Bring Her Back (2025)

Bring Her Back gets less logical the scarier it gets, and it never stops getting scarier. The Philippou brothers, who made Talk to Me, send teenage Andy and his stepsister Piper, who is visually impaired, to live with Laura, a foster mom with a huge smile, a backyard pool and a strange white border circling the whole property that nobody explains. There’s also Oliver, a silent little boy she keeps locked in his room. Sally Hawkins plays Laura as warm, eccentric and grieving, and that’s exactly why she’s terrifying. Billy Barratt and Sora Wong make the siblings feel real, so every bad turn actually hurts. The weak spot is a pile of old VHS ritual tapes that explain too much and scare too little, and the rules get muddy by the end. It made $39.4 million worldwide on a reported $15M. A 7.3 because Hawkins is unforgettable and the dread never lets up. $75.74 says you check for a white line around the next house you visit before stepping inside.

What works: Sally Hawkins makes Laura warm, grieving and deeply wrong all at once, and Billy Barratt and Sora Wong give the siblings a bond worth fearing for.

What doesn’t: The VHS ritual tapes over-explain the scares, and the logic of what Laura is doing gets muddled in the last act.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who loved Talk to Me and can handle a movie that’s sad and scary at the same time.