The Phillipou Brothers broke onto the cinematic scene with their smash hit party horror, Talk to Me. The spooky yet decidedly fun film about kids messing around with forces they didn’t understand became an A24 horror favorite and established the twins—who already had a massive following thanks to their YouTube Channel RackaRacka—as some of the genre’s most freaky fun filmmakers. Although Bring Her Back is in some ways a spiritual sequel to Talk to Me, with both films exploring the way grief can incite drastic change, it couldn’t be more different tonally. The twins’ chilly and affecting follow-up showcases a different side of their proverbial demons, with the pair diving into the havoc and madness of grief and the surreal nightmare of being a child whose parents have unknowable agendas or violent tendencies.  The usually delightful and effervescent Sally Hawkins stars as Laura, a grieving mother and ex-child psychologist who has opened her home to a brother and sister who recently lost their father. In her first horror performance, Hawkins delivers the kind of turn that in a just world would be recognized as a strong contender come awards season. Laura is a woman of many sides: she’s the cool foster mom, a grieving mother, and eventually a terrifying monster whose sorrow has driven her mad. But while the movie is an intimate chamber drama of gore, it’s far from a one-woman show.  At the center of Bring Her Back are three heart wrenching performances from the film’s young leads: Sora Wong as Piper, Billy Barratt as her brother Andy, and Jonah Wren Phillips as Ollie. Siblings Piper and Andy are the newcomers to the outwardly gorgeous rural home, and Ollie is already an established and terrifying presence who we first meet as he grapples with an unruly cat in the echoing emptiness of the home’s drained pool. Phillips is an astonishing performer who despite his young age inhabits the evermore terrifying Ollie. His unnerving presence gives us two of the film’s most memorable and nightmare-inducing moments with a fearlessness and ferocity that pulses off the screen.  As the central siblings,  Wong and Barratt form an impressive duo, with the former making her feature debut in a performance that immediately marks her as a serious talent to watch. It’s rare to see a sight-impaired actor onscreen, let alone leading a horror film, but Wong shoulders that responsibility with a courage and humor that alongside Barratt makes the siblings painfully believable. And as the dread ratchets up, Barratt showcases raw talent while Andy faces down Laura’s constant gaslighting and psychological torture as he attempts to protect his sister from their supposed guardian—although to what purposes Laura’s schemes delve remains an unsettling mystery for most of the film.  Grotesque and often shockingly gory if you’re someone who (like me) went through a French New Extremity phase, you’ll likely warm to the horrors while being pleasantly surprised by how performance-focused the film is, only using its gore and grossness to further the journeys of our four extremely messed up leading characters. Even at a brisk hour and 39 minutes, the film manages to feel impactful, especially for those easily shaken by gnarly practical effects and movies that will give you an existential crisis. There are practical effects here that will turn your stomach in the best way, though the emotional hits will linger far after you cleanse your mind of some of the bloodier moments. In spite of all that, Bring Her Back is the kind of horror that feels like it’ll find an unexpected audience in those who don’t usually watch horror as its emotional core is so strong, and Hawkins is a revelation in such a villainous role.  In era where movies about trauma are at the center of the horror conversation (for better or worse), Bring Her Back stands as one of the best in the genre, unafraid to scare, haunt, and disturb its audience as it pushes through the pain and picks at the part of your brain that asks just how far you’d go to bring a loved one back from the dead and what you’d do to achieve it.  Bring Her Back opens in limited release in the U.S. on May 30 and wide on June 6. Learn more about Den of Geek’s review process and why you can trust our recommendations here.