[Film Review] Talk to Me (2023)

Warning: This review contains very mild spoilers.

Throughout the international horror community, there has been a quiet buzz ongoing about twins from a peculiar Australian YouTube channel (RackaRacka) who made a movie. This film was picked up by Sundance, then purchased by A24 and is now set to be another big success for the distributors, as it hits UK and US cinemas this July. Granted, Talk to Me, directed by brothers Danny and Michael Phillipou may not be the scariest film of the year, but it is thrilling, shocking and relentless nonetheless, with so many reasons to see it on the big screen.

Before moving into a basic plot discussion, it’s worth noting that the opening sequence of this film will get even the most uninterested audience member hooked. With zero context of how or why, the sudden dread this sequence inflicts comes out of nowhere, leading into a title card with a gasp and stunned silence.

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The story follows Mia (Sophie Wilde) as she navigates the loss of her mother by quietly avoiding her home life and integrating herself into the family of her friend Jade (Alexandra Jenson), acting as a sister figure to the younger Riley (Joe Bird) and being welcomed with open arms by their mother Sue (Miranda Otto). In classic young rebellion style, the teens spend their evenings at parties, forgetting the troubles of the world. Within this party atmosphere, a creepy embalmed hand is placed on the table and a virally famous parlour game is suggested. The rules of the game are simple, hold the hand in yours, say the words ‘Talk to Me’ and see who appears. If the participant is brave enough, they can tell the apparition, “I let you in”, but should only keep the connection open for a maximum of 90 seconds, before all ties are cut with the spirit world, with the releasing of the hand and the blowing out of a candle. In classic horror film style, this is bound to go wrong, but not without loud and sometimes humorous montages of the teens participating in the darkly addictive chaos first.

Talk to Me has so many reasons to be loved but first and foremost must be the acting. Every member of the cast puts their heart and soul into their characters, but one standout performance that needs to be mentioned is lead Sophie Wilde. Her vulnerability as she navigates Mia’s journey of terror and grief is poignant, she leans into every emotion with ease and grace, never leaving behind the lingering need to find out the truth of what happened to her mother. This performance is guaranteed to launch Wilde’s career into more projects in the future, her nuanced natural presence in front of the camera makes her story gripping and thought provoking and she would be an excellent asset to future films.

Although the outright frightening elements are slightly lacking in Talk to Me, the special FX makeup and visuals of the ghosts from the beyond are disturbing beyond belief. People seem to take on the form that they had when they died, so, as can be imagined, the gorier or more disgusting the death, the worse the apparition appears. It goes without saying that only the most hideous creatures seem to want to claw their way back to the land of the living, whether this reflects their nefarious intentions or not is to be left to filmgoers to decide for themselves. The level of body horror in this supernatural thriller is impressive to say the least.

Another incredibly creepy element that is worth an honourable mention has to be the sound design. The main reason to see this in the cinema is a very particular scene where the paranormal noises creep around the room, settling in corners of the audience and sending chills down every spine. The subtle differences in the sound scene to scene simply won’t be the same in an at-home streaming experience so don’t wait for that.

The only criticism for this film, the only reason it hasn’t been reviewed as five stars, is that the final act slows down just a little too much. For a film whose pacing is consistently cranked to eleven for the majority of its tight 95-minute run, the final half hour steps back to give a little more breathing room than it needs. Saying this, the conclusion is deliciously dark and will make audiences leave the cinema with a pit in their stomach and a smile on their face.

Without feeling the need to use cheap jump scares or an overly convoluted ‘shock factor’ plot, Talk to Me reaches into the audience’s psyche with its embalmed hand and asks them to let it in. As with others that have come out of the Australian horror filmscape, this gripping piece of cinema isn’t afraid to leave you in the dark, there’s something so grim and relentless about Aussie films that audiences lap up, the lack of happy endings tied up in a neat bow that American cinema seems so set on having, even in the horror genre. Plus, being a film from Australia means that the cast aren’t afraid to drop a C-bomb every now and then, bringing humour to the surface in a devastatingly dark affair every so often, whilst portraying some very realistic teens in the responses to certain situations. With great success in so many aspects of its creation, this is a must-see as it graces cinemas this Summer. A seductive sense of sinister darkness falls upon all who witness the doorway to the other side opening, just remember to close the connection on your way out or face the consequences…

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