Australia’s up and coming twin directors have added something new to the genre of supernatural horror with their directorial debut of “Talk to Me.” From the town of Adelaide, Michael and Danny Philippou wrote and directed “Talk To Me” based on the ideas of fellow friend and filmmaker, Daley Pearson. Amidst the traditional jump scares and thrills, however, the directors incorporated an important theme of warning viewers of the dangers of addiction.
The director duo is also known as RackRacka on YouTube, where they originally got their start. “Talk to Me” initially premiered at Sundance, the United States’ biggest independent film festival, before getting picked up by A24, an entertainment company that produces and distributes films.
In this movie, Mia (Sophia Wilde) has just lost her mother to suicide. Distancing herself from her father, she finds comfort in her friend Jade (Alexandra Jenson), and Jade’s younger brother Riley (Joe Bird). While the group is at a house party, an embalmed hand that connects a person to a spirit on the other side is used as a party game. The hand has been going viral online for possessing the participant into performing different actions, ranging from saying creepy things to even stabbing others. The group of teenagers become fascinated with it despite the obvious dangers, especially Mia, because as she says, “It felt amazing.”
One of the most prominent scenes in the movie is the montage scene just before the plot goes awry with the group using the hand. The montage scene uses the instrumentals of Edith Piaf’s song, “La Foule.” In the song, the singer gets lost in the chaos of a crowd when she falls for a man. He is abruptly taken by the crowd, and she never sees him again. Piaf sings, “The crowd comes to throw me into his arms.” However, later in the song, she sings, “But suddenly I let out a cry among the laughter. When the crowd comes to snatch him from my arms.” These lyrics tie into the theme of addiction and dependency threaded throughout the movie. The song is saying the crowd can give you everything you want just as easily as it can take it all away, just like the embalmed hand does to users and like drugs do to addicts.
Similar to the message of the song, the hand can give you an experience like no other, leaving you wanting more. However, it can ruin your life as it did for Mia and Riley. This scene is a turning point in the movie in terms of plot and theme when the cast of characters use the hand for amusement. It introduces the newfound dependency on the hand and foreshadows the dangers to come. The following scene is when Riley gets a turn to get possessed and subsequently throws his face into the desk, fireplace, and window, sending him to the hospital. The “La Foule” scene is one of happiness and ecstasy, following a graphic scene of a teenager bashing his face. Addiction is similar because drugs for example, first gives euphoria to the person, but then when they come down from the high, chaos can occur.
Mia’s mother died by suicide leaving her heartbroken and vulnerable. Though she is surrounded by people, Mia still feels alone and isolated. This leaves her more at risk of manipulation, not only the spirit that possesses her, but also the spirit that possesses Riley, which acts as her mother. Mia’s grief has left her desperate for connection. Her mother dying by suicide is a reality that is difficult for she and her father to accept. Like most people who have lost a loved one to suicide, she does not want to accept the fact that her mother suffered from mental issues and intentionally ended her life.
Notably, the two characters affected most by the hand in the movie are Mia and Riley because of their vulnerability. When Mia is telling Riley about her experience using the hand, she talks about how amazing it felt. Despite being fearful at first, the experience leaves Mia wanting more, similar to substance abuse. Mia sees a drowned woman in front of her which scares her, but she loves the experience and wants to try again. Sometimes it is the unfamiliar and thrilling things that bring us the most pleasure. Riley hears and sees the fun everyone else is having using the hand and wants that same experience. This is often how people are introduced to substances at a young age; from seeing others doing it and having fun. To access the spirit, the person must hold the hand and say, “Talk to me,” and “Let me in.” This is symbolic because as I mentioned before, Mia and most people who want to try the hand want a connection. The death of her mother has left her feeling isolated and although she has her father, they are not close and Mia repeatedly ignores him. The teens are essentially asking the hand to act as the bond they are craving.
After Riley takes a turn with the hand and ends up hurting himself because of the spirit, he is left in a catatonic state. The group asks Cole, a previous victim of the hand, for help. He emphasizes that the only way for the spirit to leave is time. The further from the hand the weaker the spirit gets. Parallel to addiction, the way to stop substance abuse is to isolate yourself from them. Despite the advice, Mia believes that using the hand again will set Riley free.
When they use the hand again, the second possession does not work how they want, so Mia takes the situation into her own hands. She imagines the injured kangaroo she and Riley saw earlier on the side of the road. Riley told her to put an end to its misery, but Mia could not do it. So, Mia wheels Riley out onto the highway planning to push him off. Instead, she is the one who falls and subsequently dies. The very last scene of the movie is Mia sitting across from a man who says, “Talk to Me.”
“Talk to Me” has strong themes of addiction through the vulnerability of characters, which make them more susceptible to the spirits that possess them. The notions that both the hand and toxic substances can give a person an escape and an experience like no other just as easily as they can take it away cycle repeatedly. Though initially this movie might seem like another supernatural horror film, analyzing shows how it speaks about the dangers and vulnerabilities of drug addiction.
