Bring Her Back Ending Explained: Piper’s fate, Oliver’s Demonic Escape, Laura’s end, and more  

Bring Her Back is an exploration of grief and, more specifically, a mother’s grief. It explores the lengths a mother can go through to bring back their child, even willing to challenge and break the natural order of things. The film centers on Laura (Sally Hawkins), who takes in a pair of stepsiblings, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong), to foster. 

However, the siblings soon realize that there’s something nefarious going on with their foster mother and their foster brother, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Laura wants to resurrect her dead daughter and is convinced (thanks to some tapes) that it is indeed possible. 

Oliver is the conduit who will help in the ritual, while Laura's daughter’s soul will enter Piper's body. So, does Laura get her daughter back? Does anyone die? In this Bring Her Back ending explained article it's time to explore what happened. 

Does Laura Successfully Resurrect her Daughter?

No, Laura doesn’t resurrect her dead daughter, Cathy. She does make it to the end of the ritual and almost kills Piper but ultimately fails to. So, all she can do is cradle the dead body of her daughter. 

Does Piper live in Bring Her Back?

Yes, Piper lives in Bring Her Back. Piper realizes that Laura has been manipulating her to turn against her brother Andy. She also finds his corpse, which makes her finally face the truth of what is going on- that she is just a piece of the puzzle to bring back Laura’s dead daughter. 

So, she tries to break free and run from her foster mother before the ritual gets completed, however, she fails, and Laura drags her back into the pool, trying to drown her. Piper struggles to escape and begs Laura to spare her. The only thing that makes Laura loosen her grip is Piper calling her “Mom” amid the struggle. 

Piper grabs this opportunity to escape and flags down a passerby for help. She calls the authorities and tells them everything about Laura. Piper also sees a passing plane and recalls that Andy told her that planes carry the souls of the departed to the next life. 

This could be a sign from her dead brother that he is okay. While we don’t know what happened next to Piper, she may be sent to another foster home. That one will hopefully be better and help her overcome this trauma. 

Does Oliver Survive?

Yes, Oliver does survive in Bring Her Back. In the film, Oliver is initially introduced as the foster brother of Andy and Piper. He was also living with Laura before the stepsiblings came. However, that was ultimately revealed not to be the case. Oliver was kidnapped by Laura to be used in her rituals. He is the living vessel for Cathy’s soul while being possessed by some demonic forces. 

The ritual leaves Oliver in a trance-like, almost catatonic state, as if he isn’t a part of the real world. He eats anything from wood and knives to flies and more and doesn’t seem capable of logical thought or speech. He also can’t be dragged off Laura’s property, as that causes him intense pain. 

However, during some moments we see the little boy break through. As per the rules of the ritual, Oliver will have to eat Cathy’s body and then spit it into Piper (after Laura kills her in the same way Cathy died). This will complete the soul transfer and resurrect Cathy. Thankfully, when Piper escapes, the demons let go of Oliver as well. 

The final scene with him in it suggests that the authorities found him, and he also tells them his real name. So, maybe he has returned to his normal self and can begin recovering. 

What is the Secret that Andy Reveals?

In Bring Her Back, Andy does everything possible to support Piper. He acts like her guardian even though her near-sightedness doesn’t make her quite blind. When Laura turns Piper away from him, he reaches out to his sister and explains why he acts like she is his responsibility. 

He reveals that when she was a baby, their father adored her, but this made him jealous. In that jealousy, Andy struck her. It’s never confirmed whether that resulted in Piper’s eyesight issues, but Andy carries that guilt to the present day. His death at the hands of Laura now leaves Piper alone and also without a protector who will look after her. 

What does Laura do After the Failed Ritual?

Piper calling Laura “Mom” jerks the latter awake from her obsession to bring back her dead daughter, Cathy. She could have found a daughter in Piper if she had managed to get over her grief of losing her biological child. In fact, several moments in the film show her being motherly toward Piper and Andy. 

While these can be interpreted as her being manipulative (and some scenes are), some also come off as genuine. However, since she fails to get over her grief, she also fails to find new happiness. The final shot shows her cradling the corpse of her daughter in the pool and waiting for police to arrest her. 

Whether she gets life in prison or not, it seems like Laura’s entire motivation for living was to bring Cathy back, and without her, Laura doesn't want to be a part of this world. 

Bring Her Back is in theaters now.