Talk To Me Prequel Clips Were Released Online But Removed For 'Violence And Bullying'

Earlier this month, we reported that Danny and Michael Philippou, the directors of A24's low-budget Australian horror sensation "Talk To Me," had already shot a prequel to the movie based around the character Duckett, who is the focal point of the movie's opening sequence. Some got the impression that the prequel was a full-length feature film ("We actually shot an entire Duckett prequel already," was Danny Philippou's wording). That wouldn't be too far-fetched, given that last year director Ti West revealed he'd secretly shot a prequel to his slasher movie "X," and "Pearl" landed in theaters just a few months later.

Now, the Brothers Philippou have offered some clarification in the October 2023 issue of Empire, explaining that the prequel is actually a "series of clips following Duckett's story, that were designed to be uploaded anonymously online. It's not a movie, by any stretch."

When the prequel was first mentioned, Danny Philippou said that the two of them were hoping to find a way to release it somewhere down the line. In the latest interview, Michael Philippou revealed that they actually began to post a lot of the "Talk To Me" prequel clips online. However, because they're designed to look like they were shot on a phone and posted to Duckett's social media account (rather than an official A24 account or promotional account for the film), the directors ran into an unexpected problem. "They just kept getting removed for violence and bullying," Michael Philippou explained. 

The takedowns actually fit neatly with the premise of "Talk To Me," which sees a group of teens using a haunted ceramic hand to speak to the dead and allow ghosts to temporarily possess their bodies. The non-possessed teens then film the resulting antics and upload the results to Snapchat for the social media clout.

The "Talk To Me" prequel clips are an unfortunate victim of necessary online content moderation. While it's understandable that social media platforms would remove anonymously uploaded videos that appear to show acts of violence, bullying, or self-harm (all of which play a role in the movie), it does make it tricky to create truly viral promotion. "Talk To Me" is set to release on Blu-ray, 4K, and Digital on October 3, 2023, so it's possible that the clips will be included in the extras — though having to navigate a Blu-ray menu to watch a video supposedly posted to social media might kill the verisimilitude.

"Talk To Me" has grossed more than $56 million worldwide against a production budget of $4.5 million, and is poised to overtake "Hereditary" as A24's highest-grossing horror movie at the domestic box office. The studio has already announced a sequel, which will apparently follow the "Happy Death Day 2U" approach to sequel titling with the moniker "Talk 2 Me." However, this follow-up might not have the tight turnaround that the "Happy Death Day" sequel did.

"We don't even have a proper script yet," said Danny Philippou. In fact, at this point, they don't know whether the sequel will stick with the first movie's characters or follow the creepy hand to a new group of unfortunate ghost-fanciers. The brothers do have a finished script for a movie called "Bring Her Back," which they "really want to try and make as well," and from a horror fan perspective, another fresh slice of original horror sounds more appealing than a cash-in sequel.