Talk to Me Review

Written and illustrated by Sophia Codispoti

I think we can all agree that 2023 has been an amazing year for films, but as much as I looked forward to seeing Barbie and Bottoms in theaters, horror is my favorite genre. With the rise of spooky season and Halloween right around the corner, Talk to Me is the number one movie you should watch this October. 

Talk to Me was the directorial debut of the Philippou brothers. They are widely known for their YouTube channel RackaRacka where they’ve posted horror comedy videos since 2013. The brothers initially pitched their idea for a new possession horror movie to an American studio, but the studio wanted to take their story in a more genre-cliche direction and would’ve required them to give up many creative freedoms. The brothers weren’t willing to change their script and wanted the final say on things like casting and final cuts. This led to their decision to make their film in Australia with A24. I think the indie studio was a perfect fit for what they wanted to achieve and ultimately allowed the duo to share the insane level of talent they have as filmmakers.

If you haven’t heard the premise of the film yet, then I highly encourage you to go in blind and not look up anything else about this movie. Yes, it’s another supernatural horror movie with possession, but it should in no way be compared to any of its predecessors in the genre. I promise you it’s nothing like them. Talk to Me takes the idea of possession and experiments with the concept of it being used as a party drug. This take on seances is one that seems all too real and is completely convincing in the way it’s portrayed. 

This film is incredibly successful at making its audience react. It avoids cliches and forces us to ask the questions that matter instead of distracting us with information we don’t need. It also builds the level of tension to the point that viewers can question everything: Why are they doing this? Why do they think this is funny? Why is nobody helping? There are highly intense scenes that leave everyone in the audience dead silent and holding their breaths in suspense. The best thing about this is they didn’t cop out with a cheap jumpscare. No matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn’t tear my eyes away till the movie ended.

Speaking of getting a reaction, like most other A24 films, this one definitely stands out with some extremely graphic scenes that had me and everyone else in the room screaming in unison. It was honestly a lot of fun, I recommend you watch this film with a group of people if you can. Along with this, I’d like to mention that these scenes never felt like they were just for shock value, which is a tactic I think some other indie movies abuse. Yes, the Philippou brothers clearly wanted to get a reaction out of their audience, but these scenes were also integral to the plot and were integrated well.

The script is expertly written. I loved that the filmmakers didn’t pull their punches when it came to how dark the consequences would be and that they wrote an ending this film deserved. It’s one of the best uses of paradox I’ve seen in recent films, and they clearly focused the entire plot around a central question which I sadly can’t say for the sake of spoilers.

Along with the strong storytelling, there is plenty of artistry to be appreciated in this movie.  The main lead Sophie Wilde, who plays Mia, gives an amazing performance along with Joe Bird. The Philippou brothers demonstrated that filmmaking is their craft. There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the camera work, and there were a lot of interesting camera movements that really kept you immersed from scene to scene. In addition, the film hosts a riveting original soundtrack by Cornel Wilczek, and if you have any form of social media you’ll likely recognize Le Monde by Richard Carter.  I’d also like to give props to all of the makeup and prosthetics artists because they did an insane job (you’ll know it when you see it). There is truly no area in which this movie lacks in production value and attention to detail.

Talk to Me easily makes the ranks to stand alongside other top recent films of the horror genre like Hereditary and Get Out. It is without a doubt the best horror release of the year and has everything it takes to be an instant cult classic. If you haven’t already seen it, and you have any interest in horror, then this should be next in line on your watch list.