Year of Release: 2022
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Starring: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Miranda Otto, Marcus Johnson, Zoe Terakes, Otis Dhanji, Chris Alosio, Alexandria Steffensen, Sunny Johnson, Ari McCarthy
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"Talk to Me" is the feature directorial debut of the Philippou brothers. It premiered firstly in Australia in late 2022, and made it to the US in early 2023 where it was part of the Sundance Film Festival of that year. It went on to get substantial critical accolades, and finally upon its wide commercial release, was a substantial hit.
The film takes place in Adelaide, Australia and focuses on the story of Mia, a 17 year old girl, who is having issues coping with the recent death of her mother, Rhea. Her relationship with her father is somewhat distant and cold, something he tries to repair. Mia spends a lot of her free time with her best friend Jade, and Jade's younger brother Riley. The three decide to attend a gathering at a nearby friend's house, and they realize that one of the main attractions of the evening is a severed and embalmed hand. They're explained that by holding the hand, and saying "talk to me", it enables someone to communicate with a dead person's spirit. If during that they also say "I let you in", they allow the spirit to possess them. In order to prevent the spirits of being attached to the person holding the hand, they have to sever the connection within 90 seconds. Mia volunteers to go first, and is possessed by a spirit that seems to focus quite intently on Riley. The connection is broken off with some difficulty, but Mia feels a rush after it.
The following evening the group tries once again, and they all take turns, save for Riley who is deemed too young. Jade prohibits it as she does not want to get in trouble with her mother. However when she leaves the room, Mia lets him embark on the game, leaving the little boy possessed by what she thinks to be her late mother's spirit. However the time of the bonding goes over, and Riley's body is taken over, upon which he attempts to kill himself. As Riley is taken to the hospital, things just keep getting worse, as Mia also starts being haunted by visions of her late mother.
"Talk to Me" is a good lesson on how having a smart concept, and relying on the progressive buildout of an unsettling environment, can produce substantial dividends. The directors smartly build the ecosystem of relationships that exist between the main characters, slowly peeling away at the profound unhappiness the central character, Mia, feels towards what happened with her mother and how she feels at a loss in life. The grip that the hand symbolizes, it's a way for Mia to reach out to a mother who left with no explanation, but also a way for her to find a sense of comfort in what she thinks she's enabling the spirits to have once again. The rush she experiences also marries with the feeling of being accepted by the group of friends she's surrounded with. As the narrative progresses and takes a darker turn, it also becomes more unsettling, there is also an aspect of no easy solution for the predicament. And Mia's guilt becomes even more of a manifestation of a gateway to something sinister to come forth. It's a very taut and well conceived narrative, never falling into gratuitous horror clichés, all the while being stylistically inventive and well paced. The cast is uniformly solid, with highlights going to Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, and Marcus Johnson. The production team is equally solid, with highlights going to the cinematography from Aaron McLisky, editing by Geoff Lamb, and production design by Bethany Ryan. A solid film worth watching.
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