A24‘s upcoming horror movie not only seems to have immense box office potential but also comes off as the perfect follow-up to a $91 million record-breaking hit from 2023. Since its inception in 2012, Bring Her Back has gradually risen in the ranks to become one of the most prominent American independent entertainment companies because of its involvement with several critically and commercially successful movies. From the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once to Ari Aster’s feature directorial debut, Hereditary, A24 has been involved with them all.

After the 2023 Sundance Film Festival’s midnight line-up, A24 acquired the rights to distribute a horror movie in the United States. Although the movie marked the directorial debut of two filmmakers, A24’s investment in the project paid dividends because it went on to become the highest-grossing horror film for the company. Two years after the film’s release, it seems to be getting a “follow-up” in 2025, which will also be distributed by A24.

Bring Her Back Is A Spiritual Successor To Talk To Me

Bring Her Back Shares Many Themes With Talk To Me

Most details surrounding Bring Her Back‘s story remain under wraps, and even the movie’s trailers have been ambiguous and intentionally vague. However, based on the little information about its plot and the details from its trailer, Bring Her Back seems similar to Talk to Me in more ways than one. As directors Danny and Michael Philippou, who helmed both films, revealed in an interview (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline), they wrote Bring Her Back “at the exact same time” as Talk to Me, and some characters from both movies were also interchanged during the process.

This might explain why, thematically, Talk to Me and Bring Her Back seem to have many overlaps. For instance, like Talk To Me, Bring Her Back focuses on young grieving characters who have recently lost their mother. Similar to Talk To Me, Bring Her Back also seemingly uses a revival ritual as a narrative device that allows characters to bring people back from the “other side” — likely at a terrible cost. Bring Her Back, by no means, is a direct sequel to Talk to Me. However, it can still be seen as a spiritual successor to Danny and Michael Philippou’s directorial debut.

Talk To Me’s Success Makes Bring Her Back One Of The Most Exciting 2025 Horror Films

Bring Her Back Could Be Another Big Win For A24

Even though Talk to Me was Danny and Michael Philippou’s directorial feature film debut, the two filmmakers had a long history of creating wildly entertaining YouTube videos behind them. The movie established that their YouTube career played a crucial role in familiarizing them with key elements of visual storytelling and audience engagement. Talk To Me‘s record-breaking success proved that even though the Philippou brothers were only starting their mainstream filmmaking career, they had immense potential.

With Bring Her Back, the two directors could further cement themselves as creative powerhouses in the horror space. Although they were initially also linked with the upcoming Street Fighter reboot, reports suggest that they have moved away from the project. Since Talk to Me 2 has already been announced, it seems like the Philippou brothers are currently destined to grow in the horror genre itself. Owing to this, it is hard not to look forward to what they have in store with their upcoming horror projects.

While Talk To Me 2 sounds exciting, A24’s Bring Her Back seems no less hype-worthy. Bring Her Back may have little to do with the Talk to Me movie series. However, its shared themes with the original 2023 movie suggest that the Philippou brothers have played to their strengths while making it. This makes it hard not to believe that, like Talk to Me, Bring Her Back is bound to set new records for A24 and potentially pave the way for another horror movie series.