Of all the films screened as part of this year’s Sundance Midnight selection, Talk to Me is one of the truest champions of the name. Primarily set at night, Talk to Me, from directors Danny and Micahel Pilippou, goes heavy on the frights in its bid to entertain.
Right out of the gate, Talk to Me hurls the viewer into a world of the unexpected. Opening cold, the story begins during a house party. A young man frantically runs around the party screaming his brother’s name. Their reunion is an unhappy, bloody, and brutal affair that catches even the most hardened horror fans off guard. It’s a striking start and one that the Philippou’s seek to capitalise with. From this startling scene, the film shifts focus to Mia (Sophie Wallace).
Mia is a teenager with a dark past. Still grieving the death of her mother, Mia is struggling to maintain the life she had before. Her friendship with best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) has become strained, Mia though remains oblivious to this. The two might have once been close, but now Jade clearly wants some space from her friend. Their situation is complicated further by Mia’s connection to Jade’s younger teenage brother, Riley (Joe Bird), and her mother, Sue (Miranda Otto). As much as Jade would like to brush Mia off, her family loves her too much to allow it, and so a tenuous stalemate plays out.
During one of their obligatory nights together, Jade reluctantly allows Mia and Riley to attend a local party with her. Like Jade, most of the other guests are reticent about reforming bonds with Mia and so in an attempt to impress them, she agrees to be the latest participant in the group’s new game. This challenge involves performing a ritual whilst holding an embalmed hand, the result of which is temporary possession by the deceased. Though the group have a strict set of rules about how long the process can last before becoming dangerous, the teens eventually break them, and in doing so place Mia, Riley, and Jade on a Hellish collision course.
What initially begins as Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, meets Flatliners, morphs into a more serious spin on Evil Dead. The demonic creations share an uncanny resemblance to Raimi’s deadites, but are far more wretched in behaviour. The longer Talk to Me is on, the more sombre it becomes as it investigates the borderline between life and death. The comparison to Flatiners is followed through in the tone and visuals, the Philippou’s conjuring all manners of nightmarish apparitions. The toxicity of the female friendship ensures that the teen audience will have people to relate to, whilst the older viewers are left with Miranda Otto’s single mother to bond with. Although only a supporting player, her character is an interesting inclusion; adults often fall by the wayside in teen-lead horror fiction.
As creative as Talk to Me is, it is somewhat bloated. Around the middle section, the film stumbles slightly and knocks the pacing off kilter. The fleeting blip is enough to snap the viewer out of the Philipppou’s hold. It’s only a temporary distraction, but one that makes Talk to Me hard to settle back down with. The transition from Bodies, Bodies, Bodies fun to serious musings on life, death, and the power of truth presents further problems, the two halves not being as cohesive as one would hope. Nonetheless, Talk to Me remains an exciting debut from two intriguing talents.
Talk to Me
Summary
Talk to Me sees Flatliners, Evil Dead, and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies collide in an uneasy marriage as it seeks to claim a seat in the pantheon of teen-led horror.
Talk to Me was reviewed at Sundance Film Festival 2023.
