In many ways, "Talk to Me" can be compared with Ari Aster's "Hereditary". Both movies, beside being excellent debuts for their directors, are actually more a drama than an horror. The horrific elements are there, but more to strengthen the underlying psychological suffering that some characters are undergoing.

The plot is simple: a group of high-school friends comes into possession of a "cursed" ceramic hand. If you grip it you see the spirit of a dead person, to whom you can talk. If you want to go further, this spirit possesses you until someone breaks the grip between you and the hand. This becomes a fun party activity, with people enjoying the thrill to "be possessed" - and of course things go south fast.

A case can be made for these horrific elements to actually be only hallucinatory. I think that there are enough hints in the movie that point for most of them to be real; however, about some of the "supernatural" events that follow some of the characters we just don't know - as the experience with the "hand" can cause serious problems to minds already the verge of a breakdown. Deciding if some horrific moments are real or just hallucinations id part of the fun of the movie.

In the hands of lesser directors this could have become an also-ran movie in the "Ouija board" genre. Instead, it is the story of some people living through difficult periods of their lives, with recent dramatic events still lacking closure. The "hand" does seem to feed on this suffering until the situation goes out of control. In this, the plot reminds a lot of a Stephen King story. Be prepared for 90% drama and 10% of (genuine) horror.

I liked how we are thrown into the story "in media res". We don't know these people, their relationships, how they got the hand and what torments them from their past. It is like meeting a group of friends for the first time, and it is upon us to piece together who they are and what's happening.

The acting is strong all around and a big kudos goe to the young actors, The only disappointment is Miranda Otto, as her acting talents are wasted in the only banal character in the movie (it is always nice to see her, toh).

At the end, the only weak point of this really strong debut is the plot: it is very conventional. Any horror aficionado will easily see how thing are going to develop and predict the end. The ending, to be clear, works, but I saw it coming halfway through the movie.

All in all, a surprisingly good movie. I can't wait for the director's next effort - hoping that this time they will choose a stronger story to tell.