Are you interested in angels, demons, ghosts, spirits, and monsters? Are you curious about their origins, influence, and how to protect against the unknown? If so, then welcome to Southern Demonology, the podcast that explores all of this and more. To be fully transparent, this isn't the review nor the verdict that I wanted to give today. What I want to review is the movie Centers, which just blew me away on so many levels that I cannot even begin to describe.
But my good friend Chris over at the Wandering Road podcast, who recommended I see the film in theaters, and I are going to dedicate an entire upcoming episode to that. In fact, I was riding such a high after seeing that film that I became intensely interested in rolling the dice on another one that kept coming up on my social media feed. Bring her back. And some of the reactions from creators that I actually respect, when one of those people said that it's like hereditary but with less hope, I was sold. I bought the tickets and off my wife and I were to watch it.
Hello all and welcome back to Bike, the many episodes of the Southern Demonology podcast that focuses on horror movies. If you'd be so kind, please give me a like and a follow on whatever platform, podcast, or video on which you happen to be enjoying this. Let me get one thing out of the way. Do you know what made Hereditary great? It's not all the little Easter eggs that are scattered throughout the film, or the intricate plot, though without those, the movie would definitely be less than what it is.
No, what distinguishes Hereditary is the emotions it inspires, the visceral hate it makes you feel for some characters, the anxiety that permeates your being at watching everything unfold. The film just keeps punching you over and over again until you don't know which way is up. Bring her back has none of that complexity. Yes, the subject matter of grief is a very heavy one, but that's the only tool in its tool belt. And yes, the acting is great, but that's about it.
The subject matter that it deals with, that of necromancy writ large, should have been an instant slam dunk for me, as I love anything that deals with the undead. But even that aspect of it is absolutely uninspiring. Are there some unsettling moments? Yes. Are there any that stay with you? No. The plot is as predictable as they come, and the film didn't even have the gut to go all out in the end. Any Stephen King's The Mist fans out there know exactly what I'm talking about.
The movie is poised to deliver some gut punches at the very end, but then strangely offers a kinder image, kind of like Mr. Miyagi at the end of the original Karate Kid, who gives the sensei of Copra Kai a nose honk instead of a killing blow. And somehow that made me even angrier. Unfortunately, Bring Her Back joins the ranks of Babaduke and it follows in the Hall of Shame for movies that could have been great. It made me believe in them before actually letting me down.
In fact, the movie is nothing more than an uninspired rehash of the director's previous film, Talk to Me, in that it focuses on grief, has a three-word title, and suffers from the same 1D treatment. In fact, the directors are on the same path as M. Knight Shyamalan to become the ultimate one trick pony. Until next time, stay safe out there. Thank you for listening to Southern Demonology. Find us online at Southern Demonology.com, which offers links to all of our social media and episodes.
Southern Demonology is solely owned, produced, and edited by myself, and the intro and outro music are composed by me as well. If you have a moment, please rate, like, and share this podcast, as it is the best way to help support my work. As always, I am JJ, and it has been a pleasure to speak to you today.