‘Talk to Me’ movie review: A poignant and unsettling little shocker  

A still from Talk To Me’

Horror films are the greatest fun. Even those gorgeous gory ones. For one, there are no superheros in spandex running all over the place unless it is The Boys, then that is a totally different poncy story. Second, the fact that horror films are small, intimate affairs means you are not bombarded with wall-to-wall CGI, Easter eggs and knowing references, all of which makes you want to bite your arm in frustration.

And then there is that whole catharsis of exorcising all the stuff that we are scared of by watching a film, where the possessions, deaths and evil spirits run riot on screen and are finally overcome. Talk to Me, Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou’s directorial debut, has the added advantage of being shot in Adelaide in Australia, and thereby giving us a different setting, colour palate and sound.

The fact that the awful events of Talk to Me are the result of grief and love is the most terrifyingly poignant hook of the story. Written by Danny Philippou, the film tells the story of 17-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde), who is mourning the death of her mother. With her father being emotionally distant, Mia seeks comfort and company with her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and her family comprising a younger brother Riley (Joe Bird) and mum, Sue (Miranda Otto). Jade is seeing Daniel (Otis Dhanji) who Mia dated earlier and still probably has feelings for.

Mia, Jade and Riley sneak out to a party thrown by Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) where they commune with dead people via a severed hand — yes, teenagers do stupid things. When one of the invited spirits refuses to leave, the young people are in all sorts of trouble.

The best kind of psychological horror story is one where reality is skewed depending on who is telling the story. So it is with Talk to Me. There could be vicious ghouls prowling on the vulnerable or they could be just conjured from an intensely sorrowing mind; it is not any less terrifying for that.

Mia’s desires and longing could have conjured up the nightmarish visions or the severed hand could very well be a portal. While the dog is not harmed, there is a fair bit of eye trauma (ugh). The cinematography (Aaron McLisky) is lovely, and effectively captures an eerie desolation. There is a lovely shot of grand old tree that makes you tear up for the beauty of it.

The young cast have given excellent, natural performances with Wilde giving flesh and sinew to Mia’s grief and terror and Bird making for a sweet, dorky Riley. Talk to Me is a gripping dialogue on the dread and vulnerabilty of love, loss and longing.

Talk to Me is currently running in theatres