Name: Talk to Me (2023) | Movie Review
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Talk to Me (2023) | Movie Review

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[Header: Maslow Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment, Ahi Films]
“I let you in.”
I can certainly see why this movie was so talked about when it first came out (and to an extent, it still is now) and I can also understand why I kept seeing so much praise for it. 
The plot is kind of ridiculous or at least it starts out that way. A bunch of teenagers create a new party game in which an embalmed hand is used to conjure spirits in order to create a new kind of high. Like with any horror movie, this eventually goes too far with some pretty extreme consequences.
From this point on, there will be spoilers to some degree, if you have any interest in seeing this movie please do! It’s an interesting little watch but for those of you who have already seen it (or don’t care about spoilers), feel free to read on.
What we end up with — as things go wrong — is a movie that is quite violent and creepy. The scene that came the closest to scaring me was when Mia (Sophie Wilde) got a glimpse of where the spirits were holding Riley (Joe Bird). The loud sounds, the violent visuals and the overall red look of the scene all contributed to making it incredibly uncomfortable. If we had spent more time in that setting, I definitely would have considered this a scary movie. 
Now, while I may not consider Talk to Me to be particularly scary, others might think it is, and regardless, it is still disturbing and not just in the scene referenced above. For example, there’s the dog scene during one of the gatherings and the feet scene with Mia and Daniel (Otis Dhanji). While I don’t think all scenes like this were wholly necessary (especially to the degree in which they’re shown), I do understand why they were included because as I said, this isn’t really a horror movie that’s designed to make you jump or even to necessarily frighten you, instead, it is meant to make you uncomfortable and unease you. I only think that maybe the movie as a whole could be a little bit more refined, however, that is an improvement that could easily be shown in the future prequel and sequel and it doesn’t damage the watchability of this instalment.
One strength it has is that there is some amazing tension held through sound and cinematography and some outstanding acting. It all helps to create that sense of unease and to keep you on the edge of your seat, hooked, wanting to know what’s going to come next.  It was pretty successful too. It never made me so uncomfortable that I had to stop watching (nor did it blow me away either) but it was enough to pique my interest and keep me watching. I can, however, certainly understand why someone may need to stop watching this movie at various points throughout.
Something interesting about Talk to Me is that, as I said before, there is going to be a sequel and a prequel coming out which honestly makes so much sense. For this instalment, we’re basically dropped into the middle of a story.
The opening with Cole (Ari McCarthy) and Duckett (Sunny Johnson) is fantastic. It gives the audience a peek at the consequences of the teens’ game with the embaled hand without actually telling us that’s what it is. All we know is that something isn’t quite right with Duckett and Cole is mad at the others at the house party. The stabbings that take place are shocking and violent but we don’t know the full cause of the brothers’ actions and emotions until the story unfolds bit by bit. More than that, we don’t know the full origin of the hand or how the brothers came to have it. We hear and see glimpses but not much and the prequel is supposed to explore Duckett more and already, there is so much potential for how that could go down.
Similarly, the end of Talk to Me is also very good. We may have gotten a few looks into spirits’ world but it appears that we may explore it more fully in the sequel. While there will, of course, be similarities in terms of the plot if this is the case, it will be quite interesting to see a new perspective.
I definitely see this working very well as a trilogy but on its own Talk to Me is far from perfect. For Danny and Michael Philippou’s first feature-length directorial debut, I do think it does amazingly. It’s worth checking out for sure, particularly if you like horror. The casting is a delight with talent all round and as I’ve mentioned the tension is very good. For any flaws that may be present, there is certainly a lot of good.
It’s so very obvious that the people involved in making this movie and bringing it to life had an absolute blast. You can see that everyone knew what they were trying to make and they went for it, even pushing against the limits at times. Talk to Me won’t be for everyone but I feel most horror fans at least will want to check this out. It’s an intriguing movie and worth watching at least once.
I have to admit, I’m unlikely to rewatch it (except maybe when the prequel and sequel release) but that doesn’t really have anything to do with the overall quality of the movie I was curious and now I’ve seen it, that itch has been scratched, but I can see how it could be a movie that people do rewatch, especially around spooky season.
Rating:&nbsp;★★★½ /5

[Header: Maslow Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment, Ahi Films]
“I let you in.”
I can certainly see why this movie was so talked about when it first came out (and to an extent, it still is now) and I can also understand why I kept seeing so much praise for it. 
The plot is kind of ridiculous or at least it starts out that way. A bunch of teenagers create a new party game in which an embalmed hand is used to conjure spirits in order to create a new kind of high. Like with any horror movie, this eventually goes too far with some pretty extreme consequences.
From this point on, there will be...

Talk to Me (2023) | Movie Review

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