Anyone with eyes can see that shared universes are all the rage these days, and since Nick Fury invited Tony Stark to talk about the Avengers initiative in 2008. While some shared universes continue to persevere (like Marvel and the DCU), others have put their basket a little too far before the horse (RIP, Dark Universe universe). Of course, it must be good for studios and filmmakers to build a large sandbox to play inside, but more often than not, it is better to start playing and reveal a sandbox later. This is how some filmmakers named Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith did it in the 1990s, pepper links between their films which, in the case of Smith, led to a full -fledged “Avengers” crossing film in the form of “Jay and Silent Bob Back”. Of course, the kind of horror launched this whole thing of whole cinematic shared universe, starting with the films of Crossover Universal Monsters from the 1940s.
The last instance of a shared universe combines these two examples. It is a cross between two of the best horror films of A24, “Talk Me” and the recent “Bring Her Back”, and a confirmation that these films by directors Danny and Michael Philippou indeed share a universe. It is logical that the films share a real connection, because, as the brothers said, the two films were written simultaneously before “Talk me” is given the green light. However, despite the tonal and thematic similarities between films, they were not directly linked so far. What is more surprising – and delicious – is that they have been attached via a website in the universe that 24 launched today, the one who builds the tradition of the two films, as well as references with trivially a few others.
The story of black angel bands
In “Bring Her Back”, Laura (Sally Hawkins) is a mourning mother who recently lost her daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), in a tragic domestic accident. Her overwhelming loss pushes her to find a series of cassettes which supposedly describe an occult ritual by which the soul of a deceased person can be transferred to a host and resurrected. While the film shows some extracts from band sequences, we must assemble the pieces of this ritual, which is as the Philippous keep the public simultaneously in the point of view of Laura (which is completely new in this practice, despite the “instructions”) and the point of view of its potential victims Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and Piper (Sora Wong).
While the origin of the cassettes (they seem to come from Russia) and the identity of the people who are seen there remain a mystery, the Black Angel Tapes website reveals how Laura managed to own copies. It seems that it was lit on the site of the black market hidden by a tarot reader and a medium with the handful of “Empress”, which lives in the native Australia of Laura. The site has a list for “Tari resurrection strips” still in place, as well as a user’s messages called “Pompom”, which is most likely Laura. Messages show that Laura, as in the film, is above her head regarding this ritual.
The list just above the resurrection strips is looking for a “demonic demonic hand”, and the list sells a bunch of sequences from certain teenagers using the hand for a clip for their group. Yes, it seems to be the cursed hand to “speak to me”, the one that allows the user to speak to the spirits of the dead – and to let them enter, if they do not pay attention. Not only does this confirm that “Rame the return” and “Talk me” exists in the same universe, but it also confirms that the hand is still absent after the events of this film. Could this be a teasing for the future already announced? Could one of the other objects listed on the site refer to the elements we will see in this film, or perhaps another future Horror film by Philippou? Only time will tell us.
The Black Angel Tapes site recalls the days of glory of film marketing on the internet (and a few Easter eggs)
While the Black Angel Tapes site is far from being the first website in the universe for a long time – “The Batman” of 2022 has had a very effective – its presentation recalls the golden age of metafiction websites promoting a film. Sites promoting films like “The Blair Witch Project”, “Memento” and “Donnie Darko” were not only simple advertisements, but felt like real extensions of the world of films and their story. The same can be said of the Black Angel Tapes site, because nowhere inside breaks “reality” that it is a real black market site for occultists. Even to follow the link to “It is not a cult” (a link which, according to the site, was “taken up by something” and should not be visited) leads to a strange cryptic video loop rather than, let’s say, a trailer or a clip of “Bring Her Back”. With “It is not a cult” being the first image you see after the production logos of the film, the whole experience begins to feel a room and strangely real, even if you know that this is not the case.
We can also appreciate to what extent the designers have fought the website beyond the connections to “ratter Her Back” and “Talk me”. There are lists for other articles, some of which feel like Easter eggs linked to other recent horror films. The list of a “Timmy Tiger” Timmy “puppet” looks like a reference to “Annabelle” and “The Conjuring”, just like the list of “Schizo House Tapes” recalls “Skinamarink” of 2022. Admittedly, these are only cheeky allusions and not full references, but the website as a whole has this atmosphere “everything is connected”. But simply the biggest shared universe of all time? Who knows if the next Filiposus films will be officially part of their cinematic universe (the suite “Talk to me” will most certainly), but I am happy that we can all play a small role now.
