Talk to Me (2023) spoiler free review
Talk to me. Let me in. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, in their directorial debut, Talk to Me is a Australian supernatural horror film. It had its preview screening at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival, its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2023, and was theatrically released on July 28, 2023.
It follows a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, becoming hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Film synopsis
The cast includes Sophie Wilde as Mia, Alexandra Jensen as Jade, Joe Bird as Riley, Otis Dhanji as Daniel, Miranda Otto as Sue, Zoe Terakes as Hayley, Chris Alosio as Joss, Marcus Johnson as Max, Alexandria Steffensen as Rhea, Ari McCarthy as Cole, and Sunny Johnson as Duckett.
My opinion
Talk to Me is not the typical teenagers supernatural horror film in the best way possible. Similar to Smile (2022) the film features effective and scary jump scares, something hard to achieve this days. With a cool concept the film will trap you with a brutal opening scene, that sets the tone for the rest of the film, never turning boring. The SFX makeup and practical effects are impressive and nasty, making it look and feel real. The cast delivers convincing performances, with Sophie Wilde giving the most outstanding one. This is indeed a great debut for Danny and Michael Philippou as directors. While there’s room for improvement they started with the right foot.
The only flaw that can be found is the lack of development. With a running time of 1 hour and 34 minutes the story ends leaving loose ends and details forgotten. While it could have been the director’s intention to leave the viewer with some questions, the film could have been longer in order to give some closure. As a result, the film looses by moments the tension buildup never reaching the full potential. Regardless of those little details, Talk to Me is a twisted and well executed story becoming one of the best horror movies of 2023.
*This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, this movie being covered here wouldn’t exist. Critics are not on strike and are not obligated to stop reviewing movies or TV shows.