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“From the YouTube sensations…” isn’t precisely the phrase you need to hear going into a movie — horror or in any other case. This set-up brings a specific amount of bags that the viewers will probably be hard-pressed to shake, whatever the filmmaker’s expertise. And but, 2023 has already seen some promising works come from content material creators on the net video platform, like competition sweetheart and experimental viral sensation “Skinamarink.” Now, in opposition to all odds, one other hit movie could be birthed by the purveyor of a billion pet movies, with a decidedly much less experimental however darkly enjoyable method.
READ MORE: 25 Most Anticipated Movies At The 2023 Sundance Film Festival
On the floor, “Talk to Me” is a blast of demonic horror that can make your pores and skin crawl. Underneath, it affords a brand new twist on the teenager horror movie that explores the complexities of grief and the transition from childhood to maturity. The film is directed by Australian twins Danny and Michael Philippou, identified on-line as RackaRacka. The duo has amassed a big following on YouTube with over 1.5 billion views – primarily by creating battle movies of your favourite popular culture characters (i.e., “Harry Potter” vs. “Star Wars,” and so forth.). But make no mistake, “Talk to Me” is nothing like their earlier output. There isn’t any cellphone cinematography or app results. Instead — maybe desirous to distance themselves from the content material that began their careers — the brothers Philippou create a calculated, intense, and thought-provoking horror expertise for the trendy teenage viewers.
The movie follows Mia, performed by Sophie Wilde in her first lead function. Mia is a seventeen-year-old woman coping with the lack of her mom. She is bored with her father’s adverse brooding presence and decides to flee to her finest good friend Jade’s home, a house away from residence. However, when a social media video of a religious possession goes viral in school, Mia sees a possibility to distract herself from the darkness surrounding her. She convinces Jade and Daniel — Mia’s first boyfriend! Drama! — to reluctantly be a part of her on the subsequent religious conjuring.
The group of pals quickly uncover that they’ll change into quickly possessed through the use of a ceramic embalmed hand that was allegedly constituted of the severed arm of a medium. The catch is that they need to exorcise the spirit inside 90 seconds, or it would attempt to keep. Mia has a flip, utilizing the phrase “talk to me,” and is immediately taken over by an entity that seizes management of her physique. Exhilarated by the expertise, the group of pals retains performing increasingly seances till one in every of them inevitably goes too far. Pretty enjoyable, proper?
Hats off to the filmmaking crew: the writing by no means feels heavy-handed or intentionally tacky. Teen horror can usually get slowed down in cringy expositional dialogue, however the script by Bill Hinzman, Danny Pearson, and Danny Philippou makes the a lot of the premise with out explaining issues too deeply or shorting the character moments that make you care about these central youngsters.
Before issues flip darkish, the teenager occasion ambiance is infectious, juvenile, and enjoyable — simply accurately. And that could be the movie’s largest hurdle: casting teenage characters which can be authentically effervescent with feelings and lean extra in the direction of relatable than grating. However, the Philippou brothers do very effectively throughout the board right here. Sophie Wilde affords a standout efficiency as Mia and might play each a typical common teenager and a wounded, playful, and unhinged individual with equal depth and nuance. Other forged members additionally ship robust performances, notably the actors enjoying the teenager roles — relative newcomers Alexandra Jensen, Otis Dhanji, Joe Bird, Zoe Terakes, and maybe the movie’s solely well-known actor, Miranda Otto, who performs the mom of Mia’s pals.
Another welcome shock comes within the type of Aaron McLisky’s assured cinematography. The DP behind FX’s “Mr. Inbetween” and Russell Crowe’s “Poker Face” mixes handheld and expertly deliberate camerawork together with a colour palette that correctly conveys the temper to assemble a real visible deal with. The filmmakers have performed an amazing job of making a way of rigidity and unease all through the movie, and the (largely) sensible scares are efficient with out being overly gory. The thriller’s climax is especially intense and haunting, leaving the viewers with a last sequence that feels inevitable and leaves the door open for the world to develop.
Exploring adolescence and grief could also be a tried-and-true components for the horror style, however “Talk to Me” proves that, if performed proper, there’s no cause one can’t play the hits and nonetheless succeed. Given the suitable push or stable word-of-mouth, the movie may blossom right into a profitable teen horror franchise that may handle to deftly ship scares and a message to its younger viewers in equal measure. It’s official — RackaRacka has graduated to not simply correct filmmakers however rattling promising ones. [B+]
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