Did you ever go on an epic cross-country road trip, only to discover that the car ride was a lot more fun than the final destination? If you want to experience that same slightly confounding sensation at the movies this summer, then new Aussie horror flick Talk to Me is probably for you!
In ‘Talk to Me,’ the Journey Is More Fun Than the Final Destination
Not a party you want to be invited to: Sophie Wilde as Mia in ‘Talk to Me.’ (A24)
There is so much right about this gritty little hell-ride. There’s the alluring premise — a bunch of thrill-seeking teens use a mysterious porcelain hand to start communicating with the dead. We only know as much as the kids do about the origins of the hand, but we do meet its last owner in one of the most memorable opening scenes in recent horror history. (I’d go so far as to put it up there with Drew Barrymore’s turn in 1996’s Scream.)
Talk to Me also benefits from a fantastic cast who acts the crap out of this entire thing, conveying a natural chemistry that grounds the movie in realism. (Refreshing, given how often supernatural movies fail in that task.) Particularly stellar is Sophie Wilde as Mia, an alienated teen still grieving the death of her mother. (Because yes, you can never have too many mommy issues in horror movies.) Wilde does most of the heavy lifting here, lurching from raw emotion to cartoonish possession in the blink of an eye. But there isn’t a bad actor in the bunch.
As things begin to spiral out of control for Mia and her friends, and as dark forces begin invading their everyday spaces, the tension mounts, the unease spreads and the horror ramps up. Word of warning: There are moments of physical violence so distressing here, you’ll struggle to keep your eyes on the screen.
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Then, after all that promise and build-up, there’s the ending: the stupid, confusing, half-baked ending that’s in such a rush to tie things up neatly, a number of major questions never get appropriately answered. The fate of one of Mia’s most vulnerable friends makes the least sense of all.
It’s worth noting that, before they co-directed Talk to Me, twins Danny and Michael Philippou were best known for their RackaRacka YouTube channel. The brothers’ goofy skits and real-life stunts garnered them a subscriber list of almost 7 million people. Fumbled ending or not, there are enough great elements in Talk to Me that it’s likely to change the brothers’ lives fundamentally. Let’s just hope that, when it comes time for them to make their second feature, they’ll be confident and comfortable enough to stick the landing. For what it’s worth, Talk to Me got damn close.
‘Talk to Me’ is released nationwide on Friday, July 28, 2023.
