' 'I mean wow,' tweeted another viewer. 'I'm absolutely speechless right now and I was NOT ready for just how harrowing and devastating this movie can be. the brothers have done it once again and they've impressed me beyond my expectations. 10/10.' And this from another viewer: 'Holy F**k! So I went to see A24's Bring Her Back. Brought to you by the same guys who did Talk to Me. Talk to Me was pretty good, but this movie is one of the darkest and most intense movies I've ever seen!' 'Just seen bring her back. Good movie but I'm traumatised,' concluded another fan. Bring Her Back has also been praised by critics, earning glowing reviews and an 89 per cent 'fresh' score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has you hooked from the very first scene that features grainy VHS footage from an intense cult ritual, and the film cuts back to this grisly scene every so often. Hawkins' character Laura is stellar as the chillingly creepy foster parent who welcomes Andy (Billy Barrett) and his visually impaired sister Piper (Sora Wong) to her secluded house in suburban Australia. As it turns out, Laura's biological child Cathy, who was also visually impaired, mysteriously died too long ago, and it soon becomes apparent that she has sinister plans for Piper. 'We love Sally Hawkins and were so honoured to be able to work with her,' Danny said of their leading lady. 'She lived and breathed this character. The process of her was so incredible. She gave a part of her soul for this character and when she went there, she went there. And the crew were terrified of her and so was I.'
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Bring Her Back official movie trailer
Aussie filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou's new movie Bring Her Back has been called one of the best horror films of the year.
ABC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Bring Her Back review: This is a horror movie you'll only watch once
Australians watched on in awe in 2022 as grubby YouTubers the RackaRacka brothers transformed, Cinderella-style, into horror auteurs with their debut screamer, Talk To Me. What: Two orphaned children are sent to live with a mysterious guardian who is a bit too interested in the occult. Starring: Sally Hawkins, Billy Barrett, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips Directed by: Michael and Danny Philippou When: In cinemas now Likely to make you feel: Disturbed yet invigorated Three years later, Michael and Danny Philippou have returned with Bring Her Back, a step up for the twin brothers in terms of style, character and disturbing content. Bring Her Back begins with the most tragic of circumstances and it only gets worse from there. Parentified big brother Andy (Billy Barrett) and his visually impaired tween sister Piper (Sora Wong) find their father and only guardian dead on the shower floor. Social services try to split the siblings up but, after Andy's determined protest, they both get shipped off to Laura's (Sally Hawkins) house. Laura is your mum's hippyish friend that gave you bad vibes as a kid. She's sweet, if not a little bit ditzy, but will stomp all over any reasonable boundary while gaslighting anyone that will listen to make out she's the victim. She's obviously not happy about having to take Andy in for three months before he turns 18, but Piper is the apple of her eye. It turns out she had a biological child, Cathy, who was also visually impaired, but drowned not long ago, and it's clear she sees Piper as her replacement — it's only later we find out how literally she means that. But there's one more child living in Laura's lush South Australian home. Ten-year-old Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips) is introduced shirtless and standing in an ominously drained pool. "Selectively mute" and sporting a mysterious shiner, Ollie is relegated to his locked room — that is, when he's not being led by Laura in the middle of the night to a deadbolted shed. Much will be made of the skilfully executed gore in Bring Her Back. It is plentiful, extreme, sickeningly realistic and will make you rethink every time you absent-mindedly nibble a snack off the end of a knife. But it never slips into being gratuitous and is a wonderful showcase for the practical effect work coming from AACTA winners Make-up Effects Group and prosthetics wiz Larry Van Duynhoven (whose work you'll also be able to catch in upcoming Aus body horror Together.) And behind the blood and viscera in Bring her Back, there is an affecting, character-forward rumination on grief and the lengths people will go to in order to avoid it. Grief horror has become a well-worn trope with Australian films like Lake Mungo and The Babadook championing the subgenre. It's become so popular that it runs the risk of being over-utilised. But the intricacies and performances of Bring Her Back's core four characters keep the film feeling fresh. Barrett, a young British actor with an international