In 2023, the Philippou twins, Danny and Michael, burst onto the global horror scene with their audacious, bone- rattling debut, “Talk to Me.” The film was a breakout for actor Sophie Wilde, and the brothers from Australia, who got their start on YouTube making videos under the handle RackaRacka, became two of the most exciting new filmmakers in the densely populated genre space.

The premise of “Talk to Me” was simple and effective: a group of rebellious teens parties hard with an amped-up Ouija board — a spooky plaster hand that possesses them with an afterlife spirit. The brothers showed off their flair for cinematic style and sound design, while the script, by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, worked in addiction metaphor and probed deeper themes about grief and loss.

Their second film, “Bring Her Back,” again written by Danny Philippou and Hinzman, is a companion piece to “Talk to Me,” exploring the same themes. But the twins haven’t lost any of their stylistic brio, upping the ante on gruesome imagery in this much bleaker film.

Once again, the protagonist is a troubled teen who has recently lost a parent. Once again, there is gnarly body horror involving children. Once again, the film is about the anguish of losing a loved one and the desire to connect with the dead one more time, the madness of grief driving a person to unspeakable ends. The story itself is fairly straightforward; it’s how the Philippous deliver it that makes it a compelling watch.

For Andy (Billy Barratt), the sudden death of his father is what kicks things into action: He and his stepsister, Piper (Sora Wong), suddenly find themselves in foster care, in the home of the ingratiating and odd Laura (Sally Hawkins). Andy, three months shy of 18, hopes to apply for guardianship of Piper, who is blind, when the time comes. But their new guardian is simultaneously hot and cold, has terrible boundaries, and as it turns out, has another child, the catatonic Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), isolated in the house.

The role of Laura allows Hawkins to weaponize her own appealing good nature. She played Paddington’s mother after all. The filmmakers take what we love about Hawkins — her wide smile and sunny disposition — and turn her into a terrifying foster monster. We expect her to nurture, and her Laura play-acts at it, cooing at Piper, talking endlessly of her late daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), who was also blind. She also hysterically controls the erratic Ollie’s whereabouts and gaslights Andy.

Her ultimate plan doesn’t come as a great surprise, the scheme slowly parceled out as Andy follows his intuition. The Philippous focus on the subjective experiences of their young protagonists, and that approach to storytelling is where “Bring Her Back” shines.

The plot follows Andy’s discovery of Laura’s house of horrors, while the visual and sonic vocabulary align with Piper’s experience of the world, as she’s only able to see colors and shapes. Laura, familiar with blindness, uses sound in her manipulation: blasting music to cover up screaming, lying to Piper. The Philippous make the inherent vulnerability and required trust of a blind character integral not just to the plot but to their storytelling style as well.

“Bring Her Back” sees the Philippous advancing their grisly visuals while remixing the ideas in “Talk to Me,” where they were more fleshed out. Some of the story details remain frustratingly out of reach. But the execution and performances keep us hanging on.

MPA rating: R (for strong disturbing bloody violent content, some grisly images, graphic nudity, underage drinking and language)

Running time: 1:39

How to watch: In theaters