The Phillippou brothers followup to Talk to Me (2022) is a devastating and deeply tragic film on trauma and grief that will linger. The centerpiece is a riveting performance by Sally Hawkins, nuanced and emotionally raw but with always a hint of the unhinged bubbling beneath the surface. The other actors in a relatively small cast also deliver emotional and wrenching performances that augment the strong direction. The brother’s skill with atmosphere and pacing is fully on display, although impatient audiences may decry a long buildup in the first act. Every shot serves deliberate purpose, from external drone, to VHS tapes, and dimly lit interiors. The direction often serves a narrative purpose, mimicking the perspective of the protagonist Piper, who is visually impaired, and the directors frame much of their more disquieting shots from that perspective. Clouded and indistinct, like being shot through a rain-soaked veil. The horror that exists here is not just in the demons and ritual, but from calculated manipulation and echoes of emotional trauma. The scares here are sparse, but there are shocking and horrifying reveals, and arguably one of the most grotesque scenes that 2025 has to offer. The ending might prove divisive, as there is ambiguity and a lack of clarity, but appropriate to the thematic threads of the film’s portrayal of grief. Of course there are no easy answers, of course the future will seem uncertain, of course we struggle to move forward and pick up the pieces, and we will always wonder, to what length and what sacrifice might we make, to hear a beloved voice… one last time.
While lacking the more traditional terrors of their previous film, the Phillippou brothers sophomore effort proves these two are masterful filmmakers and I cannot wait to see what horrors they conjure next.