Talk to Me review: Pure, intense horror from start to finish
"It’s relentless, grotesque and ultimately one of the first truly scary horrors we’ve had in a while," writes Joey Passmore
It’s been another eventful year for the horror genre. We kicked off 2023 with viral sensation M3GAN, followed by Knock at the Cabin, arguably one of M. Night Shyamalan’s better outings. We also saw franchise returns from Scream, Evil Dead and Insidious, all with varying degrees of success and more surreal takes with Beau is Afraid and Infinity Pool, both dividing audiences. However, the absolute standout of the genre, Talk to Me, is releasing this Friday.
Talk To Me is an Australian supernatural horror film directed by twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. It’s part Evil Dead, part Exorcist, with a hint of the Gen-Z flare of Bodies, Bodies Bodies. But most importantly it’s very much its own demon.
It centres around a grieving Mia (Sophie Wild) and her group of friends who are introduced to an ancient demonic hand, which is going viral around their school for its alleged possession abilities. By holding the hand and talking to the spirits, the teens are presented with something straight out of a Sam Raimi nightmare. Except, instead of running for the door, these teens laugh and argue over who’s going next.
“Everything about Talk to Me feels like an elevated version of stories we’ve seen before”
Without ever relying too much on jump scare fake-outs, Talk To Me is pure, intense horror from start to finish. It’s relentless, grotesque and ultimately one of the first truly scary horrors we’ve had in a while. The Philippou brothers lure you in with the terrifying aspects of possession. But they really raise the stakes by exploring loss in a beautifully twisted kind of way. Dealing with grief in horror is in no way a first, but everything about Talk to Me feels like an elevated version of stories we’ve seen before.
The cast are all spectacular. Sophie Wild gives a gut-wrenching performance as Mia. Alexandra Jensen gives a more grounded performance as best friend Jade. And there’s great supporting turns from Miranda Otto, Joe Bird as well as Zoe Terakes. (Who recently made history as the first trans actor to join a Marvel show, with the upcoming Ironheart).
Meanwhile, Aaron McLisky’s cinematography pulls Talk To Me into a different universe from the overly familiar Hollywoodised horrors we’re used to. There are sequences so visually and distinctively chilling that they plunge the already well-written characters further into their own personal hells. The most savage and scary horror of the year.