When I was conducting the mental list of my favorite movies of 2023 so far, I did not expect to place a horror flick among the top spots a horror flick. I consider myself a horror aficionado, but it has recently felt like every scary movie has seemed derivative, devoid of creativity, and just…not scary. Talk to Me by the Australian Philippou brothers finally broke me out of the horror slump and presented me with a fresh, genuinely scary concept that has been the best scary movie, for me at least, since 2018’s Hereditary, also an A24 film.
Looking back at Hereditary, I can draw similarities between the two that make both hallmark horror films. For one, while we get the blood, guts, and ghouls in each film, the primary context that each establishes is one of conflicts within the family. To this end, Talk to Me is wonderful in its depiction of the main character Mia’s (Sophie Wilde) trauma after losing her mother to an accidental suicide, which becomes her primary motivation for the rest of the film. She encounters a group of teens who have come across an embalmed hand that allows them to haphazardly summon spirits of the dead for laughs and social media posts, and while they enact a strict 90-second limit to talking with the dead, Mia frantically surpasses this when the spirit that response is that of her deceased mother. This is where the distinctions between this film and other, lesser films in the same genre begin — while another film may have attributed her “breaking the rules of the game” to teenage stupidity, as many do, this film has real, grounded motivations that frankly any of us would fall victim to.
Of course, surpassing the 90-second mark leads to a door to the spirit world opening, and all hell breaking loose. Once again, relationships serve as the focus of the plot, with Mia’s relationship with her mother highlighted as she comes closer to finding out the secret of her death, her strained interactions with her father as she realizes he has been hiding something, and her guilt towards putting her friend’s brother in the hospital in a dilapidated state after her selfish actions. The way they weave together these three threads is masterfully done and leaves the audience on the edge of their seat almost constantly. This also very much gives credence to how a movie needs the “human factor” to satisfy, as, without relatability and depth of character, they impressed little on the viewer’s mind other than cheesy scares.
While the story is brilliant, not that they have undermined the special effects of this film. The blood and gore are fantastic, and even while knowing that what I was seeing wasn’t real, my stomach lurched and a certain queasiness enveloped me. Most of the effects are practical, with CGI only used sparingly and invisibly. This creates a sense of realism that is exceedingly rare in modern cinema and adds to the feeling that this is something that happened to someone, somewhere in the world (probably Australia). There is one scene involving Riley (Joe Bird), Mia’s best friend’s brother. That is harrowing.
With all of this film’s intense successes, it’s hard to believe that the directors, Danny and Michael Phillipou, started on YouTube posting homemade skits and special effect videos. This film marks their feature directorial debut, but watching the movie, it feels like they have been directing for decades. To direct for the first time and have the film immediately stand with other greats in the genre is an incredible feat, and this speaks to the Phillipou brothers’ talent that was honed over the years, as well as their dedication to all the endeavors they set their minds to. It gives the idea that greatness can come from anywhere, and the brothers completely deserve the high reviews, the intense bidding war for rights to the film, and the eventual A24 purchase for rights to distribution. This is the birth of another defining directorial pair, and I, for one, cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
‘Talk to Me’ Theatrical poster, courtesy of A24
