I'd been paying close attention to this film before its release, it looked fantastic. I was excited for this one. Fortunately the Philippou brothers delivered what I can only describe as the one of the best horror films of 2023. Here's my review for latest indie horror taking the cinema by storm.
When a group of friends discovers how to conjure spirits by using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill -- until one of them unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
I won't life folks the film's opening is pretty intense and seemingly comes out of nowhere. The shock of it makes for a pretty amazing opening scene. Not going to ruin it but the film makers wasted no time kicking things. It's a fantastic opening that will have you hooked.
The film moves forward at a reasonably steady pace as we get more of a backstory for our main cast and enough background on the hand to draw you in hoping you get more info on it. It plays out a little like Flatliners as the characters become more and more engrossed in playing 'talk to me', and picks up pace incredibly quick following a horrendously gruesome scene. Again you won't find any spoilers here, but I was sat in the cinema struggling to watch it. Whilst the story does feel a tad predictable at times, it takes a few interesting twists and turns along the way.
The cast were great and meshed really well together. Stand outs for me were Sophia Wilde and Joe Bird, I'm very hopeful I'll be seeing them in another horror again soon. Really well shot with some beautiful visuals. There's some wonderful special effects and gore as well.
The sound design is incredibly well done for this film, as is the soundtrack. It really added to the entire experience and just elevated it to another level. I'd even go as far to say the sound design quality is matched to the likes of A Quiet Place; just really well done.
Whilst not out and out scary, it does provoke a few thoughts and will stick with you after. There's a few genuinely creepy moments and jumps but I wouldn't call this you're run of the mill (typical) modern horror, and I do feel the team behind this have managed to throw a few people off with the trailers. I found it was a bit different to what I thought I was letting myself in for (much to my delight).
With the amount of sequels, remake, etc horror fans have had to contend with over the last few years films like this are just a bonus. Talk To Me is an incredibly well made original horror you're fully invested in within the first 10 minutes. It's a film you can really sink your teeth in to.
There are a few things I count as missed opportunities, but they are small road bumps in an otherwise perfect film. Whilst I am eager to see more surrounding this film, the characters and that terrifying hand, I hope the success of this film doesn't kick start a franchise where the quality gets worse and worse the longer it goes on. I know there are talks of a sequel, and the Philippou brothers have apparently already filmed a prequel, but I'd be happy with this just being left as a stand alone horror. I'm very eager to see what else these guys can offer us next though!
Make time to go watch this one folks, one of the best horror films I've seen in a while. For me, this and Smile are the best horror has had to offer in 2023 so far.
Talk To Me is in cinemas now.
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