Rent Talk to Me (2022)

Very Silly but Slick, High-quality Aussie Horror Hokum, with suitable Spooky Gore - Talk to Me review by PV

I was not sure what to make of this. It takes a VERY old and trite horror trope - that of summoning spirits, this time with a hand (The Monkey's Paw MR Bates short story comes to mind). And then of course the Pandora's Box is opened.

Fine, an attempt to update and modernise an old trope with the usual archetypes. Reminded me of the funny horro FREAKY (2020) in that, though that is classier.

A rather obvious attempt to appeal to US audiences with a black female main character who has an American dad (never explained) - in south Australia, Adelaide, I think, according to end production credits. This woke stuff can be eyerollingly irritating and distracting BUT here they JUST about get away with it, esp as it is balanced by focus on a white Aussie young teen boy (acted very well, whoever that is).

Directed by 2 newcomers with Greek names - a nob to that at the end (no spoilers) and no doubt family and friends got a favour returned to get in a movie as extras LOL. Lots of newcomers here, actors too, and I hope this calling card enables their careers.

Scary? Not for me. Maybe for those who believe in the world of spirit etc.

BUT entertaining and a great Friday night horror movies to watch with friends in the dark - though it does drag a wee bit in the middle.

It also features the first kangaroo in a horror film, Maybe...

3 stars

Awkward start but great by the end. - Talk to Me review by KP

My initial assumption that they speak English in New Zealand was challenged dramatically by watching the first 10-15 minutes of this title.

However, we stuck with it and the "Gaffer in charge of elocution" must have turned up for work on the second day as things eventually improved.

The story was then enjoyable. The production value is more than adequate and the ending has a nice pay-off.

Well worth watching, stick with it through the mumbled Kiwi start and you won't be disappointed.

Very Effective Ghost Film - Talk to Me review by GI

This is a very effective supernatural ghost film with a great story and some very uncomfortable scenes. It's what a good horror film should be, scary and terrifically creepy. The title is an ironic twist on the pain caused when loved ones don't talk, a theme that runs though the narrative. Mia (Sophie Wilde) is a young woman who's mother killed herself but she has been assured her death was an accident, a lie told by her father to protect her. Being lonely Mia spends much of her time at the home of her best friend, Jade (Alexandre Jensen). These two and Jade's younger brother, Riley (Joe Bird) get caught up with a group of other students who have found a way to conjure up spirits through holding a mummified hand and saying 'talk to me'. The trouble is that dabbling with these dark forces soon has consequences that bring violence and horror amd Mia makes a stupid decision when she believes her mother's ghost has turned up. This is a bold horror film that harks back to The Sixth Sense (1999) and has similarities to Hereditary (2018). It certainly takes the teen movie into a very unsettling territory. Miranda Otto costars in a film well worth checking out.

Another failing wannabe scary teen film - Talk to Me review by Alphaville

After a startling opening (the only one in the film), this immediately degenerates into a talkfest of annoying Australian teens glued to their phones. Hip hop soundtrack? Tick. They start to conjure up spirits, but it’s never scary or any more interesting than the job-lot characters. The plot goes nowhere and peters put. The end.