There’s no greater victory in this fickle industry than seeing truly gifted storytellers and actors showing audiences of unpredictable taste everywhere that amazing movies can still be made. Back in July of 2023 Danny and Michael Philippou, a twin duo of horror short filmmakers known on YouTube as RackaRacka, did just that with their breakout hit, Talk to Me.

Well horror nerds, RackaRacka is back and bringing us the next great horror classic from A24. And we had a chance to chat with them, as they treated us to a pair of scenes and the latest trailer for their upcoming tale of terror, Bring Her Back.

Talk to Me came out of nowhere to become such a major blockbuster, grossing over $91M at the worldwide box office, on a budget of only $4M. However, more than that, it became a huge critical success as well, skyrocketing The Philippous into the stratosphere, as well as POC stars like the incredible Sophie Wilde. To this day, it serves as a testament to the ideas of that great storytelling can come from anywhere, especially given this was the duo’s feature film debut, and that studios don’t need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create an original classic.

As such, the interest in what these brothers will be doing next has never been higher. So when A24 invited us to attend a very special event with The Philippous, where they were going to discuss the details about their next project, and show us a few scenes, there was no way we were going to miss it! And I’m so incredibly grateful we went, because after what we witnessed that evening, I can safely assure you all that Bring Her Back has catapulted to the top of my most anticipated horror films of 2025!

UPDATE: A24 has dropped the latest trailer for the film which you can view here:

The brothers came out to introduce two clips from their follow up. And let me say in the most professional way possible… yeah both of them were disturbing AF!

To provide a bit of context first, Bring Her Back centers on two children, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Asian, visually impaired newcomer, Sora Wong) who are adopted by a seemingly innocent and “kooky” new foster mom, played by Sally Hawkins. As the two navigate life in their new home, they begin to realize nothing is what it seems, and something supernaturally sinister awaits them!

The first clip focused on Andy and Piper meeting their new foster mom (Hawkins), as well as Hawkins’ other son, Oliver. We’re going to avoid spoilers and full details, but it was incredibly eerie. However, in comparison to what we were going to witness next, this was a tame, though unsettling, moment.

The brothers came out and introduced the next much more cray scene. Let’s just say the next scene featured an interaction with Andy, Oliver, and a knife with a bit of fruit on it. What progresses from there is ridiculously shocking. You will cringe in your seat, let me just say that!

The brothers then came back out to show the new trailer for Bring Her Back and then take questions from all of us.

Here’s what they had to say:

QUESTION: We know you’re in the middle of finishing this film, where are you at in the process of that?

Daniel: I’d say we’re 95% done. We’ve got some sound design stuff that we’re doing music, and then as soon as we land, so we go back to Australia tomorrow, the day after, and then we go straight into the final mix. And that’ll be two more weeks of really doing the final touches sound- wise. And then the movie will be done, which is crazy.

Michael: It’s been like, yeah, a really crazy journey making this movie, fixated on discovering or like playing some sounds you haven’t heard before. So even with that sequence you just watched, I was chewing on some covering to try and get that sound. But we couldn’t get the sound design like actually eating a knife, and then Danny, for some reason, started eating a knife.

Q: Pretty hardcore sequence. I was watching your guys faces, so it’s clear from Talk to Me and now from Bring Her Back, that you guys like to use horror to get into the emotions of trauma. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to this particular story of this movie, and if you had any real life inspiration?

Daniel: It always will make things depressing. But yeah, we were in the middle of writing back, and my cousin lost her two year old, and we were in the hospital, and I was just seeing her on the bed, holding this kid, and the family were all around him, and they were holding his feet and his hands and his head and his arms. And eventually, over time, everyone let him go, and my cousin was the last one to let him go. And horror is a fun way to look at dark things like that. And like the idea of her never being okay ever again after that, that sort of was an inspiration point. And how far should we go, you know, to heal herself from it. And like, the idea of like a never ending grief cycle is terrifying to me, and seeing really raw grief like that is terrifying. And that just happened while we were writing. So that became part of screenwriting process. And it always is a way to, yeah, just to express those things, or look at those things in a fun way. Hopefully it’s fun, and some are pretty happy.

