This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Talk to Me has become one of the most hyped-up horror movies of the year and I am here to say it is well deserved. Starring Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, and Joe Bird, Talk to Me follows a group of friends who get their hands on an embalmed hand that allows spirits to enter their world. Coming from the minds of the RackaRacka brothers (Micheal and Danny Philippou), it is a unique story that packs in great scares with some perfectly timed emotion and comedy.
Before even getting into the review, it is just so cool that the makers of this movie got their start on Youtube. Others have made the jump before but it is nevertheless impressive how strong these guys started. They crafted an immersive story that never felt out of touch, especially with the story beats revolving around social media and partying.
Using the hand to connect with a spirit is treated like a party game for Snapchat just like a drinking game would be. Major kudos to them for pulling it off and not sounding preachy from an older generation.
Talk to Me has really good scares in it. They used sound perfectly to naturally build up tension, especially the sound of human nails. There really weren’t any cheap jumpscares as I jumped multiple times throughout my watch. The visuals were also pretty haunting.
For starters, the look of the spirits was downright disturbing. Each spirit had its own story told through its look and I had a mild curiosity as to how they all ended up there. When the main group let the spirits in, the black eyes and rashed skin only hammered home how creepy what they were doing was.
The movie also had some flashes of being gruesome as hell. Two scenes really stuck out there but if you’re a horror movie fan that likes some blood in their movie, this one should suffice.
The performances were also quite good. Sophie Wilde as our lead Mia does such a good job with the emotional range her character has. This was her debut role and absolutely crushed it. The supporting cast stands out as well. They all felt like people I’ve encountered before and felt appropriately terrified when they should have been.
Like with a lot of A24 films, the story opened up a lot of questions for me. The major theme I took away from the movie was how we process loss and grief. That leads to questioning the motivation of not just our lead Mia but the spirit she interacts with as well. The filmmakers are able to twist the tropes which led to a truly intense third act.
Final Thoughts
There are some story beats that I think were underdeveloped but Talk to Me is up there for best horror movie of the year. Given that it is a unique IP, it’s incredibly impressive how good the story was and how good the scares were. I highly recommend giving this movie a watch.
4/5
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