THE MOST BLUMHOUSE FILM TO COME OUT OF A24 IS A GENRE DEFYING DOWNUNDER GEM FROM OZ

TALK TO ME (2023- A24)

DIRECTED BY: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou

WRITTEN BY: Bill Hinzman and Danny Philippou

STARRING:

Sophie Wilde

Joe Bird

Alexandra Jensen

Otis Dhanji

Miranda Otto

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

Light the candle, grasp the mummified hand, and speak the eponymous words “Talk to me.” When you see IT (and when you see it, you’ll know!), say “I let you in.” But for only ninety seconds, any longer, the spirit will stay with you until you die. These are the rules in the the most BLUMHOUSE film A24 has released, TALK TO ME. 

Danny and Michael Phillipou, and their writing cohort, Bill Hinzman, borrow from so many sources in making their theatrical debut, it’s hard to nail down where they got their inspiration. After working on Down Under classics like THE BABADOOK, and after a billion hits on their YouTube channel (yes, I said a BILLION!), the brothers seem to have gotten this down to a science, because they’ve come out of the gate swinging. 

TALK TO ME joins a list of horror movies that define generations. 1978’s HALLOWEEN set the stage for the 80s Slasher craze as Gen X teens were hacked and slashed by the dozens. The nineties saw the first Millennial horror brat packs formed out of the ashes of the 80s with FLATLINERS and THE FACULTY until the 2000’s when DONNIE DARKO made college kids weird and moody. Our modern era has seen them elevated for Gen ‘s Z & A, with movies like MIDSOMMAR and IT FOLLOWS.  

One can even say TALK TO ME is IT FOLLOWS, the Gen Z down under version- except it doesn’t follow. Instead, TALK TO ME fucks with you both physically and mentally. One could easily see the film’s advertising and dismiss this as another gaggle of preteens saying Bloody Mary in the mirror, or a clique of teenagers and a Ouija board. Truthfully, it’s both of these, as well as a game of peer pressure TRUTH OR DARE, the Medium edition… but it’s so much more than all of the examples I’ve given. 

The Phillipous have taken a concept from fellow filmmaker Daley Pearson, which is fundamentally the classic Monkey’s Paw trope, and they’ve jettisoned it to a new level by adding elements of FLATLINERS and THE EXORCIST to the plot, while flipping the ages old teen horror flick sub genre on its head with a healthy dose of paranoia and body horror. Practical effects compliment the cinematography, and the film moves at a faster pace than your typical A24 fare.

Thematically, TALK TO ME is another study on grief and how we, as a society, never seem to deal with it properly. There’s no good way to deal with grief, as many people are well aware. Which is why movies (John Wick), books (Pet Semetary), and television series (Wandavision) breeching the topic are so damn popular. It allows us to bond with the grieving characters. And even if we haven’t experienced a loss, our empathy for others takes over and places us in the same spot. 

The writing is fantastic. Danny and Bill Hinzman give Wilde’s character, Mia, so many complexities, yet she’s easily relatable by the audience. Two years after her mother’s suicide, Mia still grieves. We’ve all been there, noting the dates of tragedies and allowing ourselves to slip into depressions surrounding the events’ anniversaries. By using the mummified hand as metaphor for teens and addictive circumstances or substances, they provide a simple catalyst to allow this gentle soul to unravel. 

None of these nuances work unless the actors can convey the emotions. I’m happy to say the acting in TALK TO ME is superb for a cast of teen actors, especially the leads in Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, and Alexandra Jensen. This has been a growing trend, I think, for a good 25 years now, since SCREAM and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. There was a time when lower budget horror films hired their cast based more off their appearance than their acting chops- the early FRIDAY THE 13TH films are some of the worst abusers of this. Not anymore, thankfully.

Nothing terrifies me more than people acting outside of their own volition. There is an eyeball scene in this the Italian masters Fulci and Argento would be (and should be!) envious of. Those who found Regan’s transformation from angelic child to demonic vessel in THE EXORCIST will surely enjoy TALK TO ME’s similar path, launched at the end of its second act.

TALK TO ME is as good as SAW or any other franchise launching film. I’m happy to say we have a potential new horror icon in our… hand(?), and its storytelling allows it to, um, open more doors we haven’t seen in cinematic storytelling. So, on July 28th, make sure you light a candle before heading to the multiplex, and settle in for a disturbing thrill ride. From a shocking cold open as engaging and terrifying as any seen on screen (I’m looking at you GHOST SHIP, SCREAM, and MALIGNANT) to its mind bending climax, TALK TO ME is certain to stand out as a future classic of the horror genre.