Last Updated on April 2, 2025 by Angel Melanson
On Friday night, FANGORIA was invited to a sneak peek of the Philippou brothers' upcoming feature, Bring Her Back. The duo behind the smash hit Talk To Me show no signs of slowing down with their sophomore entry. I'm not going to spoil anything here, but I will tell you that I watched two scenes and the film's forthcoming trailer (which you'll get to enjoy soon!), and I can confidently say Bring Her Back is my most anticipated movie of the year.
Australian twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou (RackaRacka) were on hand to introduce what we saw and treated us to a Q&A afterward.
The brothers shared that they are about 95% done with the film and are currently finishing up “sound design stuff” and music. In fact, they were heading back to Australia the next morning and going straight into the final mix, estimating “two more weeks of final touches sound-wise, and then the movie will be done.”
These guys are accustomed to getting their hands dirty, and it's a welcome revelation to know they're still at it, even after coming off of one of the biggest hits of 2023. Case in point, they couldn't quite figure out how to create a specific sound they needed, so Danny chewed on some cutlery in the recording studio to achieve exactly what they were looking for. I can confirm this, as Michael showed me the video of Danny absolutely gnawing on some silverware, headphones on his head, and his gnashing mouth aimed straight at the microphone. And that is precisely the level of dedication I love so much about these two maniacs.
The synopsis for Bring Her Back holds its cards pretty close to the chest:
“A brother and sister witness a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.” From that limited synopsis, combined with the title, we can draw some conclusions, but it's likely A24 and the Philippous won't give much away ahead of the film's May 30th release.
Danny and Michael wrote this script while they were simultaneously writing Talk To Me, and like its predecessor, it leans into the possession genre, with the brothers describing it as something that feels like “a spiritual successor” to Talk To Me. So much so that, at one point, certain characters were interchanged between the two scripts.
However, Michael notes, “the psychological aspect of Bring Her Back is a lot stronger,” emphasizing character and performance, fueled by a desire to dive into not just the horror but the psychological aspect.
Heading up the psychological horror is the beloved Sally Hawkins. The brothers are “obsessed with old school psycho biddy films,” like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and I'm already frothing at the mouth thinking of what Hawkins and the Philippous may have in store for us. Candidly, Danny and Michael share, “We did not think she'd say yes!”
Michael added, “I was kind of nervous having a big name, but after one call with Sally, we could tell she was so down-to-earth and would be perfect.”
One half of the story's foster siblings is a visually impaired character, and it was important to the Philippous to find an actor who would authentically represent that on screen. A venture they admit wasn't the easiest: “The pool for that isn't very big: twelve-year-old, vision impaired, who also wants to act.”
Enter Sora Wong, making her acting debut opposite Billy Barratt (the youngest actor to win an International Emmy Award).
Danny shared that their friend's non-sighted little sister initially inspired the character. “She didn't want to be babied through life; that's an awkward transition for parents. She said, ‘I'm glad that I don't have to see, because I don't have to see the ugly things in the world.' That line became very thematic throughout the film.”
When it comes to the mythology behind the film, the Philippous took their research seriously, even going so far as to go undercover to learn more about existing beliefs. He dressed up as a character named “Trevor” to meet people he found online. He then interviewed these people who believed in the dark side of resurrection, stressing, “I like the mythology to be a little bit cryptic and a little bit unknown. That's a part of this as well.”
To achieve that balance, Danny and Micahel used the information gathered in their research as the basis of the belief system used in Bring Her Back, but of course, they added their own twists. It's unclear how many people they resurrected in the process.
“Trevor” may not be in the movie, but Danny nearly did make it in: “I dressed up as a character, I gave myself contact lenses, I bleached my eyebrows…”
“He tried to put himself in the movie, we cut it out.“ Michael clarifies.
Danny confirmed, “I was in character, but yes, I got cut out.“
They explain their directing process and the “ritual“ of it all as “over-explain everything, then peel it right back to find the balance.”
The practical FX in their feature debut, Talk To Me, were incredibly impressive, and I have every reason to believe they'll continue to cause audience members to hide their eyes and look away from the screen. “We get excited by trying to accomplish a scene that hasn't been done before. Like Riley (Joe Bird) and his eye in Talk To Me, we built a side of his face so we could practically get in there and pull his eyeball out.“ But they do stress, while it is “so much fun,“ they view the gruesome FX as a metaphorical and “fun way to explore darker things.“
In fact, Bring Her Back as a whole is an exploration of how to cope with grief and the idea of never being ok again after an unimaginable tragedy. Danny emphasized, “The idea of a never-ending grief cycle is terrifying to me.”
The main thing the guys learned from their experience on Talk To Me: “I guess we had the experience of doing a movie,“ Danny said. Adding, the fact that on the set of Talk To Me, “No one took us seriously, which is good.“ This is in stark contrast to their second feature film, where they described the vibe on set as: “Externally, the crew had a sort of respect. Internally, we had no idea what the fuck we were doing. That's how it feels. It's just as scary.”
Add to that, “Now you have A24 to let down, you have Sally Hawkins to let down. There was more pressure on this one than there was on Talk To Me.”
While the pressure may have multiplied along with the expectations, it's clear to see that these are the same guys who have always poured all their passion and everything they've picked up along the way into their work. And they're talented as hell. In addition to that, they're just true-blue fans of the genre.
As they mingled with attendees after the preview, every so often, you'd hear Danny, Michael (or both of them) yell with excitement over a shared love of a specific scene in a particular horror movie that came up in a conversation they were immersed in. Debating which is the best Friday the 13th movie (The Final Chapter for Danny), and things of that nature. There's an absolutely infectious excitement when watching them talk about movies and the process of making them. That is to say, they know their stuff. And it is evident in everything they do. We're in good hands.
While they agree it isn't always easy, they can't help but grin when they share that it is entirely worth it: “It's always a painful process but a very rewarding one. It's finally coming together, and we're really happy with how it's turned out.”
Stay tuned for more Bring Her Back news ahead of the film's May release.
