“Talk To Me” : A contemporary ghost story full of daredevilry
As autumn arrives, horror movie fans are rubbing their hands in anticipation! The highly popular A24’s new horror film “Talk To Me”, which received positive reviews after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival, is directed by the internet-famous twin brothers, Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou. This particularly piqued my interest. Slated for release in Hong Kong on September 14, I had the opportunity to attend a priority screening. It was a bit different from what I expected. It is not a horror film that heavily relies on plot twists or set pieces, but rather one that puts a lot of emphasis on visual presentation and atmosphere. In recent years, this feels rather refreshing.
To get to the point, the film’s visuals, atmosphere, and performances are excellent, greatly enhancing the sense of horror. The story is relatively simple, allowing viewers to fully enjoy the horror scenes. It was quite satisfying to watch. However, in terms of personal expectations, the level of horror is generally mild. The film itself, I would give an 8.1/10, more than OK. Speaking of horror, the atmosphere is really quite good. Rather than relying on ghosts, it relies more on the performances and expressions of the actors to create the effect. Some of the more gory scenes really hurt, and there were young women screaming in the theater during some of the scenes. It’s definitely not weak.
The story is a classic case of young people curiously dabbling in the supernatural, leading to their own demise. The depiction of this as being as addictive as drugs is quite interesting, and the fact that it’s coupled with being uploaded to the internet makes it a very modern way to court death. The twists and turns in the middle are all too familiar, relying on the actors’ expressions and performances to create a tense and terrifying atmosphere. The effects are very successful, and although it’s a clichéd supernatural game movie, it’s indeed enjoyable to watch.
The film’s duration is about 95 minutes. The story is straightforward, without any dragging, which is quite good. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of cinematography. If the pacing in the first part could be a bit tighter, it would be even better.
Story Synopsis:
A group of students, in search of thrills, daringly play with the hand remnants of a medium’s corpse. Legend has it that if you hold it and recite the spell “Talk to me”, you can see ghosts or even experience the feeling of being possessed by a ghost. The only rule is that the process cannot exceed 90 seconds; if you don’t let go in time to drive away the spirit, the consequences are unimaginable! However, this group of fearless young people are addicted to summoning spirits, ignoring warnings, breaking taboos, and accidentally attracting a group of vicious spirits lurking in the dark! Evil spirits are ready to seize souls, the joyous party suddenly turns into a gateway to hell, how will they terminate a life-and-death game that no one can escape from?
