‘Talk To Me’: Sundance Review

Dirs: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou. Australia. 2022. 95mins 

In the quiet suburbs of Adelaide, a group of teens discovers a portal to the spirit world which proves too tempting to resist. Intending to just dip a toe into the other side, they accidentally fling open the door between the dead and the living — with terrifying consequences. This story of foolhardy youth and the hell it can unwittingly unleash is a staple of genre cinema, but first time directors Danny and Michael Philippou tell it well and there’s certainly plenty of atmosphere (and effects) to appeal to hardened horror fans.

Those who have seen the likes of Flatliners, Evil Dead and Cabin In The Woods will be familiar with this particular brand of mayhem, but it’s played effectively here.

The twin Philippou brothers have already built up a substantial fanbase via their YouTube channel RackaRacka, their subversive comedy horror shorts amassing over 6.5m followers and 1.5bn views. They effectively translate that appealing ambition and talent into debut feature Talk To Me, which is produced by Causeway Films (behind The Babadook, on which both Philippou brothers worked in junior roles) and supported by Screen Australia. After premiering at Adelaide Film Festival, the film should do well in its Sundance Midnight slot and its crowd-pleasing scares, along with the popularity of its creators, may well attract the attentions of a genre-focused distributor or streamer.

Two years after the death of her beloved mother, and 17 year-old Mia (Australian actress Sophie Wild, making her feature debut after starring in BBC drama You Don’t Know Me) is still adrift, unable to connect with her bereft father and concerned that her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) is slipping away into her relationship with new boyfriend Daniel (Otis Dhanji). When she comes across series of Snapchat videos purporting to show local kids — a notably diverse group — communicating with spirits by grasping an embalmed hand, Mia sees the opportunity for a fun bonding experience for her and Jade, whose 14 year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird) tags along for good measure.

What begins as a bit of fun soon turns dark, as the kids are seduced by this new power only to lose control of it. Those who have seen the likes of Flatliners, Evil Dead and Cabin In The Woods — the latter entirely devoted to spoofing this well-worn horror trope — will be familiar with this particular brand of mayhem, but it’s played effectively here. The film presents Mia’s journey into the dark side as something akin to a drug addiction; the rush of adrenaline, the opening of the mind, the expanding of horizons. Her desperation for a hit intensifies when she connects with her mother’s spirit, loosening her tenuous grip on reality.

Much like last year’s horror hit Smile, there’s much going on under the surface of Talk To Me. The screenplay, by Danny Philippou and the brothers’ long-time collaborator Bill Hinzman, touches on real-world fears: the death of a parent, the insidious nature of grief and loneliness, the lure and lies of social media. All of these elements are swirling inside Mia, leaving her — as with so many adolescents — vulnerable to risky pursuits that promise to make her more popular, give her some answers and, fundamentally, enable her to get out of her own head.

But, also like Smile, Talk To Me is more concerned with visceral scares than psychological introspection and, to that end, blends practical and in-camera effects (and deft editing from Geoff Lamb) to create some genuinely disturbing sequences. Emma Bortignon’s striking sound design is a disorienting blend of the real and the uncanny, underscoring possession scenes with a palpable sense of dread which contrasts with the wild euphoria of the kids’ reactions. And particularly effective is the film’s use of colour, Mia’s initially vibrant colour palette slowly fading as she begins to lose all sense of self.