Talk to Me
Another night in Adelaide and another house party of smoking, drinking and lighting the candle before taking hold of the embalmed hand and saying the words “talk to me,” and it’s all fun and games until someone’s eyes turn black and they’re possessed by the spirits of the angry and manipulative dead who don’t want to let go because being hosted by the living is better than the eternal darkness and torment on the other side.
Jade and her best friend Mia had seen the videos, knew what was involved, but had thought it was just a joke until Mia gave in to the taunting and allowed the spirits in, perhaps seeking connection or answers two years after the death of her mother; not believing until it happened to their friend, Jade’s younger brother Riley insists he be given a chance, but having had a taste of tender flesh the spirits are not willing to set him free without a fight.
Directed by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou from a script written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman based on an idea by Daley Pearson, Talk to Me is supernatural horror which follows the ensemble of teenage and twenty-something characters who take part in the ritual as participants or witnesses, looking for something to shake up their smalltown ennui but unprepared for the impact it has on them and their and families as the shadows from the other side leak through.
With Sophie Wilde as Mia, Alexandra Jensen as Jade, Otis Dhanji as her boyfriend Daniel, Joe Bird as Riley and Chris Alosio as Joss, many of the cast are largely unfamiliar with the possible exception of Lord of the Rings‘ Miranda Otto as Sue, using power mom moves to try to keep Jade and Riley out of trouble which she presumes involves unsupervised parties rather than contacting the unquiet and envious dead.
Initially fractious, competing and belittling those who want to play with the cool kids, the dynamic of the group shifts as Riley is hospitalised though ideas on how to help are thin on the ground with owner of the cursed object Hayley (Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt)‘s Zoe Terakes) not even sure whether it is the severed hand of a medium, a psychic or a Satanist, Mia instead seeking guidance from her dead mother.
Achieving its creepy goals through mood and lighting and the plain-speaking Australian bluntness which adds authenticity with overt horror only occasionally but effectively presented, the trauma amplified by caring about those driven to self-harm, there is something of Flatliners about Talk to Me with youthful characters repelled by transformations to ancient, decayed bodies and Mia having to let go of the past as much as those who took part need to let go of the hand.
Talk to Me is currently on general release
