Horrorfest 2023: Talk to Me

Talk to Me

Screenplay by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman

Based on a concept by Daley Pearson

Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou

Starring Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson and Alexandria Steffensen

Australia, 2023

Some Australian teens come across a disembodied, mummified hand and use its super natural powers of possession as a party game in TALK TO ME. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose.

The rules are, you light a candle, hold the disembodied hand, and say, "Talk to me." A disturbing spirit will appear to you, and then you say, "I let you in." The spirit possesses you. At this point, all the other teens at the party get excitement, thrills and laughs from the weird stuff you do and say while you're possessed, all with their smart phones out, recording. You might wonder why anyone would do this when it makes you the center of possibly unwanted attention and the answer is because apparently the possession causes a euphoric, addictive sensation within the possessed. 

The catch? Don't stay possessed passed the time limit! And blow the candle out when you're done. In the grand tradition of all these kinds of movies, these rules are ignored, and the aforementioned hell breaks loose.

But now I've talked in a circle! Is the movie any good? Yeah. It's very good. And you wouldn't expect any less from A24, an indie distributor turned studio who seems to have an uncanny knack for picking winners. Yes, there have been some clunkers here and there, but this is not one of them, and so far, A24 has remained a mark of quality for discerning cineasts.

Sophie Wilde is great in the lead as a normal girl, dealing with the death of her mother and her now-difficult relationship with her father by inserting herself into her best friend's (Alexandra Jensen) family, particularly reaching out to her best friend's little brother (Joe Bird), also a teen. This creates an interesting relationship you don't see very often in movies -- the older sister's cool friend thinks the younger brother is cool, and gives him the time of day. Likewise, the younger brother thinks the older sister's friend is cool, and appreciates it. 

Once the possessions begin, the lines between reality and fantasies caused by the possessions begin to blur and the movie keeps you guessing how things are (or aren't) going to eventually work out. Is our lead going to trick the demons plaguing her, or are they going to trick her? Of course I'm not going to tell, but I will tell you the movie ends with a deliciously sick twist.