Talk to Me is one of the best horror movies of the year. It’s also a genuine hit. The Danny and Michael Philippou-directed film opened to $10 million at the box office this weekend; that’s the second biggest debut in A24 history, behind only 2018’s Hereditary ($13.6 million).
Before they joined Adam Sandler and Greta Gerwig in the A24 family, the Philippou brothers created the “RackaRacka” YouTube channel in 2013. Their years of making videos with titles like “6IX9INE VS ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE” and “Ronald McDonald EXTREME Muckbang” (and living in a YouTube house) helped them make Talk to Me feel authentic.
“We wanted to make a film that was about a world that we understand. We didn’t want to do a period piece or anything like that, just something that was current. And that’s the big thing of today’s culture. It was just a world that we understand,” Michael told CBR.
The siblings’ videos often go on bizarre, violent, unexpected journeys. Take “Selling Riley Reid’s BATHWATER,” for instance. What starts as a normal (“normal”) video from 2019 about selling bathwater that adult film actress Riley Reid soaked in on eBay becomes… something else.
You can watch it below (NSFW, obviously).
Talk to Me is in theaters now (there’s also some sweet merch in the A24 store). You can read our interview with the directors here.
