Talk to Me Movie Review

 Written 7/30/2023 - Talk to Me was one of my absolute favorite horror movies of 2023.  I was all too excited to write a review for it.

--KH

Imagine if spirit possession became like a pleasure-giving carnival ride…where serious danger is right on the edge and you get pulled back from it over and over again.  But then there were those fateful moments when the edge gets you and punishes, maims, and can even kill you for it.  That is the ride that Talk to Me is.

Talk to Me has several strengths.  One most definitely is the prop hand itself.  The story behind it, the detailed writings on it, how it works and the rules that govern it…all are exceptionally well written.  Further, how the hand changes the lives of those that meddle with it is impactful and terrifying.  The movie does so well too at capturing how unwise teenagers get trapped by the thrill it gives them.  In effect, using the hand becomes like an addiction…an extremely risky and potentially deadly one.  It was obvious to me too that the children involved had no idea the forces that they were dealing with…making them prime prey for the true evil of the hand.

The other strength of Talk to Me is how real the setting felt.  I found the characters, settings and props very believable.  There was so much attention to the small things…the cute ringtone, the things on the teenagers’ walls, the varying behaviors and personalities of youth, the conflicts that can exist in relationships, etc.  It was also set in Australia and most of us are familiar with the racial tensions that exist between those of indigenous background and whites.  The writers do an amazing job at weaving in societal challenges like this, as well as the challenges of parenting and keeping children safe in a modern Tik Tok, phone addicted culture.   “Put your phone down!”  is a phrase that stuck with me because one of the ways the evil spreads and can do so easily because of how addicted people are to their phones.

I really enjoyed how characters, the relationships they had with each other, and the parts they played interacted with each other and playout out in the horror element backdrop.  For example, Miranda Otto does an amazing performance as the mother trying to keep her children safe.  The strength of her performance is really the highest in the interactions with one of the main characters, Mia, played by Sophia Wilde.  At one point she is supportive of Mia, at another she turns on her to protect her own children, and in another she reconciles her feelings for her.  That playout of feelings over time on top of the story really is something that not all horror movies are able to successfully capture…Talk to Me though does it so well.  Further, while Sue (Miranda’s character) is not a main participant in the events and horrors inflicted on the teenagers, she definitely is a recipient of the fallout from what happens.  Talk to Me does a good job of separating each character’s indirect and direct relations to the hand events and making the differences in experience highly believable.

The story, how it played out in a realistic way, and how it came to a twisted conclusion is also a strength of Talk to Me.  I will say that there is a point towards the end where things become a bit confusing and I found myself asking more questions than getting answers…however I think perhaps this was a good thing because it will make me want to watch it again so I can try to figure out what really happened.  Further, how the evil can continue really is driven into you by the last scene and makes me want to see a sequel.  I give this movie a 4.5/5, almost a perfect score.  If only the story didn’t break down a bit in the end, to me it would be perfect.  For me, Talk to Me may actually be the best horror movie I’ve seen so far this year and may very well be the best of the year.