Emmy already under his belt, sells both the vulnerability and anger that comes with being an adolescent male. He acts as Piper's protector, which manifests in delicate gestures like flipping a sun visor up so his sister can enjoy the afternoon beams on her face. But he also shelters his sister with lies to keep her from life's harsher visuals, and expresses his pent-up frustrations by pumping iron and slamming creatine. Wong, who the Philippous plucked out of a school drama class for her first theatrical role, is treated like a wounded dove in a sea of hungry vultures. Young and easily influenced, you'll want to reach through the screen to protect Piper, until she proves that she's more than capable of protecting herself. If there is any justice in the world, Bring Her Back would herald a third Oscar nomination for Sally Hawkins. The British actor not only absolutely embodies the 90s kooky, crunchy Australian mum accent but her journey as Laura is nothing short of phenomenal. The undeniable Big Bad of the film, she dares to touch on the uncomfortable reality that some parents only care about the wellbeing of their own biological child. Laura is conniving, manipulative and, eventually, outright abusive — but she's also pitiful as a mother enslaved to the idea she could see her daughter again. However, the MVP trophy belongs to Phillips (How To Make Gravy) as Ollie. Barely into double digits, the film labours him with extreme content that he pulls off with aplomb. Perpetually covered with sickly blue veins and open gashes, he only has about five lines of dialogue. But his physical performance — accentuated by his impossibly wide, round, glassy eyes — is where most of the visual terror of the film is derived. There are multiple stomach-sinking moments during run time and it's always when Ollie is on screen. With the performances on lock, the Philippous relish in filling the gaps with their trademark humour and Australiana flare. (Exposing an international audience to Shannon Noll's 'What About Me' AND 'Untouched' by The Veronicas is surely grounds for an Order of Australia.) Writers Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman leave just enough of a curiosity gap in how the mechanics of Laura's cult activities actually work, ensuring many exciting post-watch debates. Everything in their writing is cyclical, with visual and aural motifs bending back around on themselves in ways you would never predict. They're also smart enough to include a reassuring coda to keep the film slipping into complete misery porn. If this is what the future of Australian horror looks like, then it is very bright (and absolutely terrifying). Bring Her Back is in Australian cinemas now.
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Bring Her Back's Danny & Michael Philippou on how horror can ‘exercise your demons'
Danny and Michael Philippou may have started on YouTube, but they are not social media influencers. Don't get it twisted. The Philippou brothers are legitimate filmmakers who hit a home run with their 2022 feature film directorial debut, Talk to Me. On a budget of $4.5 million, Talk to Me grossed $92 million worldwide, A24's highest-grossing horror film. Instead of pursuing projects in other genres, the Philippous stayed in horror for their sophomore feature, Bring Her Back. After the death of their father, Andy (Billy Barratt) and his visually impaired younger sister, Piper (Sora Wong), move into the home of their new foster mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins). Laura tries to be their friend first and foremost. However, Laura is hiding a sinister secret behind closed doors. The key to uncovering the truth might lie with Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), a mute boy who exhibits unsettling behavior. Bring Her Back does not skimp on the violence and gore. It's disturbing and upsetting. However, the Philippous smartly snuck an emotional drama about grief at the center of their supernatural horror. Recommended Videos Below, the Philippou brothers discuss why horror is the 'best way to exorcise your demons' and how they bring out the best in their young cast. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Digital Trends: How was the premiere? Danny Philippou: It was amazing. It was incredible having everyone there, and it was just the best vibe. With YouTube, you put out videos and wait for feedback through comments and messages. At a premiere, people can literally walk right up to you and tell you what they thought. How does it feel to receive that instantaneous feedback? Danny: My gosh. The buildup to it feels like a really long YouTube video. It feels like you've been working on a YouTube video for two years, and you're premiering for the first time. It's terrifying. Michael Philippou: So much anxiety leading up. As soon as we walked up to the theater, and all those people came to watch it — we had the cast there — it was an incredible experience. Such