“Run Rabbit Run” opens when Mia turns seven — the same age when Alice disappeared. Mia’s birthday party brings her complex family dynamics to the forefront. She misses her grandfather, who recently passed away; her father and mother are divorced; Sarah is estranged from her mother Joan, going so far as to hide her birthday card for Mia. Although it is never explicitly shown, Sarah likely had a challenging upbringing living in the shadow of her missing sister.
A series of strange coincidences regarding Alice start to occur. On the night of her birthday, Mia discovers a rabbit at her door and yearns to keep it, despite Sarah’s discomfort and attempt to let it loose. Alice had a fondness for animals and used to take in strays all the time. Mia then develops an obsession with Grandma Joan, whom she has never met. When Sarah reluctantly brings Mia to visit her grandmother, she repeatedly calls her Alice. Mia also insists that a photograph of Alice and Sarah belongs to her. These peculiar interactions raise doubts about whether Mia is possibly the reincarnation of Alice or possessed by Mia’s ghost.
As we delve further into Sarah’s troubled past, it becomes clear that she harbors a profound anger regarding her sister and mother triggered by Mia’s strange behavior. By constantly bringing up Alice, Mia digs into a deeply buried wound and brings it to the surface after so many years — much like the rabbit bite Sarah receives. During her rageful fits, Sarah unintentionally (?) hurts Mia, shutting the car door on her fingers or cutting Mia with scissors while attempting to treat her bleeding head (coincidentally in the same spot where Alice was once injured). Sarah’s violent outbursts are concerning, forcing you to question how often they have happened before.