"Talk to Me" a wicked nerve-rattler that grabs you by the throat

Talk to Me (2023)

An A24 supernatural horror film imagined through today’s thrill-seeking youths doing the darnedest viral challenges, “Talk to Me” is a wicked, legitimately distressing doozy. First-time Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Phillipou (twin brothers who run YouTube channel RackaRacka) bring an airtight assuredness and an inescapable dread to their feature debut, instantly grouping them in the upper echelon of modern horror storytellers. Similar to David Robert Mitchell’s “It Follows,” “Talk to Me” boasts one of the most original horror-movie hooks in recent memory: think a Zillennial “Flatliners."

After losing her mum exactly two years ago, Mia (Sophie Wilde) has spent less time at home with her father who’s grown distant. She feels like another child to single mum Sue (Miranda Otto) and Mia’s best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Jade’s younger brother Riley (Joe Bird). One night, they sneak out to a party where they’re introduced to a new party trick that’s gone viral. Who needs an Ouija board anymore to conjure up the dead? Just get strapped to a chair and have someone light a candle. Link hands with a ceramic hand that allegedly has an embalmed hand underneath. Say the words, “talk to me,” and you’re linked to a spirit. Then say, “I let you in,” and the spirit transfers into your body. Release your hand after 90 seconds and have that candle blown out, or else the ghoul might want to stay. It’s a new high that all the cool kids are getting, but when someone close to Mia gets hurt in the process, it might be time to call it quits. 

“Talk to Me” has our attention from the word go, as a high school party comes to an abrupt end. On a planet where kids have swallowed laundry pods as a viral challenge, having a spirit possess your body for 90 seconds as a thrill isn’t that far off. Still, this concept simply wouldn’t work as well as it does without strong performances and a deeply felt emotional core, as well as some impeccably gruesome practical make-up effects and disquieting sound design. Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: B +

A24 is releasing "Talk to Me" (95 min.) in theaters on July 28, 2023.