Scare Value Award Winner – Best Actress
Top 10 Film of 2023
Talk to Me review
One of the best movies of 2023, Talk to Me feels fresh and classic at the same time.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Talk to Me
Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou
Written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman
Starring Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto and Zoe Terakes
Talk to Me Review
Walking out of a screening of Talk to Me reminded me of how I felt walking out of the great 2014 release It Follows. The two films may not have a lot in common story wise…but they do share some key things. They’re both gorgeous films, for starters. Under the surface they both also feature a fresh-faced cast of young characters trying to solve an otherworldly problem. Most importantly, both movies manage to have a classic feel while being totally fresh in ideas and execution. There have been many great horror movies in the nine years between It Follows and Talk to Me. Few have felt as exciting. Movies that you are excited to have as part of your catalog for the rest of your life as a horror fan.
The story is simple enough. An embalmed hand cast in plaster allows people to communicate with the dead. Say the words “Talk to me” while holding it and a specter will appear before you. Say “I let you in” and it will possess you until the ritual ends. Allow it to stay inside too long…and it will try to take you over for good. The movie greets us with a wild opening scene that shows us how dire the consequences can be.
Of course, a concept will only get you so far. You have to know what to do with it…and you have to have characters you care about to do it to. Talk to Me knows exactly what to do with it…and it creates the perfect people to do it to. Mia (Sophie Wilde) is still dealing with the loss of her mother two years earlier. She leans on her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and feels more a part of her family than her own. When she lets Jane’s younger brother Riley (Joe Bird) do the ritual…well…things go horribly wrong.
Talk to Me uses the ritual in creative ways. It brings the spookiness…and the emotions. Pleasure and pain. When you mess with the other side…the other side messes back. There are a couple of backstories hinted at for the hand at the center of the ritual. It’s more of a curse passed on from victim to victim than the party favor it is deployed as. The truth behind the hand’s origin isn’t important. The fact that it works is.
What makes Talk to Me work is more than its original concept. The excellent cast certainly helps. Sophie Wilde is tasked with playing a full range of emotions. Her expressive face makes you feel what she feels without having to say a word. The full cast of fresh-faced actors pulls what could, on paper, be a silly idea into a terrifying one.
The material is both fun and frightening. Natural sounding dialog feels genuine. It also happens to be a gorgeously shot picture. Horror imagery is deployed to sustain atmosphere more than offer jump scares. This is a hell we are slowly pulled into…not one popping up for a cheap fright.
That’s not to say Talk to Me doesn’t have plenty of tricks up its sleeve. This is a clever movie that uses its twists and turns in the service of a deepening, personal story…not just for shock value. The world created here feels real no matter how much of the afterlife creeps into it. That’s what makes it terrifying. It’s unique concept, excellent cast, spiraling story and gorgeous look are what make it one of the best movies of the year.
Scare Value
Talk to Me is an instant classic. A must watch for horror fans looking for new ideas executed with expertise. From its wild opening scene through its exciting climax, Talk to Me packs in enough creeps and moving moments to fill a movie twice its length. A must see.
4.5/5
Talk to Me Link
Rent/Buy on VOD from Vudu and Amazon
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
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