From high jinks on YouTube to the high-brow slate of A24, Danny and Michael Philippou’s origin story is about as 2023 as it gets. The twin Australian brothers began making homemade horror movies at the age of nine, and in 2013, they took things a step further by creating their YouTube channel, RackaRacka, which now sports nearly 7 million subscribers. The Philippous’ videos featured the usual antics of those who grew up on WWE, Jackass, and horror movies, but they always contained a number of flourishes that pointed to the brothers’ greater aspirations as filmmakers.
Eventually, the brothers Philippou were inspired by their friend Daley Pearson’s short film about possession as a means to get high, and out of that, Talk to Me was born. Having worked on local Australian movie sets such as The Babadook (2014), the twins made use of their connections at Causeway Films and approached founders Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings. The producers were immediately taken with Talk to Me and initially guided the brothers to the American studio system, but the Philippous were a bit irked when they were asked by U.S. studio execs to hit more of the genre’s familiar beats and to cede creative control.
“They gave us some notes that weren’t necessarily bad notes at all, but it was veering in a direction that we weren’t connecting with a little bit,” Danny Philippou tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The way we’d written it was not as typical. We weren’t finding out the origins completely and explaining where it came from on screen and talking to the expert. So we just wanted to have complete creative control and not have to change the script too much. We also wanted to have the final say on casting and the final cut as well.”
The cold opening of Talk to Me tells the story of two brothers, Cole (Ari McCarthy) and Duckett (Sunny Johnson), as Cole is desperately trying to track down his brother at a house party. It’s quickly realized that Duckett is possessed by something, and so the scene becomes disturbingly violent, as spectators either stare in horror or scatter with their camera phones in hand. The Cole and Duckett sequence is meant to show what’s in store for the film’s main character, Mia (Sophie Wilde), and her group of teenage friends. However, the brothers have even shot some form of a Duckett prequel that they hope to release at some point.
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“We actually shot an entire Duckett prequel already. It’s told entirely through the perspective of mobile phones and social media, so maybe down the line we can release that,” Danny Philippou says. “But also while writing the first film, you can’t help but write scenes for a second film. So there are so many scenes. The mythology was so thick, and if A24 gave us the opportunity, we wouldn’t be able to resist. I feel like we’d jump at it.”
During a recent conversation with THR, the brothers Philippou also explained the unique way they bonded their cast and crew during auditions, before discussing the warm welcome they’ve received from genre titans like Jordan Peele and Ari Aster.
So did all of this begin with a Ronald McDonald obsession? Is that your filmmaking origin story?
Danny Philippou: (Laughs.) Our filmmaking journey began with an obsession with Chucky and R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps.
Michael Philippou: The Ronald McDonald stuff was funny. We did one video, and people just loved the character so much that we kept doing more with it.
Danny Philippou: But the first horror movie we made was when we were nine years old. It was called The Evil Flamingo, and we pretended that our sister’s childhood doll was going around and killing all our friends.
Michael Philippou: It was really three-dimensional stuff.
Danny Philippou: It was really deep actually.
I profiled James Wan recently, and when he was coming up in Perth, he felt isolated in a very remote part of the world. He didn’t have YouTube to launch himself, and as an Asian filmmaker, he didn’t have any examples of genre filmmakers who made the jump from Down Under. So, as fellow Australians, was James an example for the two of you?
Danny Philippou: James Wan, altogether, is so inspiring, and he is one of the people that I really badly want to meet and haven’t had a chance to meet yet. But coming from Australia, it’s so incredible that he did stuff independently and then built all these franchises, not just one, but multiple franchises. He’s so talented, and he’s definitely been an inspiration.
Michael Philippou: It was kind of the opposite for us because [James Wan and Leigh Whannell] wanted to get [Saw] made in Australia, but Australia couldn’t do it for whatever reason. So they made it in America, whereas [Talk to Me] was going to be made in America, but then we made it in Australia. So it was kind of the reverse.
In the film, a group of teenagers treat demonic possession like a party drug, and there’s cell phone footage shown of people convulsing during it. That cell phone footage is similar to what inspired the movie, right? You saw cell phone footage of a neighbor convulsing during a bad trip?
Danny Philippou: Correct. I just remember trying to capture that feeling that I had looking at that footage. It was really bothersome, especially when you know the person. And the way that people reacted, I was like, “Why is no one helping this person?” So we tried to capture that with this film.
So whose hand was used to create the mold of the embalmed hand that connects the spirits with a host?
Danny Philippou: Bethany Ryan, our production designer. We did so many different molds and we could never really get the right thing. She did all of these tests and she was like, “I think it needs to be like that.” And she just started doing these shapes with her hand. So she just stuck her hand in the thing, and that was the final mold that we did. It was perfect.
Michael Philippou: It’s kind of like writing. It was more difficult to pull off than you would’ve thought. I think we did like 20 molds or something crazy like that.
How many hands are in existence right now?
Danny Philippou: There are six!
Michael Philippou: We know where three of them are, but the other three are in the abyss somewhere.
Danny Philippou: One of them is in my bedroom. The sad part about it is you feel less lonely holding it. (Laughs.)
Michael Philippou: That is sad. Sad fuck.
During the casting process, did you have each actor read as their normal selves and then as their possessed selves?
Danny Philippou: Everyone did each other’s possessions, so every single actor pretended to kiss the dog on the floor. We did that as well. So did our producer and our cinematographer. Pretty much everyone did it so that when it was time to come on set, there was no embarrassment. Everyone had already done all those things. You could also grab elements from everyone’s different interpretations and help build your own possession with it.
Michael Philippou: Joe Bird was the only one who did his possession in the auditions. I don’t think anyone else did their own possession in the auditions.
Danny Philippou: Alexandria [Steffensen], who plays Mia’s mom Rhea, did a reading of the scene, and Joe would constantly listen to that and try to mimic her the best that he could so that he could pull off that possession as well. That was part of his process.
Have all those tapes been destroyed?
Danny Philippou: The only person who wants stuff destroyed is our producer Sam [Jennings]. She did the possession as well, and she was like, “Do not publish that.” She was the only one that was embarrassed.
It seemed like you really focused on casting people with interesting eyes, Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird especially. Was that a priority?
Michael Philippou: No! Subconsciously maybe.
Danny Philippou: It was mostly just from their audition tapes and their personalities and the way that they brought something unique to the characters. Sophie and Joe just stood out to us, and we knew they were perfect for the roles.
The success and unique style of the Philippou brothers’ YouTube channel, RackaRacka, has catapulted them into the world of filmmaking. Their unique blend of horror and comedy, influenced by their childhood obsessions with movies and popular culture, has captured the attention of millions of viewers worldwide. With the release of Talk to Me, the Philippou brothers have proven that they have the talent and creativity to make their mark in the film industry. As they continue to push the boundaries of their craft, it’s clear that their journey is far from over.
