Bring Her Back Cast and Directors on Gaslighting, Grief & How Amazing Sally Hawkins Is | Red Carpet

The Direct was on the red carpet for A24's latest horror film, Bring Her Back, where we talked about the spooky tale with the directors and cast. The movie is Danny and Michael Philippou's second feature-length project following their successful film Talk to Me.

Bring Her Back tells a dark tale (one with tragic real-life origins) about two orphaned siblings who are placed under the care of a new foster mother. It quickly becomes apparent that something is deeply wrong with their new situation.

The full list of talent spoken with includes Danny and Michael Philippou (co-directors), Billy Barratt (Andy), Sora Wong (Piper), Jonah Wren Phillips (Oliver), and Mischa Heywood (Cathy). A24's Bring Her Back hits theaters worldwide on May 30, 2025.

Bring Her Back Directors on Exploring Gaslighting & Grief

"We're Always Tapping Into Things That Freak You Out or Scare You."

• The Direct: "There's a lot going on in this movie. You have an exploration of grief, you have possession, but you also have, what I found interesting, is gaslighting, which kind of plays a big part in some of the relationships. Can you explain how that, you know, enhances the story that you guys are telling?"

Danny Philippou: Well, I know, like, you're always tapping into things that freak you out or scare you. And the idea of a psychologist that knows how to heal people and help people using those skills to damage someone, that's just so terrifying to me. So that was like, yeah, one of the inspiration points of the film...

Michael Philippou: [Michael] It's all about truth and lies, what you see, what you don't see, and trust. So, it naturally came out of the original conversations we were having with a friend's little sister who was non-sighted, and it all kind of stemmed from there. And Sally [Hawkins] is the master of gaslighting and manipulation.

Danny: [Danny] She's the master of everything. Sally is the greatest actress ever. We love her so much.

• The Direct: "With exploring grief, were there any tropes or just things that you just didn't really want to do when you were tackling this story?"

Danny Philippou: It's sort of like, you never go into it trying to go against the grain. It's only just trying to make it personal with yourself... That's the story that we were connected to at the time. That's the story that we wanted to tell. So it's just about being authentic with yourself...

Michael Philippou:  Yeah, trying to separate yourself from, I guess, you want to entertain and present something to the audience that they like, but then you also want to do something that's authentic to you.

And that was the thing when we did 'Talk to Me.' It was gonna get picked up by a mainstream distributor, but we have to change things. But by not doing that and staying true to ourselves, that's how 'Talk to Me' was made.

It's kind of following that same road, [trying to] make something that feels authentic to us.

Billy Barratt & Sora Wong On Their Characters' Sibling Connection in Bring Her Back

Andy & Piper Share an Unbreakable Bond in the Film

• The Direct: "You have a great sibling relationship in this movie. Can you talk about just what you did to help explore and develop that sibling relationship, both on and off set?"

Billy Barratt: There was two weeks worth of pre-production where we just got to hang out all the time, me and Sora [Wong] and so, I mean, two weeks of that, you know, just hanging out, like playing the roles almost. It was a great way to sort of just become friends, really good friends. And find that brother sister relationship,

Sora Wong: We had two weeks pre-shoot to the actual movie, so what I did was, we took goalball blindfold, and I had that on my face so I couldn't see anything, and me and Billy would— because Andy guides Piper around everywhere. So we linked arms, and he just guided me. And I think that just helped, like, really connect...

Bring Her Back Cast on Everyone's Unique Relation to Sally Hawkins' Laura

Laura Is a Little Messed Up, Even If Everyone Can't See It.

Sally Hawkins plays Laura in Bring Her Back, the woman who becomes Andy and Piper's new parental guardian.

Billy Barratt explained to The Direct why his character's relationship with Laura isn't sunshine and rainbows:

Billy Barratt: So, really, she just wants Piper. And Andy's sort of like, in her eyes, is the leech, someone that's not meant to be there. So, in that case, she's just playing these mind games to try and almost split them up. And I think that leaves Andy feeling really lonely.

And that was something I definitely felt while we were shooting it. But then they call cut, and suddenly, you know, Danny and Michael and everyone's back to normal. And it's great. So, yeah, I mean, it was interesting as well, because Sally stays in character, like I said.

We got along really well. Like, I love Sally. She's the kindest person. But there was also, occasionally, there'd be odd jokes dropped, where it was, like, you know, Andy, it was almost like I was being Andy again.

While Andy's relationship with Laura isn't strong, the opposite is true for Sora Wong's Piper, his partially-sighted sister:

Sora Wong: Obviously, Piper gets along really well with Laura, because they hit it off, basically. And she's so sweet and funny, and Piper is really looking to fill that gap of a lost loved one. So she's trying to fill that in. But Andy can tell that something's off with Laura. And there's a lot, there's more than meets the eye that Piper can't quite grasp, because she's not willing to believe the fact that this amazing person can be so messed up. 

Then there's Jonah Wren Phillips' Ollie, a child already in the house when Andy and Piper arrive, who Laura tells them is selectively mute and also under her care. But it's clear from the onset, at least to Andy, that something feels off:

Jonah Wren Phillips: Laura, she relies on him. Because he's the reason—he's the whole thing for her. He's the way it can happen, and so she's relying on him, but she's also scared of him. So I think it's a really interesting connection between the two. She relies on him, but she's she's horrified.

Mischa Heywood plays Laura's late daughter, who died offscreen prior to the events of the film. She was always a fan of Sally Hawkins growing up, and getting to work with her was one of the most surreal experiences:

Mischa Heywood: I think meeting Sally [was my most surreal moment on the film], because she plays my on-screen mom. And it was crazy because, you know, I grew up watching her in like 'Paddington,' so then it was so crazy, like seeing her in the flesh, and that she was so great to work with, you know, like, it was so surreal to me. I was like, What is happening? Like she's here in front of me, and I've seen her on the screen, and she's so hard working and so dedicated, and it was really great to improvise with her. So I loved it.

The full red carpet interviews for Bring Her Back can be seen below: