1. BRING HER BACK (2025)

Released on May 30, 2025, and streaming on HBO MAX from A24 Films!
Directed/Written by Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou.
Check out the trailer here!!

After the accidental death of their father, Andy (Billy Barratt) and his blind sister Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live in a foster home run by former social worker Laura (THE SHAPE OF WATER’s Sally Hawkins). Laura already has one foster child, a strange, mute boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Andy and Piper bond with Laura soon after their father’s funeral when they find out that Laura recently lost her birth daughter Cathy (Mischa Heywood). While at first, the kids settle into the home of their eccentric caregiver, Andy and Piper soon begin to suspect something more sinister is going on. And unbeknownst to them, Laura is planning a dark ritual involving her dead daughter and the three foster kids in her care.

While TALK TO ME was a potent little horror movie, it was a little too similar to other cursed horror films released in the last decade or three such as THE RING, THE GRUDGE, and more recently IT FOLLOWS, and the SMILE franchise. BRING HER BACK does share some key elements with TALK TO ME, mainly when a ritual is performed so that a grieving person can once again have contact with a lost loved one. But BRING HER BACK is a far superior film compared to TALK TO ME, showing that the writing/directing team of Danny and Michael Philippou are a true force to be reckoned with in horror. BRING HER BACK is emotionally heart-wrenching, viscerally gruesome, and downright terrifying all at once.

The emotional core of BRING HER BACK is much more potent here as the weight of grief is shared by all three main characters, allowing grief to show up in multiple ways from different perspectives. Andy, Piper, and Laura are all grieving in one way or another and dealing with grief in vastly diverse ways. There is a large part of BRING HER BACK that serves as a drama, diving deep into the darkness one feels after losing a loved one, apart from all of the horror that results from the meeting of these three damaged people. It is a strong dissection of grief and at first, when Andy and Piper arrive at Laura’s house, there are some downright sweet moments as three broken souls attempt to mend together.

It is because this emotional core is so well developed that when the horror appears, it feels more dangerous than ever. It’s not like there is nothing supernatural going on during this get-to-know-you time we spend with Laura, Andy, and Piper. Right at the start, when we are introduced to Oliver, we know something is off. Waaay off. The kid is creepy as all get out and by far is going to be the take away character of the movie that will get under your skin the most. Little Jonah Wren Phillips does a creepy respectable job of being off kilter to be kind, a waking nightmare to be more accurate. The psychological weight and physical lengths this little actor goes in BRING HER BACK is something that is truly iconic and makes this film the terrifying fright-fest it really is. Phillips steals the show from his blank stare to the gut-wrenching table-gnawing scene. This is a performance that will make your skin crawl and fill your head with new, horrifying nightmares.

Because BRING HER BACK is so beautifully raw with its emotions that sets it apart from the regular horror herd. There are some truly shocking moments that I should have been able to call out, but I was too enrapt in the lives of these characters and their safety to notice the horrors coming from all angles, endangering Andy and Piper. I don’t think I’ve seen Billy Barratt (who plays Andy) before, but he has a likable, kid-next-door quality that feels earnest. Sora Wong is another fresh face who plays Piper and gives her character strength and wit, making you forget that she is blind. But the pair of actors shine the brightest when they are together. Their sibling relationship feels comfortable and effortless, like they really have experienced all of this turmoil and only have each other to cling to. Because the love these two siblings share is so strong and pure, the threat is multiplied exponentially. By the end, I was on my seat’s edge, hoping these two will make it out ok.

The real surprise is the terrifying performance Sally Hawkins brings to Laura. She does some truly diabolical things in BRING HER BACK but still manages to inject humanity into the performance. And as misguided as she is, you can understand why she does what she does. That meek little housekeeper from THE SHAPE OF WATER is no more. What Hawkins brings to BRING HER BACK is a powerful, star-making performance.

What I really loved about BRING HER BACK was that the story of every character mixes so well together and ends in a way that is heart-wrenching, exciting, and abhorrent all at once. This film goes to some ugly places, and you won’t believe some of the violence that plays out. While the supernatural is just below the surface, it is ever present but shown in a very tactile manner that burrows deep in the psyche and soul. Each character has a journey, a challenge, and an end that feels crucial to the story. I truly didn’t know how the fates of these characters were going to play out. This was one of those perfect stories where everyone has a unique end, culminating in an operatic ending that left me in awe.

Anyone who thinks the horror genre has lost its edge should look no further than the work of the Philippou brothers. BRING HER BACK is personal horror that can only be categorized as bleak. Due to the emotional resonance and sheer nightmarish moments, BRING HER BACK is this year’s HEREDITARY. It surely is peppered with the supernatural, but it is the personal moments and extreme relationships between the cast that drives the story deep, like a knife straight through the soul.

Worth Noting: CHAIN REACTIONS (2024)

Released on September 26, 2025 in select theaters from Dark Sky Films! Coming soon to On Demand!
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe.
Starring Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller- Nicholas, Stephen King, Karyn Kusama.
Check out the trailer here!!