Q: Was there anything you guys learned making Talk to Me that informed the way you approached making Bring Her Back?

Daniel: I guess we had the experience of doing a movie…When we were first on set for Talk to Me, even the crew didn’t take us seriously. No one took us seriously, which is good. And then this, during this shoot, the crew kind of had this sort of respect, almost. But that was like, externally. Internally…we had no idea of what the f**k we were doing. That’s how it feels. It feels like you’re it’s just as unknown, it’s just as scary, it’s just as daunting. It was more anxiety ridden, because you have A24 to let down. We have Sally Hawkins to let down. Everything that you do there’s an extra pressure to it. So I felt there was more pressure on this one than there was on Talk to Me. And everything just goes out the window, and it feels like you’ve never made anything. And then you’re in the deep again, and you feel like you’re drowning again. And you’re like, ‘why the fuck did we put ourselves through this again?’ And then at the end of it, you come out, you’re talking about it, the film’s done. And it’s always a painful process, but a rewarding one. Unless the film was really bad, it’s one of those things, like coming together now; really coming together. And, yeah, we’re very happy with how it’s turned out. So yeah, we’re excited to show.

Q: You mentioned Sally Hawkins.

Daniel: Oh, my God, I love her so much. We did not think she would say ‘yes’ to this. We sent her the script, and then she got back right away and said she was in love with it. How much it meant to her, how much she connected to it. I was like, ‘What the f**k?’… I love those old school psycho biddy films. I love Betty Davis, and I love those really big performances. I’m obsessed with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and like, the idea of having this amazing character actor, which Sally is, to take on this role. And the fact that she’s actually never done any horror before. This is like her first horror film playing a horror character. I don’t know. I was obsessed. I love her so much. I’m in awe of her, and that’s why the anxiety… Even being on the call with her, I was kind of nervous having a big name play Laura, but after like, one call with Sally — she’s so down to her so amazing, and so committed. Like, we could tell just from that call that she would be perfect. And she’s just on set every day, like, you’re like, off, so proud and amazing. She became a part of it. She’s genuinely incredible. And in certain scenes, she’s terrifying as well… I have nothing but priase. She’s amazing.

Q: Let’s talk about some of the less experienced actors in the movie. Obviously, Billy Barrett plays Andy and Sora Wong plays Piper. They have this amazing, natural sibling chemistry. Can you talk about the process of casting them, and especially Sora as a discovery, this is their first piece of acting ever, right?

Danny: It was so important to try and find an actual vision-impaired actor, and so we, like reached out to those communities, and we met with a bunch of kids.

Michael: And the pool for that isn’t very big: 12 year old, vision impaired, wants to be an actor. We did like a thing where we, like, ran through an exercise, we created a scenario and said, perform this like you normally would like, put yourself in the headspace of this character when this has happened. And then we just improved. And she just blew everyone away.

Danny: She second guessed herself a lot and but we saw throughout the film, her transformation from day one of never acting before to the final day where she looked like a seasoned pro. It was the most amazing thing.

Michael: She had certain walls up. There were parts whe she’s like, singing and dancing on camera. And she’s like, ‘I don’t think I can sing and dance on camera.’ She’s like, ‘I don’t think I can cry on camera.’ You know, there’s all these things… Early in the film, she’s bawling her eyes out. She’s like, jumping on the dance floor at the party scenes. And she was such a badass, like, did her own stunts at certain points. And then it was just about creating the environment. And luckily, this was Sally’s process as well. Very much trying to shoot in chronological order as much as possible, so that the characters are unfolding with the actors, and then we save the more, you know, intensive scenes towards the end of the schedule, where Sora’s had more experience, and she’s more comfortable doing those things. But yeah, she’s incredible… And then Billy Barrett was, I think, the youngest Emmy Award winner, or something like that. And we wanted him for Talk to Me, but couldn’t afford him. But he really wanted to work with us as well. So he came to Australia, and his Australian accent is on point as well. And, yeah, that worked amazing.

