Talk to Me is not only a good horror movie, but it's also Australian. The movie promotes stone hand shakes and temporary possession in an apt comparison to getting high. It’s not trying to push a complex narrative with jump scares wedged in between emotionally forced conversations. Instead, it’s a story about a recently coma ridden boy who is trapped in somewhere someone may call “the further” while his family and friends venture to save him.
The story is about Mia, who recently lost her mother and her friends, who have come into possession of a stone hand which they claim is an embalmed hand of a medium. When someone interlocks their hand in the medium’s, they then say the phrase “Talk to Me” which will conjure a spirit and once they let them in, they sit in the passenger seat of their own body. They then sever the connection by removing grip from the hand and blowing out the candle, closing the door to the realm.
They make it clear that they can’t go on for more than 90 seconds because the spirits would want to say. However, we are in a horror movie, so naturally, one session goes on a little too long when Riley, Jade’s little brother, takes a turn.
The rest of the film follows Mia as she tries to connect to her mother from the other side along with finding a way to get RIley back to himself.
The actual scares in this film balance a steady build up of tension and release of big, loud and angry noise. I will admit to getting got by a good few of these scares, in the grotesque, creepy and jumpy.
The film uses its surreal nature to amplify ordinary sounds like the lighting of a match or a slap by loading it with grumbly and sharp bass sounds, keeping you on edge the entire film, even in moments where nothing actually scary is happening.
The camera work feels energetic and grounded, following the characters and getting up close with them in moments of high intensity. It tells the story with nothing particularly flashy and I’m okay with that.
It would be a shame not to shout out the makeup and practical effects of this film, they truly make the film what it is, pushing reality but also keeping it believable and relatively realistic. They come into play whenever someone is possessed by a spirit, their eyes sink into their skull and their mouth darkens, making them look pretty close to death.
The actual spirits themselves seem to be presented in the way that they died, giving small clues to their cause of death while they’re possessing someone.
To conclude, I am very excited to see what these two directors do in the future with horror, they know how to do it and that’s a good feeling. We seem to be in a pretty interesting place with horror at the minute with newer talent being given the opportunity to make exciting, new films. Horror is a relatively low risk genre to experiment with as they’re typically lower budget and effective at that. So, with that in mind, I will be donating all my personal money to their next project, thank you very much.
Comments