Time: 95 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Bloody violence, self-harm, suicide references & offensive language
Cast:
Sophie Wilde as Mia
Alexandra Jensen as Jade
Joe Bird as Riley
Otis Dhanji as Daniel
Miranda Otto as Sue
Zoe Terakes as Hayley
Chris Alosio as Joss
Marcus Johnson as Max
Alexandria Steffensen as Rhea
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Talk to Me was one of the 2023 movies I was meaning to get around to. Many people have called this one of the best horror movies of the year. The filmmakers have even already shot a prequel, and there’s a sequel coming titled Talk 2 Me (of course). Overall, I think it is good, but I have to say, it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be, based on all the reactions.

Talk to Me has an interesting setup. Possession movies have been done many times before, but this feels like an attempt at doing something different, especially with the idea of a party game gone wrong. The writing very much puts it in today’s world, especially with the dialogue. That does become grating, but probably because it feels a bit too real to me. On the whole though, I don’t think it is that successful, I just wasn’t that invested in the story overall. Some of the characters were underdeveloped, and I disliked most of them. The pacing is a little slow and it meanders, which isn’t inherently bad. However, I found it difficult to get into, so it made the experience worse for me. There are definitely thematic elements at play here, including addiction (be it drugs or alcohol), but this is yet another horror movie from A24 about grief. The handling of its topics is just fine, though there are definitely other movies that have done this much better. Despite all the dark and disturbing things that happen, I never really felt tense or even uneasy. There’s also a fair bit of humour here, I don’t think that the balance of horror and comedy really work here. I’ve read some opinions and reviews online, and maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I actually think that the movie picked up in the third act. In this section, it definitely drops the thematic elements in favor of going full on with the horror aspects, but I guess it depends on how invested you were in the first couple acts. As someone who wasn’t, I just found myself more interested in the plot, and the pacing definitely picked up. The movie is short at 90 minutes and I wish it was a little longer to flesh parts out, especially the explanation of the possession aspect and how it worked. 

The actors on the whole were generally good, but it mostly comes down to the lead performance from Sophie Wilde, who is phenomenal here. She portrays such a wide range of emotions, and it’s particularly impressive considering that this is her big screen debut. 

The directors Michael and Danny Phillippou were apparently just known for making YouTube videos before this movie. For what it’s worth, Talk to Me is a pretty good film to have as your debut. It’s very well shot and edited, and the practical effects, makeup and sound are top notch. 

Talk to Me is a bit underdeveloped and doesn’t live up to its premise’s potential, but it is decent enough, well directed and has a great lead performance from Sophie Wilde. I think it’s far from being the best horror movie of the year, but I am still glad that I watched it. If you are a horror fan I think it’s still worth checking out. I’m not really sure that it needed a sequel, but perhaps I will like that much more.