TALK TO ME (2023) – Review

As the Summer is reaching its final weeks are you looking for a super cool fun activity that will take your big late-night party to another level? Sure, “Spin the Bottle” and “Five Minutes in Heaven” are a bit of naughty fun, but where’s the danger? There’s certainly none in the classic board games (moving an icon from one square to the next) or the variations of pantomime. Aha, there’s the creepy ole’ Ouija board, but that’s too old-fashioned. Perhaps that’s why the kids in this flick from “down under” have come up with something that’s more of a direct “channel” to the “other side”. Plus it’s got a limited length, so it makes for an ideal online video (hey, they’ll risk anything to go “viral”). Now once the needed props are set up, the participants only need to recall a couple of commands, beginning with “TALK TO ME”. Then watch out!

The main teen in this terror tale is seventeen-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde), who is dealing with a most difficult time at home. She’s growing more distant from her papa Max (Marcus Johnson) after the recent death of her mother, his wife Rhea. The tension drives her to the family of her BFF Jade (Alexandra Jensen), her kid brother Riley (Joe Bird), and their single mum Sue (Miranda Otto). A series of weird videos of a party game has made them curious, so they sneak out while Sue is away to join a gathering. After a few beverages, host Joss (Chris Alosio) and pal Haley (Zoe Terakes) pull a strange object out of a backpack. It’s a life-sized sculpture of an open hand (Joss insists that the clay covers a real severed human hand). The “game” has strict instructions. The volunteer grasps the hand as though starting a handshake. Then they must say “Talk to Me” which allows a spirit to enter the holder. A candle is lit as the next phrase is uttered, ” I let you in”. Then the “gamer” speaks as the spirit complete with white eyes, gravelly voice, and pale, discolored skin. At exactly the 90-second mark, the gamer must release the hand and the candle must be blown out, otherwise the possession could be permanent. Jade’s boyfriend, who is Mia’s ex, has a most embarrassing time with the hand. But it makes Mia wonder whether this could put her in contact with her dearly missed mother. Another private party is set up, and Mia nearly succumbs to the spirit realm. But then twelve-year-old Riley pleads to give it a whirl. Despite the misgivings of Joss and Haley, Mia convinces them that it will be safe. And things naturally go horribly wrong. Now Mia must find a way to “get back in” and rescue the tormented soul of Riley. But could her efforts cost her her life? And what happens when Rhea begins to guide Mia?

Wilde ably leads the ensemble of screen newcomers as the story’s heroine, the troubled Mia. In the opening scenes, her body language conveys her relationships, stiff, brisk with her father, loose, and inviting with her “second family”. Her questioning eyes hint at her concern over losing her BFF to her ex, though she tries to toss it off with a casual shrug. Jensen as Jade is a thoroughly smitten bundle of emotion, seeming to spring to life with each new call or text from “him”. Riley as played by the youthful Bird is “chomping at the bit” to keep up with his “elders” and break out of his “babysat by Mia” constraint. Terakes and Alosio try to project a “too cool” indifference until their “ticket to party royalty” begins to “amp up” the emotional stakes. The seasoned screen vet of the cast is Otto, who is torn between protecting the kids and being the “cool mom” rather than the wet blanket. She almost feels like the surrogate parent to Mia which adds an extra level of pain to their falling out.

Even the talent behind the camera is new to feature films. After making a big impression with several online videos, the team of twin brothers Danny and Michael Phillippou begin this horror tale with a bombastic opening, as we are tossed right into the last moments of a previous terror tale of “the ceramic hand”. It’s quite the flashy intro as it appears to be one continuous shot. From this “shot out of a cannon” prologue, the movie lets us catch our breath as the clever script by Danny with Bill Hinzman and Daley Pearson presents a group of teens, like many of their peers, who live through and for social media, aching to go viral and ecstatic as their viewing numbers climb. And kudos for creating the hand as a unique “hook”, a more visually potent entry device than a dusty book or totem. Viewers may have a difficult time in those early scenes as the kids chatter non-stop and over each other (hopefully your theatre sound system won’t garble those Aussie accents), but once the games begin, the brothers really dish out some great atmosphere via lighting and audio effects, as those “gamers” speak in raspy tones ala THE EVIL DEAD and THE EXORCIST, while writhing in their chairs (did I mention that they’re tied up with ropes at the start). Plus those demons are truly hideous sweaty deformed horrors, which are only seen by those holding that hand. Those looking for a voice in terror cinema will be swept away by the Phillippou twins who have unleashed a new “nightmare fodder” with the inventive TALK TO ME.

3 Out of 4

TALK TO ME is now playing in theatres everywhere