Demonic possession is so much more of a pain these days. Not only are you getting flambéed by the spirits beyond and puking pea soup by the bucket, it’s now almost guaranteed the whole thing will end up on TikTok. It’s a concept that must have come naturally to Australian YouTubers-turned-filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou, whose neat and nasty debut Talk to Me should hopefully dispel the Boomer notion that everybody on the internet is a talentless hack.
Much of the film is grounded in the realities of the modern internet: if, for example, someone began passing around a medium’s sawn-off, embalmed hand and claimed you could commune with the dead by touching it, it would instantly become a viral trend. That’s how Mia (Sophie Wilde) first learns of its existence. She’s an introverted teen with a dead mum, who feels increasingly distant from her best friend and surrogate sister, Jade (Alexandra Jensen). Spurred on by some combination of morbid curiosity and a desperation to stand out, she volunteers to take a crack at the whole “cursed object” thing.
The rules are simple: light a candle, lock palms with the medium’s hand, and say, “Talk to me.” Add “I let you in”, and enjoy 90 seconds of uninterrupted body-swapping with a restless phantom. The only way to stop yourself from getting a little too familiar with life beyond the grave is for someone else to blow the candle out. The big, original sell of Talk to Me is that, here, possession lends you a euphoric high while simultaneously wresting away control of your mind and body. So, not only have these teens confirmed the existence of ghosts, they’ve also somehow invented a new drug. Each hit comes with the risk that whatever embarrassing antics your puppeteered body gets up to will be filmed and uploaded online.
The Philippous aren’t all that interested in exploring the social dynamics of their own premise, and neither does their version of grief feature anything not already covered by Jennifer Kent’s acclaimed Australian horror The Babadook (which both directors worked on as crew). But Talk to Me was an instant hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival – sparking a bidding war between major studios – not because of its thematic qualities, but because of its crowd-friendly gleefulness. This is a low-budget horror helmed by a young pair of mavericks. It’s anchored around a phenomenal central turn by Wilde, who’s all twitchy eyelids and haunted relatability. Its practical effects are effective, rendering it dead in bloated, blotchy, dripping flesh. And when the spirits reveal more demonic, subversive desires, the tricks they play on the living are delivered with a taunt and a giggle.
Those combined elements suggest that the Philippous have taken their biggest cues from Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. Like that Eighties classic, Talk to Me cycles between humour and terror with exhilarating speed. And even if the wheels threaten to come off by the end, it’s still a delight whenever Jade’s “no bulls***” mother Sue (played to perfection by Miranda Otto) arrives on the scene to chastise our heroes not for what they’ve done already, but what they inevitably will. Plus, because we’re in Australia, someone of course remarks: “This spirit’s a c***.” Who could ask for more?
Dir: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou. Starring: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen. 15, 95 minutes.
‘Talk to Me’ is in cinemas from 28 July