If you’re a fan of horror, then you’ve most likely seen the original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. It’s one of those film that feels like a rite of passage for horror fans. If you can get through that movie, you can get through most horror films. And because it serves as an endurance test for some and an inspiration to others that it is probably my favorite horror movie of all time. Documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe sat down with a handful of talented folks from various corners of the filmmaking industry and edited it together to make CHAIN REACTIONS, a documentary about why the TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE affects us so much.

A group of cinephiles; Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller- Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama, talk about how Tobe Hooper’s horror epic, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE influenced them personally and creatively in this fascinating set of interviews pieced together by Alexandre O. Phillippe, the documentary filmmaker behind DOC OF THE DEAD, 78/52, MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN, and THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS.

I’m one of those cinephiles who love to watch the special features on DVD’s, even for bad movies. It helps me as a viewer to understand not only what when on in the making of the film, but where those devious ideas originally come from. It’s why I have an expansive DVD/BluRay collection to this day and why, most likely, I’ll never get rid of it. I have an unquenchable desire to learn not only about horror films, but about what makes them work, not work, and where these despicable ideas come from.

The film does a wonderful job of splicing interviews with the various people with footage from the film, as well as clips from other similar instances in cinema. For all involved in the interview process, there is nary a negative word said about TCM. Instead, one can tell this is a film made by people who love the movie with interviewees who love the movie just as much.

You’ll fear fun stories from each interviewees first contact with the film, as well as their first reactions and how each subsequent viewing sat with them. You’ll hear funny anecdotes from Patton Oswalt, who offers up his comic wit to the terror a young geek kid gets from seeing this movie for the first time. You’ll see the notorious filmmaker Takashi Miike, himself responsible for some of the most heinous scenes in film history, reminisce about how he intended to go see Charlie Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS one afternoon, but saw TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE instead. You’ll see Karyn Kusawa talk about the film being a stark reflection of American society. You’ll see award winning critic Alexandra Heller- Nicholas discuss how the film called to her and how it perturbed the boys she grew up with that this film resonated do much with her. And you’ll see Stephen King take a break from being an idiot on social media for a minute and talk about how making horror is about crossing barriers and breaking boundaries.

The thing is, I would love to see a movie do a set of interviews with another group of people, talking about their history with Hooper’s classic film. It’s one of the few movies that I am not only curious about it, but how other people reacted to it. Personally, I remember watching TERROR IN THE AISLES and while it served as a wonderful checklist of films I wanted to see as a young kid, the one I needed to see the most was TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Honestly, I remember the sequence featuring Leatherface more than I do my first viewing of the film.

Whatever the view, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is one of those movies that I can never get enough of. I see new things every time I watch it. The movie is such a kaleidoscope of different horror sights, sounds, and primal feelings. I simply loved CHAIN REACTIONS. And if you love THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, then this is going to be one you won’t want to miss.

The Best in Horror Countdown 2024-2025
#31 – GET AWAY (DARK MATCH)
#30 – PABRIK GULA (#MISSINGCOUPLE)
#29 – YULE LOG 2: BRANCHIN’ OUT (THE LAST VIDEO STORE)
#28 – FREWAKA (THE SURRENDER)
#27 – FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES (V/H/S/BEYOND)
#26 – ALMA AND THE WOLF (CUSTOM)
#25 – LOOKY-LOO (THE CREEP TAPES)
#24 – DANGEROUS ANIMALS (THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN)
#23 – THE MONKEY (THE DAMNED)
#22 – THE DEVIL AND THE DAYLONG BROTHERS (THE SEVERED SUN)
#21 – TERRIFIER 3 (CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD)
#20 – PRESENCE (HOUSE ON EDEN)
#19 – THE RULE OF JENNY PEN (GRAFTED)
#18 – PARVULOS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE (AZRAEL)
#17 – MADS (A MOTHER’S EMBRACE)
#16 – STRANGE HARVEST (THE ASMA JOURNALS)
#15 – DEUS IRAE (SHADOW OF GOD)
#14 – TOGETHER (CANNIBAL MUCKBANG)
#13 – SMILE 2 (THE STRANGERS CHAPTER 2)
#12 – COMPANION (THE DEAD THING)
#11 – BEST WISHES TO ALL (DELICATE ARCH)
#10 – NOSFERATU (ABRAHAM’S BOYS)
#9 – FOUND FOOTAGE: THE MAKING OF THE PATTERSON PROJECT (ABOVE THE KNEE)
#8 – HERETIC (DEAD MAIL)
#7 – TRAUMATIKA (IT FEEDS)
#6 – SINNERS (PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT
#5 – THE UGLY STEPSISTER (BAMBI: THE RECKONING)
#4 – 28 YEARS LATER (THE SHROUDS)
#3 – WEAPONS (FALLING STARS)
#2 – RED ROOM (THE MOORS)
#1 – BRING HER BACK (CHAIN REACTIONS)