Talk To Me is the horror movie of the moment and whenever there is a new horror film in town, I’m the first one to sign up for it. There is something so attractive about the genre. On the surface level it is simply about scaring people but to do it right takes so much hard work. The easiest thing to do is to make a bad horror film. However, I believe that the hardest film to make is a horror one. Since past few years, a new trend has started in the genre – elevated horror. Where layered narratives are crafted by using tropes of the genre to tell deeper stories. When done right, you can get something like Hereditary, Get Out, Us, Smile etc. or if not then you get something like Beau is Afraid or Men – half baked concepts sold as horror films which are just boring. The biggest sin a movie can commit. Nowadays a good horror film is scarce to find.
The last good horror film I saw this year was Evil Dead Rise. It is a shame that films like The Conjuring, IT and Annabelle: Creation are not made anymore. Horror films don’t necessarily have to be about a deeper theme. They simply have to be clever and innovative but unfortunately everyone wants to make elevated horror today. Which is why I’m always on the look out for new horror films and that’s the story of how I found out Talk to Me. So, is it any good? It was called the scariest film of the year – Is it? Let’s find out.
Talk to Me Review – It’s Not Scary At All!
HOC Rating – ★★
The film had amazing reviews from critics and most of them raved about the outstanding concept at the centre of the film. In my opinion, the concept is all the same they just introduced a new prop. A bunch of friends getting together and inviting spirits? Oh I haven’t seen that ever. There were no jump scares and contrary to popular belief that doesn’t make the film better. It is not scary because it is not even attempting to be. Talk to Me doesn’t have enough story to not include jump scares. The film is slow and despite being only 95 minutes, it feels long.
Talk to Me feels like a drama and not well done at that as many times, especially in the second half, the film gets boring. Speaking of the good parts, the acting is well done by everyone. The sequence with Riley, gory and full of tension was awesome. However, the rules are never explained. After the film ended I was still wondering what happened. Mia’s character was written well where you definitely feel bad for her. It is a truly tragic film but not a horror film. I’m still confused about Mia’s past with her parents. They could’ve explained more.
For the entirety of the film, I was not scared at all. This is not a good compliment to a horror film. I still liked the film as a psychological thriller because it was truly disturbing. I didn’t feel at ease during the film. The acting, visuals and sound designing made sure of it. The cold opening was something I liked but apart from that there were no stand out moments. There was scope to make this film special but unfortunately it fell short. I don’t like films that make me read an article to understand its ending. That’s just lazy writing.
Verdict
Altogether, Talk to Me is a drama story wrapped in a horror setting. Generally, that would’ve made a good combination but this time the marriage didn’t work out. If you’re willing to watch a slow horror film with no outstanding climax then watch Talk to Me. If you’re a cinephile then do check it out in order to support new horror minds. A normal person won’t enjoy this. Much to my disappointment, Talk to Me is a mediocre film and really disappointing. It is not the scariest film of the year. I’ll rate it 2 out of 5 stars. Have you seen the film? What do you think about it?
Talk to Me is directed by Danny and Michael Phillipou and is based on a concept by Daley Pearson. This their debut film and for a debut they have a hefty production of $4.5 million. It is an A24 presentation, which means it is guaranteed quality. This horror flick also actors some of the most up and coming stars of our generation like Sophie Wilde, Zoe Terakes, Miranda Otto, Chris Alosio and Otis Dhanji.
Talk to Me is currently playing in theatres near you.
If you have any questions regarding Talk to Me, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
1 thought on “Talk to Me Review – Another Overrated Woke Horror Film?”
Comments are closed.