Bring Her Back is shaping up to be an even scarier movie than the Philippou Brothers’ previous film, which boasts an impressive 94% Tomatometer score. Making their initial break as the online horror comedy duo RackaRacka, their time working on films like The Babadook gave the duo a chance to expand their skill-set with horror short films. This steadily developed their abilities until they helmed their feature-length debut, Talk To Me. Distributed by A24, Talk To Me was one of 2023’s biggest critical hits, earning global accolades for its haunted approach to exploring grief.

The brothers are now set to debut their follow-up film, Bring Her Back, to the big screen. Focusing on a brother and sister whose new foster home isn’t what it appears to be, Bring Her Back already looks to be a more frightening, unsettling, and heartbreaking movie than Talk To Me. Given the success of that film, expectations are high for Bring Her Back. However, given the thematic connections, the filmmaking skills of the Philippou Brothers, and the talents of their cast, Bring Her Back is already poised to be a breakout horror hit for the year.

Bring Her Back Looks Like One Of 2025’s Scariest Movies

Bring Her Back Looks All Kinds Of Creepy

Bring Her Back already looks like one of the best horror films of 2025, giving the Philippou Brothers another major success after their critically acclaimed 2023 film, Talk to Me. Bring Her Back has been largely wrapped in mystery since it was announced, but the recently released trailer for the film has given audiences a better idea of what’s going on. It seems as if the film will be returning to the grounded Australian setting that also served as the primary location for Talk To Me. Both films seem to be rooted in grief, giving them a clear thematic connection.

The film, which focuses on a brother and sister who are taken in by a new foster mother who may not be what she appears, is already teasing the same kind of atmospheric turns and grisly visuals that were found in the Philippous’ previous film. The result is a trailer that feels more unsettling than many feature-length films, focusing on a cast of characters caught in an unknown and mysterious plan. The trailer also uses the character of Oliver to great effect, giving a hint towards the body horror and supernatural elements that will likely be key to the film.

Bring Her Back Is A Spiritual Successor To Talk To Me

Bring Her Back Explores Many Of The Same Themes As Talk To Me

On a visual level, Bring Her Back seems to share a distinct stylistic approach with Talk To Me. This was seemingly confirmed by Danny and Michael Philippou during a preview event and Q&A held in Hollywood. As reported by IndieWire, the pair were working on the script for Bring Her Back at the same time as Talk To Me and exploring the same emotions with both movies. This has resulted in Talk To Me and Bring Her Back having some key thematic connections.

Reflecting on how a family tragedy impacted their approach to horror, Danny noted how “horror is a fun way to look at dark themes like that, and the idea of her never being okay ever again after that. That was an inspiration point, and how far she would go to heal herself from it, and the idea of a never-ending grief cycle is terrifying to me, and seeing raw grief like that is terrifying.” Michael Philippou even believes that the newer film possesses “a rawness to it that wasn’t there in Talk To Me.”

This suggests that the dramatic edges of Bring Her Back could go even further into exploring grief than Talk To Me did. It also hints that Bring Her Back could embrace a darker path than even the pretty grim Talk To Me. This is supported by the imagery in Bring Her Back‘s trailer of possessions and death, which hint at more malicious human characters in this film rather than just the supernatural threats that drove much of Talk To Me.

Talk To Me Proved The Philippous Have Nailed Horror

Talk To Me Continued A24’s Strong Track Record With Horror

Talk To Me was a jolt of unexpected thrills when it was released in 2023. Directed by the Philippou as their feature-length debut after years of successful work in the web video space, Talk To Me was one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of 2023, earning a very impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie’s approach to the supernatural is bizarre and frightening, leaving the exact rules of the universe to the imagination. Instead, the real focus of the film is the increasing instability of the teenaged Mia, as her grief allows a malicious spirit into her life.

The film had creative direction and horrifying visuals, but the scariest elements of the movie were the lengths that characters like Mia would go to. Ranging from bizarre turns to accidental murder, Mia’s arc in Talk To Me is deeply unsettling but emotionally grounded in the struggle of overcoming grief in the face of death. Talk To Me was a haunting film that lingers in the memory, scary in the moment but even more frightening as the themes settle fully into the viewer’s mind. It’s so good, any project helmed by the Philippous brothers becomes instantly exciting.

Bring Her Back Gives The Philippous Their Best Horror Opportunity Yet

Bring Her Back Could Build On The Success Of Talk To Me In A Big Way

Talk To Me is one of the best feature-length horror debuts ever, which puts a lot of pressure on Bring Her Back to match that critical acclaim. Luckily, the footage that’s been shown of the film and the talent of the filmmakers suggest it’ll be able to reach those same heights. The film will star Sadie Hawkins in a rare horror role, a good chance to subvert her typically likable characters in films like Paddington and Happy-Go-Lucky with a heartwrenching and creepy performance.

The Philippou Brothers proved they have an eye for young talent with Talk To Me, making their returned focus on teenagers an exciting continuation of Talk To Me‘s themes and ideas. Given the accolades that Talk To Me received from critics and audiences alike, Bring Her Back has some very big shoes to fill. If Bring Her Back can match or even surpᴀss the heights of Talk To Me, then it could stand out as one of the best horror films of the 21st century — and could cement the Philippou Brothers as two of horror cinema’s brightest rising stars.

Source: IndieWire