Disturbing, Make Her Come Back is one of the best horror films of 2025

In 2022, Danny and Michael Philippou have become indispensable names in modern horror with Talk to mea harrowing story about grief that became A24’s biggest horror box office hit. In their debut feature, they combined disturbing images, unexpected scares and an emotionally devastating approach to loss and despair; What really stuck with the audience was not just fear, but the way the film treated the pain of losing someone so essential that any opportunity to get them back becomes tempting, even if for a moment.

Com Make Her Come Backtheir long-awaited second film, the Philippou revisit this same conflict, but with much less lightness than in Talk to me. If in the first film teenagers, parties and a chaotic environment brought respite, here mourning is the core of everything. Tragedy permeates every frame – from the grainy, unsettling home videos at the beginning to a breathless denouement.

The two films interact, but Make Her Come Back takes a darker approach, delving once and for all into darkness. Together, they create a fascinating combination of sadness and terror that disturbs and moves in equal measure.

What is it about Make Her Come Back?

Andy (Billy Barratt) and his sister Piper (Sora Wong) return from school to find their father dead in the shower. There are three months left before Andy can become his sister’s legal guardian, but until then the two are sent to live with a new adoptive mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins), and her strange son Oliver (Johan Wren Phillips). Laura is eccentric and still mourns her deceased daughter, but quickly becomes attached to Piper – who, like her own daughter, is visually impaired.

Andy, however, realizes that something is deeply wrong. Laura has private visions about death, watches disturbing videos of mysterious rituals, and isolates Oliver for long periods of time. The boy, almost always silent, wandering around the house, seems to be hiding something terrible. As Piper adapts, Andy tries to understand if the horror is coming from within the house, or if it’s just grief for his father that’s making him see monsters where none exist.

The Philippous know how to deeply disturb

In just two films, the brothers showed absolute mastery of atmosphere and mystery. In Talk to methe terror came precisely from what was unseen: fragments of the dead, incomplete conversations, glimpses of the afterlife. Make Her Come Back follows the same logic: blurry VHS videos, monstrous images that we can barely identify, rituals suggested but never explained. By hiding answers, the film becomes even more unsettling.

The grief that motivated Talk to mehere is the beating heart of the film. Laura, Andy, and Piper are united by their loss, and it shapes their actions. Laura’s inability to overcome her daughter’s death is a constant burden; Andy tries to be for Piper everything her father wasn’t. The Philippous explore how each character deals with the past: moving forward or being stuck in what can never be recovered.

In the midst of this emotional exploration, Make Her Come Back It’s genuinely terrifying. Full of shocking turns, bold decisions and an atmosphere of absolute discomfort, the film creates dread not because of what it shows, but because of what it suggests – and what it hides.

The performances elevate the tragedy and terror

Sally Hawkins delivers a powerful performance as Laura, a woman frozen in time, unable to overcome her trauma. Even when her actions veer toward absolute horror, Hawkins keeps her human—tragic, not monstrous. It’s a performance that only an actress of her caliber could achieve.

Johan Wren Phillips, as Oliver, gives one of the best child horror performances in years. Almost speechless, he builds a disturbing presence, always on the edge of the inexplicable. It’s scary, but never cartoonish.

Barratt and Wong, as Andy and Piper, form the emotional heart of the film. Their roles are more restrained, but fundamental: they are the ones who carry hope in the midst of darkness and make the viewer root for their survival.

One of the great terrors of the year

There are many horror films about grief, but the Philippous manage to combine tragedy and horror with a precision that prevents the theme from sounding repetitive. Make Her Come Back it doesn’t reinvent the approach to grief, but the way it weaves equal parts pain and horror makes the film a powerful and harrowing experience.

Dark, emotional and extremely disturbing, Make Her Come Back confirms Danny and Michael Philippou as two of the most exciting and original filmmakers in horror today. It’s a deep dive into the darkness of loss, and one of the best horror films of the year.

Make Her Come Back is available on HBO Max.

Use: 4,5 / 5

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