Bring Her Back

In the 1997 psychological horror film Bring Her Home (also known as House of Whispers), a brother and sister, Karen and Eddie Russell, return to their home after 15 years, following the sudden death of their drunken father. Their adoptive mother, Molly Russell, and her new husband, Norman, reside in the old mansion. Molly and Norman reveal that they have adopted a six-year-old child named Emily. As the family reestablishes connections, Karen, who is strong-willed and fiercely protective of her younger brother, begins to feel uneasy about their father's death and Molly's new husband. The house, despite an attempt to renovate it beautifully, seems stagnant, and Molly seems to be watching her children with a fierce intensity. Furthermore, every introduction to Emily is accompanied by apparent fear, as she claims Emily to be extremely emotional and quiet, indicating something is amiss. Karen soon uncovers letters among her mother's belongings that suggest a tragic tale of infidelity and loss. Her mother claims she struggled with emotional disorders. Meanwhile, Karen finds inconsistencies in Molly's explanation of Emily's past, which reveals a faint suspicion of Emily being an adopted replacement. Molly starts to let her guard down, and in her drunken slurs, she inadvertently hints about Eric, her drunkard husband who died after falling off a roof at their family-owned home. When confronted by Karen, it becomes clearer that Eric hid the dark truth behind Molly's pregnancies. Molly and Eric were not married, but they had a deep relationship and were at some point in an intimate relationship, until they split. It is also soon learned that Molly had Emily adopted secretly, keeping the truth hidden from Eric. The family man, who desperately desired protection and had extreme feelings for children at the time of learning he was told he couldn't adopt, witnessed his wife secretly having a 'son and daughter' in their lifetime. Eric became frustrated with the idea of not having a child in his life and therefore decided not to come back where they used to live. Then under depression, shortly fell to his death. They must now pretend he is truly dead, and have his remaining children raised elsewhere. That raises some questions for Karen about why they had Emily adopted. Molly becomes increasingly paranoid as Karen starts to get closer to the family's mysterious world. In an attempt to shield Emily from the truth, Molly claims that she died while in a pre-adoptive foster home. Molly mentions that Emily is just what she needed at her period after losing her husband, which creates an alarming image. The sibling relationships grow tense as the sibling begins investigating further into their father's mysterious death at their aged house and attempts to verify Emily's true identity. Just as all seems to explode, Eric is spotted on the roof of their mansion by Karen. Then he stumbles in, in a hanged-up-outside posture. Later scenes depict Karen to be in a 'tragic' state. A glimpse appears, which suggests Eric in fact wasn't hanged at the said mansion. After Molly leaves, the young boy attempts to protect his sister. The children hear the cry of Eric, but he disappears, strongly hinted for possibly faking his own death.