The following contains spoilers for Bring Her Back, now playing in theatersBring Her Back has a connection to Talk To Me that goes beyond the shared filmmakers. Bring Her Back is the second feature-length film from Danny and Michael Philippou, which features some connective elements with their previous movie, Talk To Me. Both films are rooted in explorations of grief in the face of great personal loss, coupled with a mysterious and horrifying supernatural element that offers a chance to break through the lines separating life and death.

two critically acclaimed horror films don't share a concrete connection on-screen, but there's plenty of reason to believe they exist in the same universe, especially because it plays into the plans of the filmmakers behind both of them.

Bring Her Back Directors Confirmed It Exists In The Same Universe As Talk To Me

Bring Her Back Shares A World With Talk To Me

Bring Her Back doesn't have any firm connections to Talk To Me, but Danny and Michael Philippou have confirmed that the two movies take place in the same universe. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Danny Philippou revealed that Bring Her Back and Talk To Me are set in the same universe. Written almost at the same time as Talk To Me, Bring Her Back initally seems to have some thematic and world similarities to Talk To Me but lacked any clear connecting thread that would bind them to the same setting.

When asked point-blank if the movies are connected by a single world, Danny explained that "I would say they are. There’s a mixed media thing that we’re working on at the moment, and it helps show the tie-in a little bit. So it’s not overtly shown in the film, but I would say yes." This a big reveal for Bring Her Back, as it raises a lot of questions about the exact ways this world works and what the unseen (and seemingly demonic) forces want with the people they encounter.

How Bring Her Back & Talk To Me Are Connected

Bring Her Back And Talk To Me Explore Similar Themes In A Shared Setting

As Danny Philippou noted, the actual lore connections between Talk To Me and Bring Her Back aren't overtly featured in the films. However, there are a number of common elements that connect the films in many levels. Both movies introduce a mysterious form of supernatural entities, leaving out lore dumps and exposition in exchange for more visceral showcases of the magical forces. This gives the world of Talk To Me and Bring Her Back a mysterious quality that other horror franchises could only wish to achieve.

The biggest connection between Talk To Me and Bring Her Back are their shared themes of grief...

Both films lean on their Australian roots, setting each story in Australian cities. Bring Her Back even has an appearance from Talk To Me star Sophie Wilde — albeit not in the same role she played before. The biggest connection between Talk To Me and Bring Her Back are their shared themes of grief and what it can cause people to do to themselves and others to undo it. Talk To Me's Mia and Bring Her Back's Laura are similar tragic figures, even if Laura becomes the overt villain of her story.

Bring Her Back & Talk To Me Could Set Up A New Horror Universe

Bring Her Back Could Help Set Up The A24 Answer To The Conjuring-Verse

On top of the mixed-media tie-in teased by Danny Philippou, the Talk 2 Me will expand on the story in a new way. Although the exact direction of the film is currently under wraps, it will focus on a new group of characters as either a direct sequel or "sidequel" to the film. This suggests that the shared universe of Bring Her Back will continue to expand, even if it does so outside of the established characters and storylines of the series. Laura's efforts could even become public knowledge after her arrest, spreading awareness of the ritual.

In theory, this could help establish the Philippou horror setting as a great new shared horror universe. There's room for that sort of thing in the current cinematic climate, as evidenced by the massive success of franchises likeThe Conjuring. Having a mysterious force behind the scenes means the Philippou brothers could take any future entries in numerous directions. While it would be interesting to find out more about the specific forces at work in the ritual from Bring Her Back, it's scarier to be unsure of what exactly is going on with that resurrection spell.

This opens up plenty of room for the series to expand in horrifying new ways, which could help cement it as a fresh fixture in the horror landscape. Future entries could reveal unseen connections that exist between the ritual in Bring Her Back and the hand from Talk To Me, or introduce a new element that further deepens the shared lore. Bring Her Back and Talk To Me sharing a universe is an exciting development, especially given how both films introduced a world that's just begging to be further explored.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter