टॉक टू मी

I've spoken in the past about being a big fan of Australian horror movies. Some of my all time favourites have come from this country. So it's a little disappointing that the last two Australian horror movies I've watched ('Run Rabbit Run' and 'Talk to Me') have been a bit of a let down. The latter was nowhere near as big of a let down as the former to be fair. There were parts of this film I liked, but overall it didn't quite hit the right spots.

I'm finding possession films less and less scary with every year that goes by. I find that as soon as you see the ghosts/demons it's just too hard to believe (even though the make-up work in 'Talk to Me' was very well done). The only time it really works for me any more is in films like 'Paranormal Activity' where you rarely actually see anything. Seeing less will always be more in this circumstance.

So I didn't find the film overly scary, and then all I really have to fall back on is the characters. Sadly we've reached a point where the only way to write realistic teenage characters any more is to make them extremely unpleasant. If they were all overly nice it wouldn't feel like they were properly written, yet if they are particularly unpleasant then it isn't much fun to watch them. It's a real predicament that the horror genre has and I don't know the way around it.

I will say that the ghosts/demons were done in such a way that if that is the kind of thing that scares you I could see this movie being very effective and creepy. Otherwise though, you might be fresh out of luck with this one. 6/10.

What drew my interest in this film was the high IMDb reviews, especially for the horror genre which is the most scrutinized. The plot is pretty basic.... evil and supernatural forces begin to manifest by touching an embalmed hand. I love horror films but I've always treated them like an amusement park ride. They don't need a sophisticated plot but certainly a good screenplay, creepy atmosphere, pacing, uncomfortable tension, and just plain scary. I'll get straight to the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Good cinematography and quality of acting.

2. Because of the lower budget, the film wasn't flooded with CGI. Some of the scenes were pretty creepy. One scene had a dark atmosphere about it that reminded me of a scene from Hereditary.

Cons:

1. Way too much filler. I understand and appreciate setting things up for character attachment/development but the first 25-30 min was a snooze fest.

2. Screenplay was too disjointed and had a pacing problem. The scenes involving the hand were good but all the in-between segments with the characters were uninteresting for the most part. At times I was wondering with a particular character if this was horror or a drama.

3. Weak final act. When it's all said and done this movie is about a few entertaining and even scary scenes and a lot of messy writing all over the place. Are they trying too hard? Should they have focused on a different angle if the goal was to make this story deeper? You be the judge. Honestly I think this would have made a really good 12-13 minute short film.

Is this movie on the level of 2018's Hereditary? Heck no. Is it worth watching? Honesty yes. With great horror movies few and far between, you can get a few thrills out of it and appreciate the potential that could have been. Decent but could have been so much more...

This stands out from your jump scare or just plain poor plot horror movies. I watch as much horror as I can and this was an original idea and very well written. After the movie, you will piece together more and more of how it all ties together.

Scary, yet enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. The acting was very good and really ties in with the themes in the film.

This is more of the stick with you, creepy, dread, existential type horror, but also had many scary scenes.

Also love to see a movie like this create a star actor and get picked up for distribution at Sundance. We need many more horror films like this and less of these cookie cutter, one page plot horror movies.

Its an overall good movie especially considering it is the first feature film attempt by the directors. But is far from perfect. The biggest (& possibly the only) flaw of the movie is its protaganist. She does not miss a single chance to act stupid & selfish and keeps getting everyone else into trouble. This makes watching the movie a frustrating experience at times. If there was a proper sensible character to counter her and was given as much screen time, movie would have been better. But on technical level, its a well made movie with nice effects, cinematography, acting & direction. In the end, if I was to rank this movie in comparison to other horror movies. I would rank it above any conjuring or insedious sequels but below movies like 'It Follows'.

A creative new take on an ouija board with so much more to say !

I loved the concept of the hand it was so new and original , yet the movie still holds that idea of what can happen when u don't close "the door" .

I would highly recommend this movie to friends to see , it's majorly creepy but still entertaining and a gripping story . Everyone gives a pretty good performance but Sophie Wilde is really impressive in her role , it's role that would've required for you to have a lot of confidence and talent all of which she portrays on screen with such bold brilliance.

I believe she will be cast in a lot of movies in the future.

I also want to give credit to the directors.

Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou .

This was brilliant please make more movies !