Take Seventeen: Bring Her Back!
Bring Her Back in the latest from A24 and Danny and Michael Philippou, the people behind the 2023 horror film Talk to Me so yeah, you can probably already guess. It revolves around step-siblings who, after a tragic event, find themselves in a foster situation that ain’t close to being right. It soon becomes apparent that their new foster mother is more than just a little odd. And so is the other kid she’s been taking care of. Just who weird though…?
As the step-siblings go, Andy (Bill Barratt) and Cathy (Mischa Heywood) are instantly likable. I found myself routine hard for them and their “us against the world attitude.” In a different type of movie, their dynamic would have been amazing, but this ain’t that type of movie. And alas, we never do quite get to know what was up with the pineapple. Laura (Sally Hawkins) gives very much Ms. DiPesto for any Moonlighting fans, if Ms. DiPesto was insane. I had theories about Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and boy, was I wrong. And then there is Wendy (Sally-Anne Upton)— though not in the film for much, she leaves a lasting impression and like the siblings, you really root for her. The only other somewhat important charater is Phil (Stephen Phillips) but his appearances are even more fleeting. Having such a small cast allows the audience to really invest in most of these characters.
As for the plot itself—- man, this is A LOT. I went into this as part of the Secret Movie Series. In all honesty, I was kinda hoping for Mission Impossible. Can’t say I was ready for this one. I am not the biggest horror person and I just saw Final Destination Bloolines last week. This one picks up right where that one left off in terms of shear gore. There were a few uncomfortable moments that I (and some of the other people in my my row) had to look away. There were also a few things that were touched and hinted at but never fully addressed or resolved during the course of the movie. It added to the realness I think, I mean, in life, not everything is resolved in a tight package. I didn’t here speculation from some crowd goers that they thought the recognized a character that was very minor here from another A24. They could have just been flat-out wrong, but I’d like to think they are doing some masterful world buidling. Guess we’ll find out eventually (or not. Again, this was A LOT. Not sure how many more of these types of movies I will be able to bring myself to sit though.
Unlike last week’s Final Destination, I found some of these characters VERY llikable and hoped for better things for many of them. But hey in this genre, is it fair to kinda want or expect that?
My score: Eight. Not my cup of tea, but I give it to them for keeping me engaged. Perhaps points off for not being Mission Impossible Final Reckoning. I kid. It pulled no punches when it came to brutality. Probably won’t be rewatching this one often.
Now, your turn. Bring your comments back to this me and tell me if you agree or disagree with my take…
Until next time time…
