Talk To Me Review | Movie – Empire – Empire

Twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou minimize their tooth making YouTube movies bearing titles like ‘Actual Life Mortal Kombat Fatalities!’ and ‘Ronald McDonald Playground Slaughter!’. Discuss To Me, their first characteristic movie, sensibly tones down the manic clickbait silliness of their internet browser-based origins. Working from a narrative by Daley Pearson — Darryl from Thor: Love And Thunder — and a script by Danny Philippou and Invoice Hinzman, the strategy right here is impressively measured. Even when they don’t all the time escape the plain route, the brothers deal with the tone with a mature hand — whereas protecting a capability for severe spooks.

The primary shock comes inside seconds, in actual fact, in a breathless pre-titles sequence shot bluntly and sharply. In primarily a single take, a home social gathering filled with youngsters ends in a tragedy: the cinematic equal of a glass of chilly water to the face. It’s nasty, uncomfortable stuff, effectively setting the stage with a warning: there might be extra violent rug-pulls to return.

The filmmakers then take a little bit of a breath, introducing us to characters seemingly unrelated to the prologue. Our lead is Mia (a wonderful Sophie Wilde), who we come to grasp solely just lately buried her mom, and is briefly residing with buddies Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Riley (Joe Fowl), plus their powerful however loving mom (Miranda Otto, all the time dependable). The primary act appears to be enjoying to its teenage viewers, mainly within the historic adolescent dynamics of exes, events and peer strain.

Then it kicks into style gear: Mia and buddies attend a celebration, the place a mysterious hand is all the fad as a way of illicit late-night communings with the supernatural. Merely say the phrases, “Discuss to me,” seal it with a handshake, and a spirit (or demon?) possesses you for all of a minute-and-a-half. Any longer, and issues might go horribly flawed. (Certainly nothing might go flawed, proper?) It performs like a Gen-Z Flatliners, children getting excessive on the otherworld — now additionally motivated by social-media clout — earlier than the supernatural begins creeping into the pure.

Whereas it’s undeniably Australian — a haunted, bloody kangaroo sporadically stalks the body — there’s lots of the American horror custom right here: the Rick Baker-esque sensible results and make-up; swift-footed, Sam Raimi-ish camerawork; horrible selections made by naive youngsters; the occasional however efficient soar scare; and loads of trau-ma, as Jamie Lee Curtis would put it.

There’s an emotional spine to the movie, a way of helpless grief effervescent all through earlier than erupting on the finish, like a bloodletting. However it’s refreshingly easy and forthright in its mission: that is additionally only a horror concerned about being scary, which holds its personal benefit, even within the so-called ‘elevated horror’ period. It doesn’t fairly maintain the feverish vitality, with a 3rd act that sags and has the odd plot-hole, and demons which aren’t as impactful as the sooner recommendations of them. But it surely leaves you with a heck of a ferocious finale. From ‘Ronald McDonald Playground Slaughter!’ to this — fairly the trajectory.