To stamp out any possible assumptions for the film Talk to Me, let me just say this one is not about the sexy life of a witty radio host. (Haha!) Talk to Me is a spooky, supernatural horror film from Australia directed by two identical twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou who are making a
stab with their first feature length film (Or maybe a better verb for this first film is a grab considering the source of the horror). These brothers are mostly known for the action-packed, ongoing, TV miniseries RackaRacka that started in 2013.
As a teenage girl continues to mourn her dead mother, she jumps at the chance to go to a party where her fellow classmates are playing a
mysterious game. By holding a disembodied, embalmed, human hand, and speaking the titular phrase, this group of teens can each get a glimpse
of the dead. And by speaking aloud another invitation while holding the hand (I let you in), the teens can be possessed by the randomly conjured
ghost in front of them. But when one kid holds onto the hand longer than he should, evil forces from the afterlife take over.
Talk to Me follows in the footsteps of other horror films centered around haunted objects tormenting the lives of youngsters like Oculus (2013) and Ouija (2014). A few jump scares are peppered in this film, but it's the quiet, patient moments that succeed in scaring viewers, and those are the
moments I'm still thinking about today. The ghosts themselves also pump up the scare factor, because they look so gruesome and so real with
wet-gray skin, deep wrinkles and heavy bruises.
Talk to Me remains interesting, because it's not about the ghosts or the bloody violence. It's about the teenage girl in mourning who becomes obsessed with contacting her mother to learn more about her death. Even reaching beyond the realm of the living can be an effective metaphor of addiction and its poisoning effect on your reality.
The duo directors for this film are only 30 years old. And with the large distribution of Talk to Me in so many theaters now, the Philippou brothers are on track to being an energetic, creative voice in genre movie making. This film is rated R, does a wonderful job fitting all the narrative puzzle pieces together, and maintains a psychologically bleak atmosphere from tiny candle flames to black eyes to a dying kangaroo.
