Talk to Me

Talk to Me is one of those horror movies that checks all the boxes on paper but manages to get under your skin in ways you don't expect. The basic premise is a group of teenagers finds a creepy embalmed hand that lets them communicate with the dead. You can imagine how that goes wrong pretty quickly, but the best part is how the film doesn’t rely solely on the gimmick. It digs into peer pressure, grief, and the thrill and danger of pushing boundaries just for a good time.

Right from the start, the movie sets a mean tone. The pacing is confident and tight, never wasting time on unnecessary exposition. Scenes build tension fast—sometimes with blunt violence, sometimes just with awkward teenage interactions. The party scenes feel uncomfortably real, almost like you’re remembering how it felt to try and impress a crowd and not know where the limits are.

The cinematography surprised me. There are these crisp, well-composed shots that really make the most of the low-budget setting. The use of color and lighting sells both the mundane suburban backdrop and the supernatural sequences. They avoid the usual gray-washed horror look, which actually makes the scary moments hit harder. There are a couple tracking shots that made my jaw drop.

The performances are grounded in a way you don’t often see with young casts. Sophie Wilde, who plays the lead, is especially good at showing the character’s hunger for escape and connection without ever becoming a horror cliché. There’s an honesty to how messed up everyone is—no one feels like a stock victim, and that makes their choices sting more.

If I had a gripe, it’s that the film almost gets too excited with its traumatic shocks. After some of the early set pieces, the movie keeps pushing, and by the end, it’s a little numbing. Some of the emotional beats would have landed harder if the filmmakers trusted quieter moments. Still, those brutal scenes are effective, and you’d have to be made of stone not to react.

This is horror that wants to mess you up, not just spook you for ninety minutes. Even when it leans into familiar territory, Talk to Me has a personality and urgency that a lot of genre flicks lack. I kept thinking about it for days after. It’s sharp, mean, and actually has something to say beyond “boo.”