Talk to Me (2022 film)

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.[1]

• Sophie Wilde as Mia
• Alexandra Jensen as Jade
• Joe Bird as Riley
• Otis Dhanji as Daniel
• Miranda Otto as Sue
• Marcus Johnson as Max
• Alexandria Steffensen as Rhea
• Zoe Terakes as Hayley
• Chris Alosio as Joss

Talk to Me is a co-production of Causeway Films, Bankside Films, and Talk to Me Holdings, and is a presentation of Screen Australia in association with South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, Head Gear Films, and Metrol Technology.[2][3]

Talk to Me sold to numerous international distributors at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[4] It had its debut in a preview screening at the Adelaide Film Festival on 30 October 2022, the closing night of the festival.[5][6]

The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in its midnight lineup.[7] After the premiere spurred a bidding war with Universal Pictures and others, A24 won and acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United States.[8][9][10]

The film had its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival and also screened at South by Southwest (SXSW) that the same year.[11][12][13][14]

Talk to Me is scheduled to be theatrically released in Australia on 27 July 2023 by Maslow Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment and Ahi Films, and in the United States on 28 July by A24.[15][16][17]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Talk to Me has an approval rating of 97% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's consensus reads: "With a gripping story and impressive practical effects, Talk to Me spins a terrifically creepy 21st-century horror yarn built on classic foundations."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood praised the film, writing, "though it employs some familiar tropes... [the film] does attempt to do something new with an old idea, for one thing making the crossing of infernal thresholds seem like an awful lot of fun."[19] Chris Bumbray of Joblo also praised the film, writing, "The cast is terrific, with Wilde an appealing heroine. However, Joe Bird is best, with him perhaps delivering the best "possessed performance" since Linda Blair in The Exorcist," for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one.[20] Cassondra Feltus of Black Girl Nerds also applauded the film, writing, "The young actors give powerful performances, particularly Sophie Wilde."[21]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, writing, "The movie deftly stitches its deepest fears around the idea that grief and trauma can be open invitations to predatory forces from the great beyond. It marks a welcome splash of new blood on the horror landscape." Rooney also applauded the performances, writing, "While the predominantly young cast is solid, especially Bird as Riley, talented newcomer Wilde does the heaviest dramatic lifting."[22]

Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine gave the film 3/4 stars, writing, "The film's major achievement is how it manages to ground possession in the reality of modern teenage life...The film has a free-floating, nearly intangible sense of unease that greatly serves it."[23]

• Talk to Me at Maslow Entertainment
• Talk to Me at Umbrella Entertainment
• Talk to Me at A24 Films
• Talk to Me at IMDb