Talk to Me

This stands out from your jump scare or just plain poor plot horror movies. I watch as much horror as I can and this was an original idea and very well written. After the movie, you will piece together more and more of how it all ties together.

Scary, yet enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. The acting was very good and really ties in with the themes in the film.

This is more of the stick with you, creepy, dread, existential type horror, but also had many scary scenes.

Also love to see a movie like this create a star actor and get picked up for distribution at Sundance. We need many more horror films like this and less of these cookie cutter, one page plot horror movies.

A group of youngsters discover that by taking part in a small ritual involving an embalmed, ceramic hand, that they're able to contact spirits from the other side.

One of the better horror films I've seen for some time, when I compare to the other horrors I've seen in 2023, this rates as the best so far.

Talk to me has a degree of originality, it's loaded with jump scares, and has some genuinely memorable moments. The writing was rather good, everything pieced together nicely, including that pretty shocking opening sequence.

Quite graphic at times, it wasn't afraid to show a bit of gore, eyeball, that's all I'm saying, I had to look away. I loved that deliciously dark closing scene, it was such a strong, cohesive end to the film, it really worked.

There were a couple of clichés, and there were a couple of moments where you're left scratching your head, puzzling whether people would actually do the things that happened here, but those are minor faults, the only major gripe I had, was the rebirth of The Crazy Frog music (I thought our ears had been spared that years ago.)

They trailered Cobweb and Nun 2, will either of them surpass this one? Will have to wait and see.

A big thumbs up.

8/10.

What drew my interest in this film was the high IMDb reviews, especially for the horror genre which is the most scrutinized. The plot is pretty basic.... evil and supernatural forces begin to manifest by touching an embalmed hand. I love horror films but I've always treated them like an amusement park ride. They don't need a sophisticated plot but certainly a good screenplay, creepy atmosphere, pacing, uncomfortable tension, and just plain scary. I'll get straight to the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Good cinematography and quality of acting.

2. Because of the lower budget, the film wasn't flooded with CGI. Some of the scenes were pretty creepy. One scene had a dark atmosphere about it that reminded me of a scene from Hereditary.

Cons:

1. Way too much filler. I understand and appreciate setting things up for character attachment/development but the first 25-30 min was a snooze fest.

2. Screenplay was too disjointed and had a pacing problem. The scenes involving the hand were good but all the in-between segments with the characters were uninteresting for the most part. At times I was wondering with a particular character if this was horror or a drama.

3. Weak final act. When it's all said and done this movie is about a few entertaining and even scary scenes and a lot of messy writing all over the place. Are they trying too hard? Should they have focused on a different angle if the goal was to make this story deeper? You be the judge. Honestly I think this would have made a really good 12-13 minute short film.

Is this movie on the level of 2018's Hereditary? Heck no. Is it worth watching? Honesty yes. With great horror movies few and far between, you can get a few thrills out of it and appreciate the potential that could have been. Decent but could have been so much more...

I feel like I am the only person that thought this movie was very average and lackluster. Being an A24 film, it's stylish, with great cinematography and overall good acting. But I thought most of the characters were unlikable and the story felt hollow. It felt like it was taking bits and pieces from other horror movies that it thought would work to formulate another good horror movie. The practical effects are excellent and I always appreciate the use of less CGI which helps ground any film in more realism. The movie also tries to have a deeper message and metaphors, but these also fall apart with the story telling. By the end it felt forgettable. I wanted to like it but sadly it's a dud for me.

Danny and Michael Philippou have truly made something special here and hope it gets the attention it deserves. Known by their YouTube channel "RackaRacka" They were able to pull off a great low budget horror film on the budget of $4.5 million Australian dollars that feels at least 20 million.

The cinematography and direction were all incredible with some expertly crafted scenes and a very dark and foreboding story that does have some originality to it despite being another supernatural, hell-demon, "other side" story. The scenes with the hand were legitimately scary and tense with a very unpredictable nature to it, the rest of the story was surprisingly unpredictable and unconventional, that also captures the modern Australian generation very well.

The acting in this movie was off the charts and really delivered every emotion these characters were feeling at any given time and their reaction to exactly what was happening, internally and externally. The movie does depict Australian Gen Zérs pretty well, me being one of them. They did use it to their advantage in this movie, with RackaRacka being Gen Z as well, they were able to nail their modern Australian characters to perfection.

The movie really did have an impactful effect on me, with me starting to feel a little ill by the end of the movie and me processing what all had just happened that I won't spoil in this review. Overall, the tone didn't just feel like shallow horror, but a legitimate one that actually has a foothold in Australian society that did feel somewhat believable in certain areas. The tension was soaring and ever present, the music was great too, there weren't many jump scares in this but the scary scenes themselves were clever and hard hitting.

The movie didn't just fly by either, it did feel like it did run a bit longer than just 90 minutes and I did appreciate how it held my attention the way it did. I did feel genuine dread from it, that I haven't felt from a horror movie like this in a VERY long time. If not ever. The only problem I had with it is that I wished the story was a bit more revelatory and not so secretive in a lot of areas.

Go see it if you're a fan of Horror and Modern Australian Cinema. I hope this brings nothing but success for The Philippou Brothers and the film has already gotten recognition by several popular horror directors including Jordan Peele.