By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Typically, the combination of a directorial debut with the debut of an actress in a lead role in a horror film is a recipe for failure. However, “Talk to Me” provides just enough ingenuity and spine-tingling suspense to make for a decently entertaining movie experience. This Australian made horror movie brings a creative storyline to the genre that will leave audiences invested in the outcome.
When Mia (Sophie Wilde) loses her mother to suicide, she turns to her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Jade’s brother, Riley (Joe Bird), for emotional support. The inseparable teenagers find themselves at a house party that evolves into a supernatural party. Using a disembodied hand, Mia can not only communicate with the dead, but also allow the random spirits to briefly possess her. The problem is once a door is opened to the other side, it’s almost impossible to close it. Influencing the teens to do things they wouldn’t normally do, the spirits blur the lines between fact and fiction, allowing chaos to flourish among the living.
Directors Danny and Michael Philippou are twin brothers who made a name for themselves on YouTube with their episodic series entitled “RackaRacka,” which has captured more than 1.5 billion views. “Talk to Me” is their feature film debut, and they employ some promising filmmaking techniques that make their first film an overall success. The cinematography they utilize is the best part of the film, making a meager $4.5 million budget look more like a $45 million budget. The twins open the production with a long continuous shot, which raises the level of difficulty, especially with a group of inexperienced actors. Throughout the film, they alter the camera angles and lighting to maximize the level of suspense.
While the concept of the story is fairly unique and interesting, it is plagued by holes that don’t ever get sufficiently explained, such as the origination of this severed, embalmed hand. Then, as is typical of the horror genre, the characters make a series of inexplicably bad decisions that further complicate and erode their precarious situation. In addition, there were too few truly scary moments in the film (there were more jump scares during the trailer for “The Nun II”), which is disappointing because the potential was definitely there for more hair-raising fright.
The acting is surprisingly decent, considering the cast is predominantly made up of rookie actors. Sophie Wilde shines in her film debut in the lead role as a multi-faceted young lady grieving over the recent loss of her mother and avoiding that grief by staying away from her father. She does a fine job with emotional transitions, which adds an intriguing layer of drama to this horror film. Another notable performance comes from Zoe Terakes, who steals several scenes with memorably funny lines. Zoe will next be appearing in the upcoming Marvel TV series, “Ironheart.”
“Talk to Me” is certainly not the most terrifying horror film and ranks below other Australian made horror films like “The Babadook” and “Wolf Creek,” but has enough creativity to make for an intriguingly fun viewing experience. It’s a much easier watch for people who typically hate being scared thereby avoiding the horror genre.
This movie earns:
