“Talk to Me” Review
A mysterious hand unlocks a terrible supernatural force in “Talk to Me,” one of the scariest films of 2023.
Within the past few years, we’ve been seeing a new wave of teen films focused on Generation Z and I have been loving this authentic representation in films like “Booksmart,” “The Hate U Give,” “The Edge of Seventeen” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” However, in terms of horror, we haven’t seen anything quite like “Talk to Me” which is one of the year’s most frightening and unnerving films. With outstanding performances, horrifying visuals and the excellent skills of directors Danny and Michael Philippou.
In Australia, a group of teenagers become part of a viral sensation where they can apparently commune with the spirits of the dead using an embalmed hand. However, this party game becomes far more serious when Mia (Sophie Wilde), one of the teens who’s dealing with tremendous grief, tries to use the hand to communicate with her deceased mother, unleashing forces that were meant to be separate from the world of the living.
Despite only working behind the camera, the stars of “Talk to Me” are easily the Philippou brothers who have crafted one of the most exciting directorial debuts I’ve seen in some time. Seeing these people who gained their initial success on YouTube, under the channel RackaRacka, become full-blooded filmmakers with A24 distributing their first feature is something outstanding and it’s proof that online culture is where we can get a new crop of excellent cinematic minds.
The direction of Danny and Michael Philippou is incredibly intense. At just 95 minutes, “Talk to Me” locks you in this uncomfortable environment and refuses to let go. The film’s opening not only shows that these two and cinematographer Aaron McLisky know how to effectively use the camera to craft atmosphere, but was so shocking that it had my jaw on the floor, my hand covering my vacant mouth and had my attention grasped for the rest of runtime.
The screenplay of “Talk to Me”, written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, is marvelous mainly because of its ambiguity. The film only gives the audience enough information to have a grasp of the story but leave many details in the shadows. Where did the hand come from? How does it work? How do these teens know all the rules concerning how to use it? This isn’t explained but it doesn’t need to be. The script gives the audience freedom with nothing being overexplained and it allowed me to connect the dots and find our own meaning in the story.
I’m sure that Danny and Michael Philippou have their strong interpretation of the film but I think fans are going to have wildly different ideas as to what the ideas of this film are all about. However, if you’re just looking for a film that you don’t have to think about too much, then you’ll also be satisfied with just how horrifying “Talk to Me” is. These scares are brutal and are the best blend of supernatural and realism.
Leading the cast is Sophie Wilde who gives one of the year’s strongest breakout performances. In any other film, Mia could have been this dumb character that opens Pandora’s box but she has such a compelling character arc that Wilde uses all of her energy to bring to us. The bravery in her performance is captivating and I was mesmerized by her dramatic chops. I knew that this was going to be a great film when I found myself invested in Mia’s dramatic scenes where nothing scary is happening but you are tearing up at her mental predicament. When she’s dealing with the loss of her mother, you understand why she would fall for the hand’s allure. It can be a metaphor for addiction or denial of one’s feelings but you know the reasoning behind Mia’s actions.
Watching “Talk to Me” made me want to do many things. It made me want to delete Snapchat, which the teens use to post videos of each other using the hand, but I realized that I need it to stay in touch with my friends from college. It made me never want to do any kind of supernatural challenge or dare but I never do those anyway for fear of pushing my luck. Most importantly, I felt the need to take a long shower to wash away the feelings of dread that were imparted on me. I think that is the most compelling endorsement I can give a horror film.
