By Julian
Okay, my first horror review on Just Add Color. I was considering doing a review of Ti West’s X which came out last year, I’m saving it for next year when MaXXXine comes out and it hearing it be a whodunit from certain sources is going to be pretty cool. The horror theme of demonic possession seems to be in the air for now. Two brothers of YouTube fame called The RackRacka made a horror movie called Talk To Me involving viral drug possession gone wrong. And boy it has…in a good way. I am keeping this movie spoiler-free even though it has been released to streaming. But some people might want to avoid everything on the internet and want to see this movie fresh, so I’m doing just that. Without further ado, let’s get down to the possession business.
Image via The Hollywood Reporter/A24/Talk to Me
Following the death of her mother Rhea (Alexandra Steffensen), Mia (Sophie Wilde), her friend Jade, and her brother Riley (Joe Bird) go to a party involving their teenage cohorts Haley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) who have an embalmed severed hand of a satanist for the use of getting clicks on social media. The rules are simple: the kids get to communicate with the dead and cannot go for more than ninety seconds; otherwise, the dead will remain bonded to that person forever. However, their extremely irresponsible antics with the demonic hand go a bit too far as the demons of Hell have other plans.
Image via A24/Talk to Me–Sophie Wilde as Mia
This movie was bonkers, to begin with. It opens with a bang and ends in as it is supposed to be. A one-and-done story about kids taking possession, another form of doing drugs, way too far: the possession scenes are almost in comparison with someone taking marijuana and deciding to take things a bridge too far. If an artifact like this ever existed in the real world, it should be destroyed and not to be used as a party trick. But in the case of the film, it was engrossing to watch this demonic hand psychologically test the relationships between our characters. Specifically, Mia and her close friends have a bond that will soon get shaken up by that cursed hand. That’s as far as I’m going because I do not want people to be spoiled by what happens next.
Image via The Hollywood Reporter/A24–Sophie Wilde as Mia
All in All, Talk To Me is an innovative horror movie that knows exactly what it is and gets straight to the point. It carries its underlying message about teenagers experimenting with drugs in the form of possession with style. The premise is cool and terrifying to watch where people will care whether our main characters will survive or not. Admittedly, it’s a better Exorcist movie than this year’s The Exorcist: Believer. Why? Because it’s a tried storyline with an original twist that doesn’t beat around the bush. I already heard they are making a prequel and a direct sequel to this movie which speaks volumes about this movie’s success. Kind of similar to how X became so successful that it spawned its own prequel and sequel in the making. I highly recommend this movie to avid horror fans or possession gurus out there. If this movie’s not for you then, there are other substitutes like X, Alien, or Halloween (whichever timeline of the franchise you follow). As always, Happy Halloween and do not let the ghouls, ghosts, or goblins try to steal your candy at midnight!
Talk to Me is a unique spin on a possession movie that feels new and fresh without retreading the same clichés over and over again.
