It seems that at least once a year, we find ourselves in a situation where a film is being sold under the deadliest five words any work can ever hope to have attached to it: “the scariest film ever made”, which is a term that is thrown around with such immense recklessness, it has essentially lost all meaning. The latest film to earn such an unconventional accolade is Talk to Me, in which the directorial debut of Danny and Michael Philippou (twin brothers known for their online work under the name RackaRacka) proves to be yet another example of comedically-inclined artists making their entry into the film industry with works of unhinged horror. There are several moments where this does feel like it is living up to its impossibly high standard set by audiences that fawn over its originality and the frequency of terror that we find throughout the film. It is a solid film and a promising debut for two exceptionally interesting young filmmakers – but there are slight shortcomings, this is yet another example of a film being let down by expectations, while we should never judge art on how it is perceived by those outside of its creation, it is difficult to look at a film like Talk to Me, which is a relatively simple film with a straightforward premise, and not notice a few of the more notable discrepancies scattered throughout, particularly in how it tackles material that may be slightly too advanced for these novice directors, who show a lot of promise but still have to iron out the creases in their style, which is often the case with newer directors venturing into a genre that is most receptive to ambitious visions, but also often the most scathing when it doesn’t quite succeed as well as it perhaps ought to based on the premise. Talk to Me is a good film, just not one that is particularly memorable or daring in any way that we have not seen before, which is one of the reasons why it is both reliable and slightly underwhelming.

The most important element of Talk to Me that we need to mention is also one that has rarely been discussed, despite being an important source of contextual clues as to why this film not only exists but precisely why it is so effective, even with notable shortcomings. Australia has a long history of making the most deranged, off-the-wall genre films to ever be captured on celluloid, and the lineage of Ozploitation films has left a striking legacy for hordes of filmmakers to lean into the inherent madness that art from the continent has always seemed to possess, developing the strangest and most peculiar works viewers are likely to encounter. Talk to Me continues this tradition, being nothing less than 90 minutes of pure unhinged madness, condensed into a single narrative that goes in many different directions, each one of them unpredictable and quite unsettling. If there are flaws with this film, absolutely none of them come through in the conception of the story, which is bold and brilliant, and opened the door for a new generation of horror filmmakers in Australia to take on these more unconventional stories for themselves. Conventions can ruin a genre just as much as they support it, so it is always heartening to see someone take a different approach, even if it is quite small and relatively unnoticeable at first. This is what makes this film much more impactful, with the willingness to experiment and develop a range of different ideas being extraordinary merit that creates such a distinct atmosphere – and the directors’ clear difficulty in maintaining this tone that causes the film to lose its lustre, but not enough to render it any less intriguing, and its ability to draw us in with an almost hypnotic sense of urgency is truly impressive, and one of the many merits that keep this film afloat, especially when it doesn’t quite come together in the latter portions.

The term “elevated horror” is also one that has become overused, and we have started to see this idea of high-concept horror films driven by message more than spectacle folding in on itself as more filmmakers realize that not every horror film needs to have subtext or convey some socio-cultural message and that it is perfectly sufficient to just have a film that offers us a chilling and uncomfortable atmosphere before calling it a day and allowing us to go on with our lives, safe in the knowledge that what we have watched is just intended to entertain more than unsettling. Talk to Me tends to follow this principle quite closely, which may be to some viewers’ detriment, since it genuinely feels like the film is heading in a direction that is a lot more complex, but ultimately settles into a more common, simple narrative that is worthwhile for those who want something more traditional, but a bit disappointing for any viewer seeking a film that has some kind of deeper narrative significance. What is quite admirable about this film is its refusal to have a happy ending – too many horror films end with some kind of emotional catharsis or the protagonists escaping danger in the nick of time. Too many films tend to follow this approach, which is understandable but quite predictable – and having a horror that is fully intent on being perverse and twisted that also happens to end on a bleak, harrowing note is a great change of pace and something that the directors of Talk to Me integrate very well into the film. Perhaps it is too open-ended, and the resolution is as far from satisfying as it could get (especially since there isn’t any attempt to even begin to explain the history behind the central motif that kickstarts the events of the film), but it doesn’t feel too overly restrictive, since there are many narrative avenues that this film does traverse that give us something to think about, enough to keep us engaged, even if not every idea of as complex and fully-formed as we may have anticipated.

The directors do take a risk with Talk to Me in casting relative unknowns – except Miranda Otto who has the substantial but relatively uninteresting role as the mother of one of the protagonists, the entire cast of this film is composed of newcomers and less experienced actors, which plays into the idea of having an ensemble led by younger protagonists, a holdover trait from the heyday of slasher horror, where the heroes and victims of these films usually tended to be overly curious teenagers that allowed their reckless youthfulness to get the better of them, putting them in the path of danger. This film takes a gamble with nearly all of these actors but delivers in the process. Sophie Wilde and Alexandra Jensen are the de facto leads, with the former being the primary focus and the person whose perspective we follow most closely, and both are exceptionally good, being able to handle all the varying emotions that make their characters so compelling. A good horror protagonist needs to both blend in and stand out, depending on what is required of them in a particular scene, and the two leads are exceptional, navigating the emotional and physical challenges required to fully sell these characters without any hesitation, and I would be extremely surprised if this is the last we see of them leading a major production, since they have the talent to make it very far in an industry that is always looking for exciting new stars. This is not to undersell the rest of the cast, with Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji and Zoe Terakes all doing very strong work alongside them, albeit in a slightly smaller capacity. This film is very effective when it finds the humanity beneath challenging characters, and its avoidance of cliched archetypes is a great strength and a factor in helping this film develop to be much more than just an overly conventional horror.

Hyperbole is a tricky tool when it comes to filmmaking since it seems like just as many deserving films earn the title of being one of the most terrifying ever made as those that simply use this exaggeration as a marketing tool. There are a couple of moments in Talk to Me where it does seem genuinely quite horrifying, and it is most certainly not a film that incites any sense of comfort or joy in the viewer, which is something that more horror films have started to employ. This is a great quality and one that is never wasted throughout this film, It is a thrilling and dark voyage into the darker side of humanity, which manifests as a horrifying glimpse into another dimension, one that is filled with more terror and suffering than we can ever imagine. There is an abundance of religious allegory, as well as cultural commentary that gives the film a solid foundation, but for the most part, Talk to Me is a daring and deeply entertaining work that gives us yet another very strong entry into a genre that oscillates between being highly original and tragically conventional – and a film like this offers a blend of both, being reliable enough that we know what to expect, but having a sense of unpredictability that keeps us engaged. It never depends on one style of horror more than another, which makes every scene difficult to anticipate, and proves that the key to scaring a viewer is the element of surprise. It is difficult to know where Talk to Me will land in a few years – it’ll either be viewed as a classic on its own, or one of the key works in a new generation of horror films that may not be original on its terms but has strong ideas and a lot of interesting material from which it draws inspiration. Regardless, it proves to be a strong debut for the brothers, who will hopefully continue to sharpen their craft and develop their skills into something entirely new and exciting since they have enough talent if this film is any indication of what they are capable of doing, and in an industry where conventions reign supreme, daring to be different is a great asset.