He's still got a dick, Jade

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2023

#10 : Talk To Me

How does it feel watching Talk To Me? Well, half of it is a pure cinematic high, gripping you by the hand before dragging you into its wildly kinetic world. But in its most painful moments – and boy, does it have those – it also feels like your head being repeatedly slammed onto a table while a nefarious soul corrupts your very being from the inside. So, an instant horror classic then. Director brothers Danny and Michael Philippou arrive fully formed with their feature debut, transferring the anything-goes anarchy of their YouTube work into a film that is remarkably controlled, teeming with life – and thrumming with death. Sophie Wilde is exceptional as teen Mia, who gets more than she bargained for when she and her friends mess around with a spooky hand that can channel lost spirits. When it – inevitably – goes horribly, nightmarishly wrong, you’ll be wishing for it all to stop, but desperate to see it to the bitter end.

I always say I don't like horror films, but I struggle to remember the last horror film that I didn't just find a bit silly (the blog suggests it was St Maud, which I actually really enjoyed). I have seen some "good" (ie, for me, bad) reviews for this though, so I'm intrigued as to how much I might not like it - which, conversely, could mean it's a good film!

Well, it's got quite the start to it and no mistake - it certainly grabs you from the off. The central concept is a neat idea being nice and simple such that anyone can understand it. It has its roots in teenage bravado and stupidity, whilst working well with the adults' inability to understand what's going on. It also delivers a very satisfying conclusion whilst obviously enabling sequels and prequels at a later date - a sequel is currently in development. 

I do have to say that when watching it I thought there were several aspects that were overly confusing (within an obviously already confusing framework) but having dug into several "ending explained" Reddit posts, I assumed Mia's motivations were different from the writers' intentions - possibly I didn't pay enough attention or they were just trying too hard to be vague about things. I suspect a rewatch with my new-found knowledge would be beneficial, but that's not going to happen because I feel very proud of myself for having watched it once - it really is a very creepy hand!

Sophie Wilde is indeed very good as Mia - all good horror needs a smart but still stupid central character and she fits the bill nicely making you follow her on her journey, understanding her actions whilst also shouting "Noooooo!". Her possession scenes are also very well done with some great bulging eyeballs on display! Alexandra Jensen is also good as her sensible friend Jade and Joe Bird is particularly great as Riley, Jade's brother. It was also nice to see Miranda Otto as their mum - I knew I recognised her but had to use IMDB to remind myself she was Eowyn in LOTR.

The camera work is certainly well done - there are no huge surprises but it's effective and nicely claustrophobic when required. The sound is really good in this as well - lots of contrasts between silence and various horror cliches, but just because they're cliched, that doesn't mean they don't work.

All in all, for a horror film, I really quite "enjoyed" this. It only took me 3 sittings to watch it, which is pretty good for me - and there was no chance on me giving up on it because I really wanted to watch it to the end, which is very much a testament to the film. If you like such things, then I'd say this is very much worth checking out - it's available to stream on Netflix or to rent at all the usual locations.

#11 - Impressive action, but way too long
#9 - Charming and gorgeous, but not very funny