If you prefer your entertainment dark and twisted, we have just the right film recommendation for you this week.
“Talk To Me”: With their first feature, Aussie twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou repurpose a familiar trope, pinning the blame for dreadful, horrible goings-on on a rather obscure object, in this case a creepy, graffitied ceramic hand that has the power to summon up the dead and possess the soul of any fool who decides to repeat key phrases. But even if the setup seems uninspired there’s nothing routine about “Talk to Me.” This is one freaky, talk-back-at-screen horror show. It is worthy of all the hype it’s getting.
You become well aware you’re entering brutal territory from the start with a shocker of a prologue that sets us up for more carnage. Central to the film’s success, though, is Sophie Wilde’s fully committed performance as Mia, a vulnerable Australian teen who’s recovering from her mom’s terrifying death. Mia avoids her dad and hangs out mostly at the home of her bestie Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and with her impressionable, kinda-nerdy younger brother Riley (played with misery by Joe Bird, who probably needed therapy after filming this one).
Instead of a seance unleashing some mayhem, we get a teenagers’ party wherein getting high or toasty leads bored participants to copy what they’ve seen — and shared — in popular viral videos, featuring that hand taking possession of a human host. Yup, it’s not much of challenger to figure out where “Talk to Me” is heading. Doesn’t matter. There are oh-no-they-didn’t slaps to the forehead over stupid behavior, out-of-nowhere violent scenes and shocks that’ll have your head spinning, even swiveling away from the screen at what’s going on. This one is certain to get to you.
