Talk To Me | Review by: Stefano Bove

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

#review #horror #talktome #scary #toronto

Rating all V/H/S/Halloween Segments

Like sorting through your candy after a night of trick-or-treating, V/H/S/ Halloween is a mixed bag. The eighth instalment in this cult-favourite horror anthology series comes up short of previous entries, but there are still a couple of treats in here that should satisfy your twisted cravings. A chilling still from V/H/S/ Halloween . Diet Phantasma This wraparound segment follows an R&D team testing a new low-calorie soda made with “real ghosts.” It’s silly fun, but gets a bit repetitive with each new test subject. The commercial playing during the end credits was a nice touch. Rating: ★★½☆ Coochie Coochie Coo This short feels like walking through a haunted house — but not in a good way. The plot is like something torn from a creepypasta thread. Everything is constantly being spelled out in a painfully obvious way. The practical effects and makeup are decent, and this is probably the only segment that comes close to being scary...

The Mandalorian Season 3 Review

Listen, I love Star Wars. I will always love Star Wars. The original and prequel trilogies were a big part of my childhood, and helped shape my love of cinema. While The Mandalorian isn’t among my favourites in the franchise, I thought it had a promising first season and a significantly stronger season two. Season three had so much potential, but a frustrating lack of focus held it back from greatness. This show’s always had a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s never been as clear as it is here. Does it want to be a procedural-style adventure of the week, or tell an epic, multi-season spanning arc? Season one leaned toward the former, while Season two found a satisfying balance of both. Season three tries to find that balance, but the overarching story it wants to tell is bigger than the few episodes allotted to do so. There are only 8 chapters, some barely over 30 min. That’s a fair...

The Rip Review

The Rip is all the evidence you need that a great cast can elevate an otherwise run-of-the-mill movie. Without its impressive A-list roster, this would’ve likely been lost among a crowd of forgettable January dumping ground releases. Throw Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and a handful of other extremely talented actors into the mix, though, and now you’ve got something worth watching. While there are exceptions that prove the rule, a lot of these police/cartel thrillers are interchangeable when it comes to their cookie-cutter story beats. The Rip breaks exactly zero molds, but it also doesn’t feel as uninspired as it could’ve. There are enough surprises to keep things engaging, and the tension - which the movie often hinges on - is appropriately high strung. The action is punchy and loud, which is no surprise coming from Director Joe Carnahan. While I do have minor issues with some of the sequences feeling a bit choppy in how they were shot and edited, the action is solid and packs...

1st Reviews

Search This Blog