TALK TO ME (15, 95 mins) Horror/Thriller/Romance. Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Alexandra Jensen, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen, Zoe Terakes. Directors: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou.
Released: July 28
FANS of horror cinema know that it’s never prudent to prize open a doorway between the human and spirit worlds because ghosts that accept the invitation to cross through are seldom as friendly as Casper.
Poltergeist, Flatliners and the Insidious saga make compelling cases for caution when it comes to dabbling with the supernatural.
Youthful curiosity overrides common sense in Talk To Me, directed by Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, who have amassed an ardent following with their RackaRacka channel of horror comedy videos.
Opening with a car accident that results in a kangaroo lying half dead in the road, the filmmaking twins’ stylish genre piece invents a folkloric alternative to a Ouija board – an embalmed hand reportedly severed from a psychic – as the totem that will allow spirits to take temporary possession of a foolhardy character’s body.
The script co-written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman relies heavily on cinematographer Aaron McLisky to conjure a mood of grim foreboding, dissipating pent-up tension with brutal explosions of violence that elicit bloodcurdling pleas for help.
Directorial brio, including an ambitious tracking shot through a crowded party, distracts attention from the film’s familiar narrative trajectory.
Seventeen-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde) is haunted by the suicide of her mother (Alexandria Steffensen), who allegedly “took too many sleeping pills… by accident”, and the infuriating reluctance of her father Max (Marcus Johnson) to discuss the chain of events leading to her passing.
Read more:
Talk To Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou on moving from YouTube to movies
Horror movies shot in north part of major London film festival line-up
On the anniversary of her mother’s death, Mia persuades best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and her boyfriend Daniel (Otis Dhanji) to accompany her to a seance involving an embalmed hand, which reportedly allows participants to connect with the departed.
Jade’s 14-year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird) tags along, intrigued by viral videos of the hand.
Joss (Chris Alosio) and Hayley (Zoe Terakes) preside over the ritual at a house party and lay down the strict ground rules: light a candle to start the ceremony, hold the hand and utter the words “Talk to me”, invite a spirit (if you dare) into your body and blow out the candle within 90 seconds to close the connection.
Mia takes part, desperate to reconnect with her mother, but her insatiable hunger for answers makes her vulnerable to predatory forces that languish in the dark.
Talk To Me is a steady slow-burn of suspense, which avoids jump scares as characters become hooked on the adrenaline rush of interacting with the hand while fellow revellers capture their convulsions as social media clickbait.
Practical make-up effects embolden possession sequences and keep the Philippou brothers’ picture grounded in queasy reality.
Wilde is a sympathetic victim of trauma, consumed by grief, while Jensen and Bird offer solid support as siblings who learn that it’s not always good to talk.
RATING: 3/5