Q: How about the actor who plays Oliver?

Danny: Oh my god, yeah. It’s a crazy! So his name is Jonah, and both his parents are actors. So he comes from an actor family.

Michael: And on the set these like, amazing actor parents will help us get, you know, certain forces and scenes.

Danny: He had a lot of, like, really intense scenes to do, and he just nailed it every time. And he’s a really multi talented kid, because he’s an actor, a musician. He plays guitar really well. And he’s a Muay Thai fighter. And he’s like, 10 years old. He was amazing.

Michael: So you didn’t want to get into a fight with him or he might kick you.

Q: You mentioned Sora being partially-sighted. We saw that obviously, thematically, when you approach this from a writing perspective, how did that change the the survival stakes for Piper? Like obviously, she has to navigate the horror she’s experiencing, you know, using her other senses. But could you talk a little bit about what was important to you about having a partially–sighted actor?

Danny: Yeah, a friend’s little sister is non sighted. And she was at this crossroads where she wanted to be able to experience the water for herself, catch the bus by herself, and it’s like an awkward transition for parents and stuff to like, allow her to do that. And she was like, she didn’t want to be babied, you know, through life. Like she’s not gonna be able to have those parents, you know, when she’s older. They’re not gonna be able to help her get to work. So those conversations will start happening. And then people just talking to her and ask her about seeing and what she thinks seeing would be like. And she said, ‘I’m glad that I don’t see because I don’t have to see the ugly things in the world.’ And that was a really pointed you know. That line became very thematic for the film, and yet it spread it all the way through. And she has got an amazing singing voice, and we’re giving her vocals in the film as well in this and the soundtrack, which is awesome.

Q: As you guys all saw from the knife scene with Oliver, the practical effects and the gore of this movie are pretty dolled up. I would say, you know, the gore has always been in your guys wheelhouse; sort of a trademark of your films, you could say… There’s a lot of gore going around. So can you talk a little bit about why you needed the gore and practical effects, and what these tools offer you as far as storytelling?

Danny: Part of that is one of the reasons that we got into filmmaking. And seeing the behind the scenes of those old school practical horror films was always so mind blowing and inspiring and so crazy that you can create these traumatic scenes, and that it was all fake. Everything was done in like, a fun way. And I get excited by the the task, or, like, trying to accomplish a scene that hasn’t been done before. Or an effect that hasn’t been done before. Like with Riley and his eye in Talk to Me. We built a side of the space we could practically get it there. Things like that are just it’s so much fun to do and visceral. And again, metaphorically, can represent some things that are just like a fun way to explore darker things. And all goes back to that, and how much fun it is as a filmmaker to tackle things like that.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about filming that scene? I mean, it’s hard to watch. People were literally covering their eyes.

Danny: So we had, like, a bunch of rubber knives when he’s actually eating it. And we had close ups and things like that. And then we built a dummy — like a replica of his face — one that we can cut through to his upper lip. And that was a real knife, like, stabbing in there and getting around. So it was like, trying a bunch of things we have in our head, how we wanted it to look. And then on the day, like, you try new things as well. So adjust constantly, but there’s always a way to attack the scene in four different ways, and then piece together most effective ways. Because there’s always an element of unknown. So is this going to work? Like you’re getting the actors coming, everyone’s like, expecting something. And so part of it is, like, allow a lot of time for trying to figure out how to put the scenes together.

Q: Folks are probably wondering what we’re seeing on the side of the walls here [referring to footage playing on the walls of the venue]. And without spoiling it, guys, can you? Can you talk a little bit about the imagery of the rituals we’re seeing here, some of the mythology that that’s on the walls right now?

