Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Directed by Danny Phillippou, Michael Phillippou
Written by Danny Phillippou, Bill Hinzman
Starring Sophie Wilde, Alexahdra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen

As it goes for possession films, A24’s Talk To Me is a unique twist. Not only do the possessions occur on a regular basis (over half of the cast is cast under the spell, some repeatedly. It is mostly done for fun and undone within 90 seconds. Several of them go through the process of gripping a cursed hand, telling it “talk to me” then, “I let you in,” where the possession begins.

There are some moments that hint to danger to one of the party goers named Riley (Bird). These hints are met with caution until one of the other party goers named Mia (Wilde) gets a hint of her mother, lost two years prior, to suicide. Then she pushes the boy into a position that nearly kills him, leaving him trapped in the embrace of the other side.

From here, Riley’s sister (Jensen) and mother (Otto) stand vigil, while Mia, after a bout with guilt, begins to explore with the cursed hand.

The Phillippous demonstrate that they know how to tilt some tropes, while they play right into others. How no adults end up in the vicininty of these continuous parties and no one of authority gets any trace of the fursed hand is befuddling. The end is also pretty transparent.

There is, however, enough here to keep viewers watching until the credits start to roll.

(***1/2* out of *****)