amazing energy in that cinema. People who love movies come in to watch something together. It's awesome. Danny: It is a weird thing interacting with people right after that. They have an experience. We had to go to dinner because one of the cast members was too young to watch it. We had dinner and came back. It's so weird. They [the audience] have gone through something. They're talking about it. The vibes were really incredible. What's your most memorable movie theater experience? Danny: We watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre when we were, like, 10 years old. Our dad's friend Jenny would take us to watch these MA 15+ movies, which is like America's R. She was like, 'They're OK. They're old enough. They're all right.' And so I felt so cool that I got to go watch these films. We went to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Michael was the biggest coward. [Laughs] He was so scared. He left the cinema and ran out. I was humiliated. Michael: Yeah, I literally felt sick. I thought I'd never get scared by anything, and that really scared me. When she's stabbing the friend hanging from the meat hook, I'm like, 'Oh my god!' It said, 'Inspired by true events.' I was like, 'This happened!' I ran out. It was terrifying. Danny: It's a rite of passage to be terrified by a movie when you're younger. Michael: In American film culture, there's so much more passion. In Australia, it's not really anything like that. We went to the John Wick 4 premiere at SXSW. Someone [in the movie] is like, 'You need a gun,' and John Wick is like, 'Yeah.' [Screams] The crowd is like, 'Yeah!' [Laughs] Danny: New York and LA, every time we come out here, I just want to go to the cinema and watch movies with people because I fucking love it. That's what it feels like seeing an Avengers: Endgame or a Spider-Man movie. People are running up and down the rows going crazy. Did you see The Substance? Danny: I did watch The Substance. When it ended, my whole theater was silent. There were maybe 30 or 40 people. For one minute, no one talked or move. This guy turned around and said, 'Is everyone OK?' Danny and Michael: [Laughs] The whole theater erupts in laughter. It was a perfect icebreaker. Thankfully someone said it because we had no idea what to do. Danny: That's wicked. Michael: Awesome. With horror, what makes it such a good vessel to tell a story about grief? Danny: It's the best way to exorcise your demons. You feel like you're carrying stuff on your shoulders, and you've got this weight. It's just somewhere to place it, somewhere to put it, and somewhere to disconnect from it. There's a cathartic part of it. It's the purest thing of expression. It doesn't have to be hitting you over the head with a message. You can express something in a really visceral way. It's not a one-on-one analogy … horror allows you to dive into really, really dark themes in a fun way. Talk to Me and Bring Her Back both tackle grief. They deal with how people cope with tragedies. Two movies, but they align thematically. How do you group these two movies? Do you see them as a pair? Is one an extension of the other? Danny: Because we developed and wrote them at the same time, Bring Her Back feels like a spiritual successor or a sister film to Talk to Me. That's what it feels like to me. I feel like they're siblings. Michael: Once Talk to Me finished, it felt like we hadn't gotten that out of our system. Thematically, there was still stuff to explore. There was enough there that if we didn't make it, it would always stay in our minds. It's one of those things where once a movie gets in your head, it won't leave your head until you make it. You get it out into the world, and then it becomes real. Danny: Yeah, it's so odd. It was such an awesome place to put things because we had a loss right at the start of the film. We lost somebody, a family friend. The script changed. Things changed. Everything turned. This [Bring Her Back] was somewhere to put that and come to terms with it. We also didn't have time to reflect on the movie. We delivered it, and then straightaway we're on a flight to America to start promoting it. I haven't even watched it properly back. It was such a surreal thing. I like how you put it in the notes, Danny. The creation of Laura was a character you 'uncomfortably sympathize with.' I never found myself rooting for her per se, but I can somewhat rationalize why a broken person would do whatever it takes to get by and keep living. In developing Laura, how did you balance her nefarious actions with her more humane elements? Danny: It was always important that Laura's struggling with what she's doing. It's not something she outwardly wants to do. Always looking at it from a human perspective and making sure that it feels real and lived in. A big part of the writing process is making sure that the film can exist as a drama film. Then, the horror elements can grow out of that. Having a performer like Sally