A24's Talk To Me - Everything You Need To Know

It's hard not to love a good horror film, especially when it relates to the supernatural. Ever since the release of "The Exorcist" in 1973, stories about demonic possession have fascinated audiences. From 1983's "Christine," based on Stephen King's novel about a possessed car, to "The Conjuring," focusing on well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, they've succeeded in giving us more unanswered questions to keep us up at night, wondering what that sound was or if there really was something you saw in your peripheral vision.

While the upcoming film "Talk to Me" follows the tradition of an unexplained entity haunting or hunting humans, it adds a twist — focusing on teenagers searching for the next thrill. The kids didn't accidentally come across something dark and twisted. Instead, they actively searched it out, looking for a new kind of entertainment to record and stream to the world. They may not have envisioned the chaos and mayhem that their new form of amusement would bring, but it came nonetheless. 

Here's everything you need to know about A24's newest horror film, "Talk to Me."

"Talk to Me" premiered at midnight at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was immediately sought after by film studios, with Deadline reporting that A24 had to outbid Universal and other studios to acquire the movie. First-time directors and brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou vlogged about the experience, and how excited they were about the film's reception. "All these directors we've grown up loving have been reaching out to us personally," Danny said in a YouTube video, before naming Jordan Peele and Steven Spielberg as two that have contacted them.

"Talk to Me" will finally be released in theaters on July 28, 2023. For those hoping to watch it at home, it's showing exclusively in theaters and not being released simultaneously on any streamers. While some lucky fans already got the chance to watch the film at a Secret Screening at the 2023 Overlook Film Festival or at Germany's Fantasy Film Fest, the rest of us will have to wait until it's at our local theater.

On A24's website the official summary of "Talk to Me" says that "When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces." 

For some reason Hayley (Zoe Terakes) owns an embalmed hand, and when someone grabs the hand and says, "Talk to me," they become possessed by spirits. No one seems to know exactly where the hand came from, with theories ranging from it being a Satanist's hand to just someone who could connect with the dead. The teenagers record the encounters on their phones and send them out in a group chat. Mia (Sophie Wilde) is approaching the anniversary of her mother's death and decides that attending one of Hayley's viral demonic seances is a good distraction.

The film was written by Bill Hinzman, Daley Pearson, and Danny Philippou, with Michael Philippou saying the idea for "Talk to Me" came from a neighbor. The kid had a really bad experience taking drugs with friends, and as he convulsing on the floor, everyone had their phones out, recording him and laughing. "That was our kickoff point for 'Talk to Me," Philippou said in a YouTube video.

"Talk to Me" stars Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Chris Alosio, Zoe Terakes, Alexandra Jensen, Otis Dhanji, and Miranda Otto. While Otto only has a supporting role as the mother of Jade (Jensen), she's probably the most recognizable name due to her role as Eowyn in "The Lord of the Rings" film series, and more recently as Zelda Spellman in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." But the character that carries most of the film is Mia, who is played by Wilde.

Wilde's first screen appearance was as Scout in the 2021 series "Eden," but she's already acted with some high-caliber talent, including Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill in "The Portable Door." She recently starred in the television mini-series "Tom Jones" alongside Shirley Henderson, Pearl Mackie, and Hannah Waddingham.

Dhanji plays Daniel, one of the kids that has a very intense experience while holding the hand. Like Wilde, he doesn't have a lot of credits to his name yet, but his most prominent role was also his first, as Young Arthur in "Aquaman."

Brothers Michael and Danny Philippou, also known as Racka Racka, directed "Talk to Me," their debut film. They were part of Variety's group of FameChangers in 2016, but have been known to the world since 2014 when their short video, "Harry Potter VS Star Wars," went viral on their YouTube channel. The Australian twins have been working toward this for a long time, producing homemade horror films since they were nine. "Our childhood movies always involve big stunts and mind-bending VFX from a bunch of eight-year-olds that had no parental supervision," Danny joked.

A24 is producing the film after reportedly acquiring it for seven figures during a massive bidding war at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. A24 has been getting a lot more notice after sweeping the 2023 Oscars with "Everything All at Once," and producing the breakout horror film, "X," along with "Pearl" and the upcoming horror film, "Maxxxine." A24 also produced "Hereditary," with which many fans have been comparing "Talk to Me."

The first trailer for "Talk to Me" was released April 12, 2023, with the second appearing on A24's YouTube channel on June 6. It begins with Mia and Jade at school, and Jade approaches Haley and asks if she's available that night. Hayley responds, "You want a turn, eh?" After they confirm a time for that evening, Jade returns to Mia and the girls start playfully shoving each other and giggling. Soon, we see the group putting the dog in another room before Haley lights candles and tells Daniel, "You know the drill," as she begins recording and he grabs the hand. As Daniel's face drains of color and he appears to be choking, a freaked out Jade demands they end it.

Apparently there are rules to how long you're allowed to hold the embalmed hand, and as the time approaches the 90-second mark they pull the hand from his grasp. As the trailer goes on, it becomes apparent that whatever spirits have been possessing them aren't letting go willingly, and Mia surmises their doom when she says, "What if we opened the door, but we didn't shut it?" The trailer gets more chaotic and we see a possessed, grinning Mia holding a pair of scissors in her hand.

If the film is even half as creepy as the trailer, horror fans are going to be very happy when "Talk to Me" hits theaters on July 28.