Danny and Michael Philippou, the Adelaide-born twin filmmakers behind the global success Talk To Me, have returned to Adelaide for their second feature film Bring Her Back.

Supported by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), Bring Her Back reteams the Philippou brothers with producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films and will be distributed worldwide by A24.

The cast includes two-time Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Billy Barratt (Responsible Child, Kraven the Hunter), Jonah Wren-Phillips (Sweet Tooth), Sally-Anne Upton (Wentworth), Stephen Phillips (The Leftovers) and newcomer Sora Wong.

Bring Her Back is the Philippou brothers’ latest feature film after their smash hit debut Talk to Me (pictured below), which had its international premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, following a South Australian premiere screening at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival.

Picked up by A24, the New York-based entertainment company behind Academy Award Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, Uncut Gems, HBO’s Euphoria and more, Talk to Me became the company’s highest-grossing horror film and third highest grossing film overall.

It achieved more than $140 million global box office, and a sequel has already been announced.

Talk to Me grossed $4.3 million at the Australian box office, making it the second highest grossing local film of 2023.

Directed by Danny and Michael, and written by Danny with SA writer Bill Hinzman, Talk to Me achieved universal critical acclaim and won the praise of international screen industry luminaries such as directors Steven Spielberg, Jordan Peele and Ari Aster, author Stephen King and director Sir Peter Jackson, who called it “the best, most intense horror movie I've enjoyed in years”.

When looking to shoot their next feature, again backed by A24, the Philippou brothers chose their hometown of Adelaide, where their career began making stunt and horror-based comedy and action shorts for their YouTube channel RackaRacka.

They amassed more than 1.5 billion views with over 6.5 million subscribers across their social media channels, were named in Variety’s FameChangers, ranked fifth on the Australian Financial Review’s Cultural Power List and in 2023 were named in InDaily’s 40 Under 40.

South Australian Film Corporation CEO Kate Croser said: “The SAFC is so proud to have played a supporting role in Danny and Michael Philippou’s meteoric rise to success, and we are thrilled that they have chosen to bring their next feature film back home to South Australia and Adelaide Studios.

“Talk to Me, which was filmed in Adelaide with funding from both the SAFC and Adelaide Film Festival, has firmly established the Philippou brothers as two of the brightest and most exciting rising screen industry stars anywhere in the world, and with them a host of incredibly talented South Australian creatives and crew.

“We are delighted to support Bring Her Back, which will once again showcase South Australian screen industry talent, locations and capability on an international stage.”

Danny and Michael Philippou said: “We love that we get to be in Adelaide to make our next film, we feel so at home here – it’s where we feel most comfortable and inspired, and we want to be making movies here for a long time.

"The support of local crew is crucial to what we do, and we’re extremely grateful to the SAFC.”