Danny: Yeah, that’s a really fun part of when you’re writing, is designing, like, your own mythology and your own law, and going really in depth, and building Bibles out of it, and, you know, writing out so many things. Like Talk to Me as well, we did it with this film. And we always love not over explaining everything, like having hints of things that audiences can piece things together. And I think I’ve read two comments online about Talk to Me that nailed it. It’s so much fun. So I like the mythology being a little bit cryptic and a little bit unknown. And, yeah, so that’s a part of this as well. There’s a ritual tape, and it’s over an inversion.

Michael: There’s a character in this that has this childhood footage. She looks back, and it’s like sort of a healthy way of grieving and processing something. And then there’s the inversion of that, which is this upside down, macabre version of breathing. And so that was the idea of it. And yeah, it plays into what’s happening in the house. And yeah, I love the retro look spooky.

Q: Can you talk about filming this?

Danny: So I dressed up as a character, I gave myself contact lenses, I’ve bleached my eyebrows.

Michael: We cut [that scene] out.

Danny: We shot off the space to everybody, and we’re just in there and going through all the steps of this ritual. And it was like, overexplain everything, then peel it right back, and then, yeah, find the balance together. What’s going to be enough? Sort of like getting the pieces together, but then not too much. It’s like, it’s obvious, you know what’s happening straight away. Yeah, so I was in character, but yes, I got cut out.

Q: What sort of research into, like, ritual insight did you do prepare for what happens to film?

Danny: It’s so funny going down the rabbit hole of some of that witchcraft stuff and how dark you can go. I dressed up as a character to meet with some odd people online, and I have a long black wig. I have to stay super in character, yeah. And then so I could interview a couple of these people that would really, really believe this dark side of resurrection and stuff… And they’re hooking to all of that sort of stuff. And it’s always fun to go down those rabbit holes and explore and research. Explore and research a couple people. Yeah, it’s a fascinating I loved with the research of that, but then also creating our own, not sticking too much to it. I like having the basis of that, and like knowing that version of it, and then also doing our own stuff. But there were some people.

Michael: There was one person I talked to that was convinced she could actually turn into a cat, which is so weird, but she believed it was real. It’s fascinating. Talking to me, people are extremely into it.

Q: Are there specific subgenres of horror that did inspire what we’re going to see in Bring Her Back?

Danny: We lean into the possession genre. This was developed at the exact same time as Talk to Me, and it sort of feels like a spiritual successor to it, because they were both written at the same time, and characters interchanged even at one point. And they were just sort of being built up at the time. And then once Talk to Me wrapped, and it was possible to make another film, that script was there and it was ready.

Michael: And there’s a certain anxiety about making our film, not going into it straight away. But I was like, the doors open quickly, right? I was like, the doors and it’s also with this one, the psychological aspect of it’s a lot stronger, like Danny was saying. There’s other inspirations, yeah, for those movies like that; really focused on character and performance was special to us. Working with Sally and those things, because we really wanted to dive into other side from not just horror, but the psychological aspect of it.

Q: Most of the time visually impaired characters are depicted in negative or villainous roles. Like villains who are partially silent. However this film features a prominent role for someone who is visually impaired. Was the diversity of this decison meant to inspire?

Michael: It wasn’t like a purposeful thing that we’d done. It was more being inspired by the actual girl and the actual conversations with her and her experience. And I was just like, I haven’t seen them or trained, you know, like a vision impaired person. too much. And in movies, most of the time they’re just actors with, you know, glassy contacts. And so I thought it was really special to be able to find someone and perform it for real. And it was very important to us. So, yeah, not, not purposely, but that’s awesome. That’s so cool to hear.

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The Philippous do have a wonderful ability to hire any actor for any film as long as they’ve got the talent. This means they’re able to encourage diversity within the casting of these films. And Bring Her Back is no exception, featuring a principal protagonist that is not only of the AAPI community, but also the visually impaired community. It’s a testament to how good storytelling can ultimately lead to greater opportunities for actors who typically don’t receive as many. And for that, we really must tip our hats to these terrific filmmakers!

Bring Her Back will be possessing theaters around the globe on May 30!