Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: TALK TO ME [Berlinale 2023 - Berlin, Germany]
The angle of horror given a sense of jump and brutality is sometimes harder to find in modern cinema than one would think. Sometimes what needs to happen is to give it a different perspective which might just be a simply change of culture but with enough off balance to make it different. That is the effectiveness of "Talk To Me", a supernatural (of sorts) horror film which uses the diametrics of family, culture and (very subtly) in location to make its premise work with an object of transmission or transport (if you will). Unlike the previous night's horror entry "#Manhole", "Talk To Me" knows where it is going and how to key into the swirling thrill and dread of the main protagonist in Mia (Sophie Wilde) who finds herself both drawn in but also repulsed by the journey she goes on. Wilde is a fresh face and yet her performance is lived in and visceral. Like most good genre franchise elements, the set up in the prologue sets the tone for the film.
Directors Danny & Michael Philippou set this off running in those opening shots and builds it up from there (as any good film with this kind of mettle does). The film of course speaks to the unexperienced thrill of youth and risk but speaks to the consequences. The directors don't pull back especially in the brutality of one scene that continues into another in a mirror scenario. In an age where it can be hard to create that throttle factor without completely turning off the audience, the context here is kept tight without losing its grip. It also creates its own mythology without giving anything anyway. Most importantly though, within its world, the story makes sense. The plot openings that are there are open for a reason so the audience can place their experience in that space. Already picked up for US distribution by the right company for this title, it will be interesting to see the response because the tenacles of this story can spread out far and wide. Its success is that it feels entertaining without losing a tinge of drama and a wisp of humor before it tries to whip out the rug from underneath you. But it is also placing the right details in the right place. An early scene on a road and a choice that is made resonates in its foreboding even after the film has ended. B+
By Tim Wassberg
