Review: Talk to Me

Directed by: Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou

Written by: Danny Philippou & Bill Hinzman

Starring: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes

Rating: [3/5]

Receiving a dopamine through any means necessary essentially sums up the teenage and young adult experience in a sense where they aim for different avenues in order to get a high. Talk to Me takes this idea of getting a thrill typically reserved for drug use and bends into quite the allegory when presenting the activity centering on voluntary spiritual possession. Yes, you read that right, and with this premise this film creates something quite intriguing but fails when trying to stick the landing. 

After some time when her mother passed and having a strained relationship with her father, Mia (Sophie Wilde) learns at a party of the practice some have engaged with where they hold a ceramic hand and allow a spirit to possess them. As long as the connection gets severed by letting go of the hand within 90 seconds, no long-lasting problems will arise. As Mia and her friends engage with the activity for the thrill it provides, things suddenly go wrong when someone passes the stated time limit. 

The idea of voluntary allowing a spirit to possess one’s body for recreational purposes remains a mind-boggling idea, especially as someone raised Catholic. The thrill it provides at the moment certainly cannot make up for the horrendous consequences that come if things manage to go wrong. Writing that out makes it quite clear why it works for an allegory on drug use, seeing as I personally feel the same way about that. This, therefore, creates the opportunity to deliver on quite the premise and for the most part, Talk to Me does well in displaying the thrill these individuals get from this experience and why they will continually put themselves at risk in doing so. 

The process of then getting possessed has this mix of excitement but also that tinge of horror as well in the way it shows the user looking directly at the spirit and then deciding if they will let them in. I could not fathom ever getting use to seeing a dead person across the way, but they enjoy this ability of having no control over their bodies even if just for 90 seconds, but we know eventually something will go wrong in the process as we’re watching a feature film. The direction it then goes in displays some horrifying sequences that will certainly concern anyone watching it, but when it then operates within this processing of grief for Mia in relation to all the surrounding relationships, it all begins to crumble. 

Amidst all the madness occurring with the possessions, we have Mia still reckoning with the loss of her mother. She does not have a positive relationship with her father as a result, leaving her to mostly spend time in other people’s homes. This grief she still battles with becomes part of what incites later events, especially when she sees the opportunity to use this game of voluntary possession as a way to reach out to her mother. This particular element of the film feels mildly undercooked, especially when more time could have been given to further explore this grief, especially with the way her father plays into it. Then at this point the film falls into the typical tropes of the genre that stifle and make it ultimately lose momentum as it proceeds with the story making the ultimate finale something that elicits nothing more than a shrug. 

Even with its gaping issues, Talk to Me deserves plenty of credit and praise for the innovative way it tackles the world of drug use and exactly how it can go wrong when not taking full accounting of the risks that come with it. In this area the film shines brightly as we receive a strong mix of horror, excitement, and comedy it all entails. However, the film also tried to juggle elements of a grief story for its lead character and while it had some strong intentions, it ultimately fails in necessarily landing all elements of what this exploration would entail, making for a second and third act that feels like it needed a bit more. I certainly appreciate original swings like this one though, and I am excited about all involved and each of their future projects.