Bring Her Back Directors Say They Have Enough Mythology for Another Movie (Will There Be a Sequel?) (Exclusive)

Bring Her Back is the latest horror film from YouTubers-turned-directors Danny and Michael Philippou, following their breakout debut film Talk to Me (2023). However, while Talk to Me was a standalone horror movie, the Philippous are already indicating that Bring Her Back could evolve to be something much bigger. At least there’s potential there: When ComicBook spoke to the directing duo at the press junket for Bring Her Back, we learned just how much background mythos was created for this dark new cinematic vision, enough that there already seems to be enough to develop a sequel idea before the first film even hits theaters!

The story of Bring Her Back follows Piper (Sora Wong) and Andy (Billy Barratt), two siblings who are left parentless and placed with a foster mother, named Laura (Sally Hawkins). While Laura seems like a “safe and reliable” caretaker at first, it slowly but surely becomes clear that Laura is into some dark rituals, tied to an even darker arcane legacy of religious mysticism. It also becomes clear that Laura’s other young charge, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), may have been affected by those rituals and is either the earthly manifestation of an angel, or something far worse…

[RELATED: Bring Her Back Official Review & Critic Score]

Danny and Michael Philippou took a deep dive into occult practices and rituals to create the story for Bring Her Back, a “rabbit hole” that led them to a much larger mythos for the world of the film:

“It’s always the funnest thing when you’re doing the background, and when you’re building your own mythology and going down that rabbit hole, and talking to people that actually practice the occult, I love that whole thing,” Danny explained to ComicBook’s Chris Killian. “You’re just grabbing different parts that scare you… I love building out mythology — same so [with] Talk To Me, same so here — who the angel is, where it came from, where this tape came from, yeah.”

Michael indicated that savvy viewers will be able to piece together a much bigger story that’s at work in Bring Her Back. As he explained it, the process of creating the lore for a potential horror franchise is “the same as developing a character. You need to know who the character is, all the moments in their lives that led them here, their personalities, so it’s good to know that with the occult stuff as well.” While all that background lore won’t fit into the movie, Philippou hinted that viewers will be able to connect the dots. “All those answers are there, but it’s told in a different way. It’s not told in an overt way.”

Chris Killian had to ask: with all that lore on the table, how could Danny and Michael Philippou not be considering expanding into a sequel film? Based on their reaction, the Philippous are likely considering that very idea. “We recorded the entire ritual. We did,” Danny said. “So who knows [about a sequel]? You never know.”

Bring Her Back will be released in theaters on May 30th.