Directors, Danny and Michael Philippou will surely be on everyone's radar after Talk To Me hits theatres. The youtubers turned directors incorporate many elements of their styles visible in their years of filmmaking youtube shorts, into a horror film that is incredibly unique to the genre.
Friends, Mia, Jade, and Daniel attend a house party with other high school friends. Two of Jade's friends, Hayley and Joss, bring a mysterious and creepy embalmed hand that allows people to connect with the dead. This hand and its powers have been making its way around social media and are piquing teenagers' interest to try it out themselves.
After loving the feeling of the first spiritual connection, they test their luck again just a few nights thereafter at Jade’s house and this time, Jade’s brother Riley is also present and this is where the story takes a hard sharp turn.
The film is not overly scary but is one of the best horror films of the year so far because it expands into territory that typically is not covered in the horror genre. The writing is actually very funny at times, I do find Australian curse words and vulgar terms hilarious and I'm guessing others do as well because my whole theatre was bursting into laughter at many moments. You may find it strange that a horror film is funny but the writing just managed to balance tones in different scenes very well. There are also many underlying commentaries on teenage substance abuse, addiction and peer and social pressures of growing up, especially in this new era of social media and everyone wanting to stand out amongst the rest. I can not recall the last horror film that I have watched that tried to spread a message but Talk To Me does an amazing job of covering these social issues in teenage development.
The acting is just fantastic, especially Sophie Wilde as Mia and Joe Bird as Riley as they are the two who spend the most time connected to the spirit world and just nail their deliveries. The relationships are another strong element to the film as they all have interesting dynamics that puts everyone's relationships to the test. Mia, Riley, Jade, Daniel and even Mia's father all have to learn to trust each other and trust themselves.
Talk To Me may not be the scariest movie you have ever watched but it definitely will be one of the strongest additions to the horror genre you have seen in years.
4/5
Review by: Stefano Bove
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