Mia and her friends get more than they bargained for when they attend a seance using an embalmed hand to commune with the dead.
If you’re looking for something a little different during the Barbenheimer phenomenon then look no further than Australian horror Talk to Me.
The movie, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, tells the story of Mia (Sophie Wilde), her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen), Jade’s brother Riley (Joe Bird) and her boyfriend Daniel (Otis Dhanji).
Throwing all logic and rational thinking out of the window, the foursome attends a seance in which they use an embalmed hand to communicate with the dead.
If a person says, “Talk to me” while holding the hand, they meet a spirit, and if they add, “I let you in,” they will be possessed by them for a brief amount of time.
Naturally, one of these rituals goes horribly wrong and one of them is possessed by a ghost for a bit too long, with grave consequences.
Horror is subjective and some people have found this movie absolutely terrifying while others have found it lacking. However, it cannot be denied that it is scarier in the first half than in the second.
The first act is outstanding and a masterclass in horror. The seance scenes are nerve-shredding and tense because you don’t know what will happen next and the one that goes wrong is brutal, grisly and shocking.
But after this happens, the movie becomes more focused on Mia’s trauma and grief. She starts to see spirits – but are these real or hallucinations? These moments are still creepy and filled with dread but they’re nowhere near as horrifying as the possession scenes.
The ending will likely be a big talking point too – is it clever or a cop-out? The reaction seems to be divided on this one. The film certainly goes out with a bang but it leaves so many unanswered questions that it doesn’t feel like a logical or satisfying conclusion.
Wilde is an impressive lead and is convincing as the grieving young woman slowly losing the plot. Bird is also suitably terrifying, while the delightful Miranda Otto provides some much-needed comic relief as Jade and Riley’s no-nonsense mother.
Talk to Me is a solid debut with a bunch of horrifying moments but the second half fails to match up to the first.
In cinemas Friday 28th July.
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