Hawkins brings such weight to these sort of roles. She brings such realism to it. That automatically helps bring that to life. She was good at toeing the line. It's a weird thing in the script. Does this feel contradictory? If you don't nail these beats in a super subtle way, it's going to feel contradictory. With a performer like Sally, she's able to bring that to life in such an awesome way. That scene where she's standing by the window with blood all over and looking at Ollie, the camera starts to move in a circle. That was like my aha moment in the movie. I'm like, 'OK. I now know what she really wants to do.' Take me through building that scene. Danny: She's on this screwed-up cycle. She's pulling these kids into this demented circle she's got. She's going in circles, and grief sometimes feels like that. It feels never-ending. It feels like you always end up on the first step. There are a bunch of different themes that we're trying to convey. What's the most visual way possible? I don't want dialogue. I want to be able to show this and feel this visually, having the camera movement tie into that. Also, the sound design and the score, using all those speakers, I want to pull the audience into it. Those circular motifs were in the sound design and in the music. Michael: We gave the script to our composer, Cornel [Wilczek], and he created these two pieces that were like 10-minute ideas of what the sound should be. That part where she's doing the circle, that was one of the moments in the music. It was perfect. That was his representation of it. It was so perfect. That was like, OK, let's work with this, and let's find out what this is. That's when the camera movement and all that came together. Danny: You have the music, and you're listening to it, and you're reading the script. It's such a valuable tool to have on set. That was something that we changed from Talk to Me, which had the music at the end of the process. Having that at the beginning in pre-production and having that music when we edit while we're on set helped the process so much. Having the actors be able to listen to it creates such a mood. Michael: [Making circular movement] That camera movement is hard. There's one guy on this rig, and it's like three people controlling it. You've got to try and keep it straight each way. Danny: There's someone on the wheel focused on the pull. Michael: [Laughs] Yeah, it was hard. You've worked with a younger cast in two movies. Obviously, you have Sally, but you also have three awesome young kids in this movie. There are things you can say and do around an adult that you wouldn't necessarily do around young people. What have you learned about working with a younger cast and how to direct them on set? Danny: Obviously, an important part of the process is having their parents on set, having them be comfortable, and letting them know that there's no such thing as a bad take. There's no such thing as a bad performance. Whatever you need to do to feel comfortable, you can do. You don't have to stick to this dialogue. If it doesn't feel right or it doesn't feel natural, how would you say it? How would you do it? Collaborating with them and letting them bring their voices into it — that is the end result for all of the actors. You can pick the costume. You can dress the set. Collaborating with them as artists and allowing them to express themselves as well. With someone like Sora, who is vision impaired and can bring another layer to the script that we couldn't have possibly written, that's an amazing part of the process. They're [the child actors] so open and a bit more raw because they're not fully pretending. They are themselves. I think that's a cool part of the process. Michael: And keeping it fun, keeping the energy on the set. You're dealing with such a heavy subject matter. … It's keeping it fun and light and getting into these headspaces for specific scenes. The kids would sometimes put too much pressure on themselves, thinking, 'Oh my god. This movie, I've got to make sure it's right.' All of that doesn't matter. All these cameras, all these people around — it doesn't matter. Do what you did in the audition and put yourself in this moment and feel this emotion. Let's get that. We have time. We're not going to rush it. It's not one-and-done. We'll work with you. Let's just make this moment feel real and genuine. There was an amazing transformation. Sora, who had never acted before, from the beginning of the film to the end, was incredible to watch. She's amazing. Danny: Even with Sally, there are certain scenes she was nervous building up to where she's like, 'I don't know if I can pull this off. I don't know if that's right.' If we need to come back and shoot it, even though we don't have the budget or money, we will find a time to come back and shoot it. Let's try and tackle these scenes head-on. Whatever lets people feel comfortable, we try to accommodate. A24's Bring Her Back is now in theaters.
