Last night’s Cineworld Secret Screening 6 was finally revealed and it was the new horror/thriller Talk to Me directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde (The Portable Door), Joe Bird (Rabbit) and Alexandra Jensen (Beat).
This rather creepy thriller tells the story of a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces that want to stay in the world of the living.
After seeing the trailer for Talk to Me I was intrigued to see how this movie turned out, A24 has been a bit of a hit or miss over the years but horror movies are making a welcome return and this one certainly looked like it would be something a little different to what seemed like a story of possession by spirits or demons.
Despite its somewhat slow start the movie certainly pulls in the creepiness more than pure horror, yes there are a couple of scenes that may cause some to jump but there are more of those moments of making the hair stand up on the back of your neck than screaming out loud.
As Mia (Wilde) first takes the hand you know that there is far more to the story than first meets the eye, the moment that she sees the dead for the first time is a bit of a shock and not just to her, but it’s the performance that she brings us when the spirit is “let in” where she shines for the first time in the movie.
It’s not only Mia that has an addiction to using the embalmed hand, the others in the group meet up again to spend the night taking turns over and over again letting in spirits that have alternative motives for getting in touch.
But when Jade’s (Jensen) brother Riley (Bird) takes the hand there is a moment when Mia becomes more obsessed with the hand, but for Riley, this is possessed and we are given a truly horrific moment that is something that even I wasn’t expecting and it was a real W.T.F. moment.
It is now very clear that the hand is something that shouldn’t be messed with, but Mia wants to talk to her deceased mother and the hand is the only way she can do so, but something has crossed over that wants more from the world of the living and now it’s using Mia to get what it wants.
Directors Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou have brought us a rather unnerving movie for their feature directorial debut, they have got a great cast to bring the characters to life and I have to say that Sophie Wilde stole the movie for me, her performance throughout was great to watch.
The cinematography by Alan McLisky looks great with darker subdued scenes still having the definition to give you an idea of what is in the darkness in the background.
When it comes to the sound the 5.1 mix is great to hear in the cinema, with all the speakers being used very well from the subtle creepy sounds to the various characters talking off-screen, having a good sound mix for this genre of movie is certainly a must and this one pays off.
As I mentioned earlier Talk to Me is much more of a creepy thriller than a horror, for me anyway. I did see a few people at the secret screening jump so it works for some, maybe I’m just used to the tricks of the trade now when it comes to the horror genre. But as a thriller the movie works very well, I certainly didn’t lose any interest in the movie and the ending was something that I really loved, the way it brought the story to an end was so nicely done.
Talk To Me Clip
Does Talk to Me have a post-credit scene?
No Talk to Me doesn’t have a scene in or after the credits, so if you are heading to see another movie straight after it or you just want to leave then you aren’t going to miss out on anything.
If you scare easily then Talk to Me will make you jump, if you are a hardened horror fan then it is a worth creepy thriller to check out. TALK TO ME has generated £643,354 at the UK and Irish cinemas in its opening weekend, setting a new office box office record for Altitude.
Talk to Me is out now on Digital and gets its physical release on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD on the 23rd of October 2023.
Who's hand are you holding!
Movie title: Talk to Me (2022)
Movie description: When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Date published: July 25, 2023
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 34m
Director(s): Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Actor(s): Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Alexandra Jensen
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Summary
Talk to Me is not so much horror but more of a creepy thriller, but it keeps you interested from start to finish and it may make you jump and it may not.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
