Two Of A24's Best Horror Movies Secretly Share A Universe

Anyone with eyes can see that shared universes are all the rage these days, and have been ever since Nick Fury invited Tony Stark to talk about the Avengers Initiative back in 2008. While some shared universes are continuing to persevere (like Marvel and the DCU), others put their cart a little too far before the horse (RIP, Dark Universe). Sure, it's gotta be nice for studios and filmmakers alike to build a large sandbox to play within, but more often than not, it's better to just start playing and reveal a sandbox later. That's how a few auteur filmmakers named Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith did it in the 1990s, peppering in connections between their films that, in Smith's case, resulted in a full-blown "Avengers"-style crossover movie in the form of "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." Of course, the horror genre kicked off this entire cinematic shared universe thing, beginning with the Universal Monsters crossover films of the 1940s.

The latest instance of a shared universe combines both of these examples. It's a crossover between two of A24's best horror movies, "Talk to Me" and the recent "Bring Her Back," and a confirmation that these films from directors Danny and Michael Philippou do indeed share a universe. It makes logical sense that the movies would share an actual connection, because, as the brothers have said, both films were written concurrently before "Talk to Me" was given the green light. Yet despite the tonal and thematic similarities between the movies, they weren't tied directly together until now. What's more surprising — and delightful — is that they've been tethered via an in-universe website that A24 launched today, one which builds out the lore of both films, as well as cheekily references a few others.

In "Bring Her Back," Laura (Sally Hawkins) is a grieving mother who recently lost her daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), in a tragic domestic accident. Her overwhelming loss drives her to somehow track down a series of videotapes that supposedly outline an occult ritual by which the soul of a deceased person can be transferred to a host and resurrected. While the film shows some snippets of footage from the tapes, we have to put the pieces of this ritual together ourselves, which is how the Philippous keep the audience simultaneously in Laura's perspective (who is completely new to this practice, despite having the "instructions") and the point of view of her potential victims Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and Piper (Sora Wong), who are critical pieces in her attempt to bring Cathy back.

While the origin of the tapes (they seem to come from Russia) and the identity of the people seen in them remain a mystery, the Black Angel Tapes website does reveal how Laura came to possess some copies. It seems she was turned on to the occult black market site by a tarot reader and medium with the handle of "Empress," who lives in Laura's native Australia. The site has a listing for the "Tari Resurrection Tapes" still up, along with a thread of messages from a user named "PomPom," who is very likely Laura. The messages show that Laura, as in the film, is in over her head when it comes to this ritual.

The listing right above the Resurrection Tapes is seeking a "Demonic Embalmed Hand," and the lister is selling a tape of footage of some teens using the hand for a music video for their band. Yes, this appears to be the cursed hand from "Talk to Me," the one which allows the user to speak to the spirits of the dead — and to let them in, if they're not careful. Not only does this confirm that "Bring Her Back" and "Talk to Me" exist in the same universe, but it also confirms that the hand is still missing after the events of that film. Could this be a tease for the already-announced sequel? Might any of the other objects listed on the site refer to elements we'll see in that film, or perhaps another future Philippou horror flick? Only time will tell.

While the Black Angel Tapes site is far from the first in-universe website in a long time — 2022's "The Batman" had a very effective one — its presentation recalls the golden age of metafictional websites promoting a movie. Sites promoting films like "The Blair Witch Project," "Memento," and "Donnie Darko" weren't just mere ads, but felt like genuine extensions of the world of the films and their narrative. The same can be said of the Black Angel Tapes site, as nowhere within it does it break the "reality" that it's an actual black market site for occultists. Even following the link to "This Is Not a Cult" (a link that the site claims has been "taken over by something" and shouldn't be visited) leads to an eerie, cryptic video loop rather than, say, a trailer or clip from "Bring Her Back." With "This Is Not a Cult" being the first image you see after the production logos in the film, the whole experience begins to feel of a piece and eerily real, even though you know it isn't.

One can also appreciate the extent to which the designers went to flesh out the website beyond the connections to "Bring Her Back" and "Talk to Me." There are listings for other items, some of which feel like easter eggs connected to other recent horror films. The listing for a cursed "Timmy Tiger Puppet" feels like a reference to "Annabelle" and "The Conjuring," just as the listing for "The Schizo House Tapes" recalls 2022's "Skinamarink." Granted, these are just cheeky allusions and not fully fledged references, but the website as a whole does have that "everything is connected" vibe. Because, after all, what is reality but merely the grandest shared universe ever? Who knows if the Philippous next films will officially be part of their cinematic universe (The "Talk to Me" sequel most certainly will), but I'm glad that we all get to play a small part in it now.