Review by
Sofia De La Espriella
A new take on all the Ouija board movies we already have! The latest concept that approaches the idea of a horrific death caused by the supernatural.
TALK TO ME garnered very positive reviews by word of mouth, and a sequel is already in the making. This shouldn't come as a surprise given that the first movie is the distributor's highest-grossing movie of all time at the US box office. However, the follow-up sequel has much higher expectations and is said to be released in August of 2024.
TALK TO ME is elevated horror at its best, balancing the dramatic with the darkly comedic in an impressive fashion. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, it was picked up by A24, one of the most prestigious indie film distributors. Predictably, this movie will be appreciated for years and maybe even become a cult classic.
TALK TO ME is the feature film debut of directors Danny and Micheal Philippou who are brothers mainly known for their stunt videos and comedy sketches on their YouTube channel, RackaRacka. With this movie being their first big project, they wanted to maintain artistic integrity, even turning down big studios that provided them with a bigger budget, just so they could do be left alone to do what they wanted. The cast mostly consisted of unknown Australian actors, who were allowed to improvise many scenes further growing into their characters. The creators wanted this movie to have relevance to peer pressure and was so well done that one can see the clear connections in this drug concept.
TALK TO ME starts with a worried man named Cole (Ari McCarthy) looking for his brother Duckett (Sunny Johnson) at a party. We see Duckett mumbling about his dead dad and the party starts to notice that something is “off” about him. Duckett then stabs his brother in front of everyone recording and then stabs himself in the face leading to his death. The use of technology and going viral is a common theme in this movie that truly depicts being a teenager in this day and age.
After this two-minute one take scene, we meet the main protagonist, Mia, played by Sophie Wilde. Ms. Wilde does a brilliant job showing how infuriating and frustrating this character is. We see Mia having a large victim complex and seeing no evil in her actions such as having a sleepover with her best friend’s boyfriend alone. Maybe she becomes the antagonist?
It has been two years since Mia’s mom died and she has grown distant from her father (Marcus Johnson) by barely being around him. We see her in her best friend's house Jade (Alexandra Jensen) much more talkative and comfortable with her family. Mia’s old lover Daniel (Otis Dhanji) is now Jade's current lover and throughout the movie we see this love triangle unravel and play a huge role in the plot. Mia wants her and Jade to go to a classmate's house to check out the scary game they've seen all over her peers' social media. Jade’s little brother Riley (Joe Bird) also ends up going, which later becomes a big mistake. This is just a preview of what the movie endures and highlights what it's like being a teenager during the modern age where anything you do can end up broadcast on social media in an instant.
The item that is used in these supernatural activities is a ceramic hand that supposedly has a medium hand embedded in it. It requires a chair to sit in and a belt to hold you in place. You start by lighting a candle that opens a spiritual door and then blow it out. You cannot stay in the spirit for more than 90 seconds or it can result in it staying in you forever. Then you have to say the phrase which is the title of the movie “talk to me” and then the second part is “I let you in”. It's a very cool twist on the common ouija board or haunted item that we see featured in other films. Very brilliant movie that only some will appreciate but fits nicely in indie horror.
Sofía De La Espriella