Talk To Me (2023)

“It’s ok, I don’t feel alone anymore”

Talk To Me has been the horror hit of 2023 ever since it premiered at Sundance back in January. I got a chance to see the Canadian premier at this year’s Fantasia Festival, which hosted directors Danny and Michael Phillipou, and I wrote about the experience for Horror Press dot com (link in bio). If you head over there you’ll find a recap of the night, excerpts from the Q&A with the directors after the screening and more stories about how the brothers went from YouTube to their first feature film!

I was curious to see how it holds up when watching it from the safety of my own home. I found it every bit as chilling on the rewatch, and knowing where the story is headed makes many of the quieter moments even more stressful. I really relish all the details that go into the sets, the costumes, and the sound design, especially all those creepy water sounds and the vibrant, ominous pops of yellow. And the performances are so good! I loved how the kids talk, act and look like teenagers — it helps make sense of their questionable decisions. Actress Sophie Wilde infuses a deep sense of neediness into every movement she makes, and the camera makes sure to capture every painful thing she does. Her desire to connect, no matter the cost, is palpable in every single frame.

The Philipou brothers tap into a kind of adolescent claustrophobia that I don’t think I’ve often seen on film. The movie constantly straddles this line between what is comforting and what is dangerous. In really human ways, the characters are unable to indentify how the thing that soothes them in the moment is also the thing that poisons them. The horror doesn’t come from all the spooky spirits that do horrifying things to their bodies — it comes from the psychological torture. Once the shock from all the gore subsides, it’s the emotional devistation that leaves me shivering and cold.