I’ve never been the biggest fan of horror movies. Not that they scare me to the point of passing out or anything, but I’ve never gleaned any joy or fear from those movies. There’s the rare Ringu now and then, but those are few and far between. So when I caught a look at Talk To Me’s trailer, I didn’t make much of it. Then I saw the A24 logo towards the end.
Whether you love or hate the movie, A24 movies are at least interesting to talk about. (Why hello there, Beau is Afraid, you creepy, confounding bastard). It’s also an Australian movie. I’ve never seen any movies from Down Under, so this is a good place to start. The duo behind this movie, Danny and Michael Phillipou (RackaRacka on Youtube), are also pretty famous amateur filmmakers. So I was interested to see how they made the jump to the big screen.
I will say this much at least. These Australian guys have a better handle on filmmaking than most big studios.
Talk To Me tells the story of a bunch of teenagers who stumble onto an embalmed hand that can conjure spirits. Think Ouija, but with a hand instead of a board. It’s all fun and games until Mia (Sophia Wilde) ends up talking with the spirit of her dead mother. Determined to find the truth behind her mother’s suicide, she takes things too far and starts wreaking havoc on their lives.
You wouldn’t know that this is a debut feature. There’s confidence in the way that the Philippou brothers handle the direction of the movie. Aided by solid camera work from Aaron McLisky, Talk To Me isn’t nipping at the heels to show you its latest mediocre scare. It’s not a rapid-fire jump scare machine with well-timed water breaks. Talk To Me is the kind of movie that slowly ratchets the dread factor to the point of no return. It lulls you ever so gently into a state of security and once it’s gotten you to that point, it bares its vicious fangs and digs deep.
The first half is table setting for the main cast of Mia, Jade (Alexandra Jensen), Daniel (Otis Dhanji), Riley (Joe Bird), Joss (Chris Alosio), and Hayley (Zoe Terakis). We get the mechanics behind the hand and a lot of goofing around. It’s in the second half that Talk To Me becomes a horror story about grief, guilt, teenage confusion, and suicide.
Across a crisp 95-minute runtime, the Philippous hold steady and take glee in slowly revealing their deck without having to resort to the same staid jump-scares. The scares aren’t numerous, but each one of them hits with the force of a wrecking ball. It also helps that the sound design is top-notch.
Aided by an assured direction and mostly solid writing (some plot issues are glossed over) is Sophia Wilde’s great performance. As Mia, Wilde convincingly portrays a teenager trying to live her best life despite the trauma hanging on her neck like a dead albatross. It’s easy to believe that a teenager would take things too far when Wilde is crying her heart out for some closure. The supporting cast also does a solid job with their performances.
Oh, one more thing. If you can find a theatre that plays the movie with subtitles, go for that. The Australian accent was a bit hard to understand.
The RackaRacka boys here have delivered one of the best debuts I’ve seen in quite some time. Even if you don’t care for horror films that much, I’d suggest you try Talk To Me. Is it one of the best horror movies? Not really. But it’s eons better than most horror movies.
I’m interested to see what the Brothers Philippou will deliver in the future.