I went into Talk to Me with very high expectations, and honestly...the film exceeded them. This is one of the best horror films of 2023 and probably the best A24 horror film I've seen since...Midsommar. Yeah, it's that good.

Talk to Me is an example of how to take a relatively straightforward premise and do something fresh and exciting with it. Unlike say, The Boogeyman, this movie doesn't feel like it's treading in place, hitting the exact same beats as other movies, even if we may have seen some of it before.

Part of this has to do with the energy the film captures; it's hard to explain, but there's a distinct "teenage energy" that Talk to Me nails, and something I always like when I see it on screen. It's entirely believable to me that these people we're seeing are teenagers and they'd act the way they do (mistakes and all). There's a zippy, fun, fast-paced nature to the movie that I adore and the complete opposite of the slow, boring horror that most associate with the "elevated" subgenre.

A lot of this wouldn't be possible without the cast. Sophie Wilde, who plays our scream queen Mia (an iconic horror heroine name), is INCREDIBLE. Her eyes alone are probably enough reason for her casting (when they black out, it's a legitimately terrifying visual), but luckily, she excels in displaying every emotion and delivering a complex performance for a complex character. Mia is likeable, she's funny, sweet, vulnerable...but there's a darkness to her that's undeniable and Wilde captures it PERFECTLY. Women really do excel in horror films, honestly.

The entire cast is great, but I have to shout out Zoe Terakes and Chris Alsio, who were electric any time they were on screen. I love it when movies have great side characters and these two were so fun to watch, I honestly wish they were in the film longer. The only performance I didn't completely love was Miranda Otto, who I think overstayed her welcome at points. There's also Joe Bird, who...well, let's just say gives an extremely...physical performance.

Getting this out of the way, what happens to his character is absolutely horrific. I can't stress enough how disturbing this movie can be at times and how unbelievably effective it is in the horror department. Right now, ghoulish imagery from this movie flashes in my head as I'm writing this. The make up and effects are top tier, with a wet, gross look to the creatures and oodles of extremely effective gore. I can't go on enough about the make up is; even the blacked out eyes look way scarier than I imagined they would and reminded me of...The Sadness (yes, that one - the Taiwanese movie) of all movies.

In fact, there are A LOT of aspects of The Sadness that appear in this film as well, to its benefit. The film also wears the inspiration of Evil Dead (my favourite horror franchise) on its sleeve; those two franchises are not bad inspirations. Like in those films, the dead aren't just shuffling, quiet corpses...but devious, clever, evil, and perverted. Yes. (If you've seen The Sadness, you'll understand.

Part of this has to do with the excellent cinematography and sound mixing, which feels violent and jarring at times. Every time the camera spins and follows a character, it feels like they're being whipped around and the sound that accompanies everything just elevates the tension. This is not a jump scare movie; it's a movie that keeps you unsettled from the jump.

If I had any issues with Talk to Me, it's that I wish it was longer. I wouldn't have minded a scene or two elaborating on The Hand and where it came from or just characters hanging out, honestly. Given how good everyone is, fleshing the character's world and contexts would've been welcome.

But as it stands, this is just a well put together, tight film that I'd watch again and show to as many people as possible. It's that good. And yes, even after seeing the movie, I would most definitely hold the hand, light the candle, and say "talk to me." (Oh and minor point, I loved how Australian this movie was).