Day 4: Talk to Me — Grief, Guilt, and the Grip of the Other Side.
Talk to Me, the directorial debut from Danny and Michael Phillipou, is a 2023 horror film that follows a group of teenagers who discover they can contact spirits using an embalmed hand as a conduit. When it first premiered, it quickly became the talk of the town in the horror community. It was a breath of fresh air to see an original story like this receive so much appreciation from fans around the world.
A24 has built a reputation for releasing some of the most unique and unconventional films of the past decade. That’s not to say the movies lack quality—if anything, it shows the studio’s willingness to take risks on projects that might not be considered safe bets. Talk to Me is one of those risks, and it definitely paid off. With a global box office total of $92 million against a modest $4.5 million budget, it became A24’s highest-grossing horror film.
At its core, Talk to Me is a powerful story about grief, trauma, loss, and the desperate desire to reconnect with loved ones we've lost. As we continue our 31 days of horror movie reviews, this is one I’m especially excited to revisit. It’s a film I truly love.
Let’s get into the review.
The setup is simple: a group of teens finds an embalmed hand that lets them communicate with spirits. What starts as a party trick quickly spirals into something dark and dangerous. It’s clever because the whole idea works as a metaphor for addiction — that rush you get from doing something you know you shouldn’t, just to feel something again. We’ve all been there, and I’m not here to judge. From sneaking a change of clothes to avoid a lecture from mom, to riskier choices like drugs or bending the rules, people chase that thrill. The characters in this film are no different.
Mia pushes boundaries out of grief and curiosity, Riley makes reckless choices as the younger, more impulsive member, and even David, the devout Christian in the group, finds himself pulled into the chaos. Joss and Hayley know what happened with Duckett, yet they still chase the high from interacting with the spirit realm. Watching all of them makes it both thrilling and terrifying because you can see how these reckless choices spiral into consequences they couldn’t anticipate.
All of this tension is anchored by Sophie Wilde, who completely carries the movie as Mia. She’s vulnerable, unpredictable, and completely real, and you can feel the weight of her grief from the very start. Watching her slip deeper into chaos is both heartbreaking and tense, and the rest of the cast, especially Joe Bird as Riley and Alexandra Jensen as Jade, help ground the story. They make the friend group feel authentic, messy, and alive, which makes every reckless choice feel impactful and dangerous.
Outside of the story and acting, what really pulls everything together, though, is the Philippou brothers’ direction. Coming from their chaotic YouTube background, they bring a kinetic, almost anarchic energy to the film that never feels out of place. The camera work is alive, tight, and tense, and the sound design lands every scream, whisper, and heartbeat. The film doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares — instead, it builds its tension through atmosphere, timing, and emotional stakes, which is why the horror lingers long after the lights come up.
Talk to Me isn’t just scary for the sake of it. It’s about grief, guilt, and the thrill of doing the wrong thing, all wrapped in a story that feels authentic, intense, and uncomfortably human. It’s the kind of horror that sticks with you, makes you squirm, and keeps you thinking long after the credits roll.
That’s it for Day 4 of Preshaa Creeps: 31 Nights of Fear. Talk to Me proves that horror can be thrilling, emotional, and uncomfortably real all at once. Check out the trailer below and get ready, because the scares don’t stop here.