"We needed a break from Talk to Me 2.”: Michael Philippou on why Bring Her Back was released before Talk to Me 2

Grief is a difficult theme to tackle, no matter the genre, but the Philippou brothers manage it through the horrors of Bring Her Back. This creepy horror film is getting a lot of buzz lately—for all the right reasons. Yet, this is not the first time the Australian duo has explored grief through a genre flick. Their 2022 film, Talk to Me, also revolved around how one processes grief. Before that, they were known for their YouTube channel, RackaRacka.

Talk to Me became such a smash hit that everyone from Jordan Peele and Peter Jackson to Ari Aster shared their appreciation. It also earned over $92 million against its budget of $4.5 million, becoming A24’s highest-grossing horror film at the time. That commercial success led them to receive many lucrative offers. One of them was the most obvious—to follow Talk to Me’s success with a sequel—basically, to strike while the iron was hot.

Instead of diving straight into Talk to Me 2, the brothers took a deliberate creative break. They chose to work on a similarly smaller-scale film they had already developed—Bring Her Back, starring Sally Hawkins. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Philippou clarified their decision:

"To go straight into Talk to Me 2 always felt like it would just be capitalizing on hype, as opposed to what’s the right story we want to tell next. We needed a break from Talk to Me 2, so we can revisit it with fresh eyes and make sure that it works as its own story, without just going straight into it."

Danny further added,

"When we submitted Bring Her Back to some of the funding places, they were like, “What about Talk to Me 2?” So there was pressure from people. We had signed on for Talk to Me 2, and that was going to be the next project, but I was like, “I really, really want to make this one. Is it okay if I make this one?” So A24 was on board, and they allowed us to."

Bring Her Back directors speak about working with Sally Hawkins

Sally Hawkins has such a distinct body of work that it would be hard not to be intimidated to collaborate with her. She has been a quietly devastating force of nature, whether in Mike Leigh’s Happy-go-Lucky, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, or Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. However, people might associate her more with a genial presence in the Paddington movies or Wonka (2023).

Bring Her Back lets her dive into a role that’s the polar opposite of her character in Paddington. Speaking about her acting range, Danny Philippou said:

"She plays all of her characters so differently. She feels like a different person every time. I was like, “What if she brought those qualities to this version of a mother?” That fascinated me and excited me."

Michael Philippou further added,

"She does have that natural quality about her, and that’s what Laura was before this tragedy. As a child psychologist, she helped children. So for her to use these skills that she has to not help someone but to break them, it’s dark, and the mask that she has as this helpful lady is fascinating. Sally just knocked it out of the park."

Then, what about the Talk to Me sequel?

The Bring Her Back directors have put the Talk to Me sequel on the back burner—for now. However, they have worked on two different ideas for follow-up projects and, while speaking with THR, they shared the same:

"We’ve got two versions of the script. We’ve written two sets of different characters in two different worlds that focus on two different themes. It’s about stepping away from it for enough time so that we can come back into it really reinvigorated and with a really fresh perspective."

Bring Her Back is in cinemas now.