This Terrifying Hit Horror Movie From 2023 Is About To Come To Netflix
What is your favorite Australian movie?
If you answered Muriel’s Wedding or Priscilla Queen of the Desert, then you can stay. If you answered “Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars,” then that’s a weird answer, but you can stay, too. If you answered Crocodile Dundee, then you’re probably from a red state, and if you answered Australia starring Nicole Kidman, then just get out of here. Leave this site. Wait, no, come back, but just remember to look at your life and look at your choices later. First, you need to learn about another Australian movie that’s coming to Netflix on March 28. It’s called Talk to Me and it’s one of the scariest horror movies in recent memory. Here’s why.
Talk to the hand ‘cuz the face is an invisible demon
Talk to Me lays out its premise fairly early on. Somehow, this movie’s teens have found an embalmed, severed hand that facilitates communication with the dead. It also allows the user to become temporarily possessed, but the user must break this connection within 90 seconds to avoid permanent damage. In this way, it’s a metaphor for something addictive, like ketamine or BookTok. However, the important thing is that the premise feels fresh and modern, especially since so many people using the hand in the movie are seeking to go viral. It doesn’t seem so farfetch’d to think that a teenager would risk demonic possession to become an influencer.
Mamma Mia!
Mia, who is the main character of Talk to Me, has mommy issues. Now that the subheading has been explained, let’s talk about why she’s so compelling. First, Sophie Wilde is unforgettable in this role, bringing raw intensity to every scene. But Mia is also painfully sympathetic, given her ongoing struggles with grief, trauma, and loneliness. Ultimately, the movie intertwines her emotional turmoil with the supernatural elements (the aforementioned getting possessed stuff). This all makes for a protagonist worth rooting for.
It’s elevated but not TOO elevated
Talk to Me has psychological depth, but it also has real scares, not just a dull sense of dread or a sustained commitment to disorienting the viewer. This sets it apart from other acclaimed offerings from A24, which distributed Talk to Me. For instance, I’ll never forget when I went to see Hereditary expecting B-movie twists and jump scares, only to leave mildly disappointed (but also genuinely horrified). Talk to Me knows exactly what horror fans want and gives it to them, even when imbuing its story with emotional complexity. The movie’s unsettling cinematography and engrossing sound design only heighten the tension.
The literally haunting ending
The word “haunting” gets thrown around a lot these days, especially in writing generated by ChatGPT. (ChatGPT’s other favorite word is “unwavering.”) That said, “haunting” is literally an appropriate description for the end of Talk to Me. Both disconcerting and thought-provoking, it climaxes in an eerie revelation while piling on the bleak tragedy and potent terror, spurring a discussion that might keep you up all night. You may even want to rewatch the movie again, kind of like when you saw The Sixth Sense and went back to analyze every interaction that Bruce Willis had with Toni Collette. Or, at least, I assume you did that!
Those practical effects
Talk to Me heavily favors practical effects over CGI, making its horror feel all too real and in your face. Particularly in the possession sequences involving the severed hand, the actors’ faces and bodies contort in viscerally unnerving ways. The sound effects nearly elevate these depictions to body horror. On top of that, the dead spirits who greet the teens seem to have a tactile quality to them that makes them feel all-too tangible. There are no over-the-top fight scenes or badly edited CGI explosions. It’s all just skin-crawlingly effective and nightmarishly unrelenting.
It’s better than Crocodile Dundee
Look, this movie is no Muriel’s Wedding – or even Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars – but it’s Australian enough. The action takes place in what feels like a real, mundane Adelaide suburb, and the characters utter things like “mate” and “reckon” and “nawr, yeah” with no trace of irony. Plus, you might say that the nihilistic humor and relatable resilience of the characters feel Aussie as well. Most importantly, however, this movie is loads better than Crocodile Dundee and is blessedly homophobia-free. Next time, when we ask you for your favorite Australian movie, you might just name this one!
Catch Talk to Me on March 28 on Netflix.
