About the film (courtesy of A24):
When a couple 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.
Talk to Me stars Sophie Wild, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Hayley Law, and Joss Sackville. Danny and Michael Philippou make their feature film debut, and they do a solid job of creating a suspenseful and terrifying film. It’s well-paced, with plenty of jump scares and moments of dread. The cast is also very good, with Wild giving a particularly solid performance. In showing their range, you will find some of its surprisingly funny, along with some well-timed moments of levity.
Rather than going back to the old faithful Ouija boards or seances, Talk to Me at least steps out of the box a bit by utilizing a cursed embalmed hand as the centerpiece for unleashing evil. I honestly wouldn’t really care which totem was going to be used, but I’ll give the Philippou brothers some kudos some credit for not grabbing at the lowest hanging fruits.
One of the things that makes Talk to Me so effective is its use of atmosphere. The film is set in a small town, and the Philippou brothers do a great job of creating a sense of isolation and dread. The film is also very visually striking, with some memorable imagery. Another plus is that the runtime is kept under control by staying under two hours, more like 90 minutes. The respectable runtime also assists in mitigating the negatives to this feature.
Talk to Me is not without its flaws. As with most horror films, the plot is a tad bit thin, characters continuously make painfully ill-advised decisions, and the ending is somewhat unsatisfying. Yet even with the plethora of potholes to navigate, the film’s strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
Talk to Me is a well-made and suspenseful horror film that is sure to please fans of the genre. It’s a true R-rated horror feature that slips in a few visual punches along the way. As an avid fan of the genre, I found my cinematic experience to be fulfilling to the point that I will label this as an unexpected treat.
You can catch Talk to Me in theaters Friday, July 28th with earlier showings on Thursday evening. Check this one if you also share an admiration of the horror genre, just as I do.
