The Voices of Our Mother – Movie Review | Shudder (3/5)

THE VOICES OF OUR MOTHER on Shudder is a Supernatural Horror Movie by filmmaker Mark O’Brien, who also stars in it. This movie features a fairly small cast, but it still manages to pack a real punch. A plot with elements that will be all too relatable for many watching. Read our full The Voices of Our Mother movie review here!

THE VOICES OF OUR MOTHER is a horror movie coming to Shudder, and yes, you will want to watch this one. On the surface, it’s a family with terrible family dynamics. Particularly, how you can “inherit” terrible behaviour or habits from your upbringing. Others will go the opposite direction, while some may turn to various substances to subdue internal voices.

Of course, with this being an actual horror movie – and a supernatural horror movie at that – there is much more to the story than family drama. And yes, you will get the full story behind the curse that has seemingly attached itself to this family. You’ll have to wait for the third act, but then all will be explained. The runtime is a crisp 93 minutes.

Continue reading our The Voices of Our Mother movie review below. Find it on Shudder from June 19, 2026.

Saying goodbye to a parent

In The Voices of Our Mother, four siblings return to their childhood home to be there for their mother, Harriet, who is struggling with her health. And yes, calling her “mother” as opposed to “mom” is very accurate. She may be their mother, but she’s never been a mom to them. All four have been traumatized by their childhood in some way.

Of course, they also tend to blame each other for what happened after they left home. Everyone feels that the others could have done better or done more.

In reality, the siblings initially return home because their grandmother, Joanna, has passed away. She was 95 years old, so it wasn’t a huge surprise, but she was essentially the caretaker of Harriet, the siblings’ mother. As a result, they return home to care for her. Not because they want to or feel obliged, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, they should probably have stayed as far away as possible. Something more sinister than your average health scare has clearly sunk its claws into their mother. Something supernatural and downright evil, which is now making her attack her own children.

Intriguing and deliciously flawed characters

Despite calling the characters in The Voices of Our Mother flawed, I don’t really feel this is accurate. In fact, it rarely is, but I still use it to highlight that these aren’t cookie-cutter kids returning to their cute family home. They are adults who are dysfunctional products of their childhood.

Are they flawed? Sure, I guess, but aren’t we all?! And isn’t it more entertaining and relatable than the predictable characters?

In The Voices of Our Mother, we have the grandmother, Joanna, portrayed by Anna Ferguson, and we see her both before her passing and in flashbacks. Then there’s the character of mother, Harriet, portrayed by Sheila McCarthy (The Well, The Umbrella Academy, Anything for Jackson), who gets to have a lot of fun with her character as the plot progresses.

The four “kids” consist of the twin siblings, Therese (Carolina Bartczak) and William (Mark O’Brien), who have shared more in life than is good for them. The youngest brother, Martin (Alex Ozerov-Meyer), turned to drugs to be able to deal with the hand life dealt him. Finally, we have Annika (Georgina Reilly), who moved into a convent when leaving home.

Overall, the siblings are very different, but built from the same trauma. And that shows!

Watch The Voices of Our Mother on Shudder

The Voices of Our Mother comes from writer and director Mark O’Brien, who also stars as one of the twins in the movie. This is hardly the first time Mark O’Brien has operated both in front of and behind the camera. With what he has delivered so far, I hope he continues this path of making movies as a filmmaker and also stars in them.

Previously, Mark O’Brien also wrote and directed the 2021 horror mystery The Righteous, which I also really enjoyed. In that movie, he co-starred with Henry Czerny (Ready or Not) and Mimi Kuzyk, and religion and supernatural elements also played huge parts in that one.

Up next from Mark O’Brien as a director is the horror comedy Nice People starring Sosie Bacon (Smile) and Chloe Bennet (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). That’s something I’m very excited to watch as well!

Hey, if it works, there’s no need to change the formula too much. The two movies are very different in both style and tone, but still share that element of the diabolical, which Mark O’Brien clearly does so well. Now that his 2026 movie is coming to Shudder, I highly recommend giving it a shot. It evolves in ways I saw coming, but also has a few surprises along the way.

THE VOICES OF OUR MOTHER is coming to Shudder on June 19, 2026.

Details

Director: Mark O’Brien
Screenwriter: Mark O’Brien
Cast: Mark O’Brien, Sheila McCarthy, Georgina Reilly, Carolina Bartczak, Alex Ozerov-Meyer, Anna Ferguson