My Review of Talk To Me (2023)

 

Written by Daniel Philippou And Bill Hinzman 

Directed by Daniel Philippou And Michael Philippou

Stranger (to Mia): "I let you in."

And the sleeper hit of the summer goes to this movie. It wasn't on my radar for a bit and then the reviews came in and I needed to see what the fuss was about. Good job I did so then.

I've been meaning to watch more Australian movies, especially in the horror genre and while I have seen at least one Wolf Creek film, this was about something far scarier than just a random crazed killer bumping off backpackers. This played around with a pretty familiar trope.

The trope being talking to dead and the means of doing it was through an embalmed hand that once the person touched during candlelight and saying the words "talk to me," thongs played out in a very sinister manner. It's as if some people don't know better or stupidly put themselves in danger.

The characters in questions to do this was outcast Mia (Sophie Wilde) who found herself attending a party with her friend, Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and the latter's younger brother, Riley (Joe Bird). A party that had Mia's ex boyfriend, Daniel (Otis Dhanji) and was hosted by Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio), the ones responsible for the troublesome hand to begin with.

With the exception of Jade (who had enough sense not to go there), everyone of the group touched the hand and got visited by various spirits. With Hayley and Joss being the least effected and Daniel spooked a bit, it was primarily Mia and Riley who had to deal with the worst effects of touching that hand.

Riley's short encounter led to a violent altercation that resulted in him being hoapitalised to the anger of his mother, Sue (Miranda Otto). Sue, who blamed Mia for her son's condition but would then also leave him alone with an increasingly unstable Mia as the movie hurtled towards its conclusion. 

Mia's descent into madness, given her repeated experiences with the hand and encounter with her dead mother, Rhea (Alexandria Steffenson) certainly fuelled the tension. Mia tried her best to save Riley from eternal limbo torment, only to find herself in the reverse position she started, giving this movie a rather chilling ending.

- While the RackaRacka guys are responsible for this movie, the idea did come from Daley Pearson.

- Following the success of this movie, not only is a sequel in the works but a short prequel movie was also filmed before this movie's release.

- Standout music: Good use of Sia's Chandelier earlier on in the film.

- Chronology: Present day Australia. The film was made in 2022 but released last month.

Talk To Me definitely has merited the praise it's been given in the short time of it's release. Overall, this has been a strong year for the horror genre with this being a worthy debut for RackaRacka. A gripping central performance from Sophie Wilde certainly helped too.

Rating: 8 out of 10