Why The Year's Scariest Movie, Talk To Me, Has Audiences Fainting
2023 has certainly given all those aspiring filmmakers on YouTube a good reason to keep chasing their dreams. First, there was the underground success of "Skinarmarink," an avant-garde horror film that was conceived by writer and director Kyle Edward Ball back when he was operating his YouTube channel, Bitesized Nightmares. Now, Danny and Michael Philippou, the Australian brothers who have amassed millions of subscribers thanks to their horror-comedy shorts on their YouTube channel, RackaRacka, are riding a wave of critical accolades thanks to their feature directing debut, "Talk to Me."
The film, which was written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, centers on a group of Australian teenagers who decide to mess with a supernatural artifact in the shape of a dead medium's embalmed hand and forearm, only to learn the hard way what happens when you recklessly meddle with these sorts of things. Chris Evangelista reviewed "Talk to Me" for /Film at the Sundance Film Festival, calling it "a wonderfully nasty little Australian horror flick" full of icky, gory violence and terror that recalls Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" films. In fact, it's that same bloody mayhem that supposedly left certain audience members queasy at early screenings of the film ahead of its theatrical release.
In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, the Philippou brothers recalled what happened at a showing in Australia following the film's previous screenings at events like Sundance, SXSW, and San Diego Comic-Con. "People were fainting," alleged Danny Philippou. "It's happened in some of the screenings. One of the scenes is a bit intense. So people have been reacting, fainting." Is that true? Eh, maybe, but at the very least it's a great way of hyping "Talk to Me" for gorehounds and any other horror-loving moviegoers who fancy themselves a challenge.
An authentic teen story turned nightmare
It's possible that part of the reason "Talk to Me" is having such a visceral effect on people is that it starts out as a real slice-of-life story about teenagers dealing with ordinary problems before taking a turn for the bizarre and grotesque. When Jacob Hall interviewed the Philippou brothers for /Film, they admitted part of their goal was to paint a truly genuine portrait of what suburban Australian teens are like, based on their own lived experience. "I just looked at the characters and just tried to capture Australian youth a little bit and sort of put them on screen," said Danny Philippou. "I think we've seen a lot of amazing outback films or beachside Australian films, but I hadn't seen Australian suburbia or teenagers that felt and spoke authentically on screen. It seemed to be a rare thing."
To do that, the Philippou brothers worked closely with the film's young and lesser-known lead actors to help them really nail down how they would naturally deliver their lines and behave as their characters. Among those starring in the film is Sophia Wilde, with Danny Philippou telling Yahoo! Entertainment, "Just to present her to the world feels so nice." She and the other relative newcomers also have the advantage of not carrying any baggage with them from previous roles, which makes it easier for viewers to buy into their characters and really feel for them once their lives take a turn for the nightmarish.
Rooting the scares in character
"Talk to Me" is arriving just a few months after the release of the latest "Evil Dead" film, "Evil Dead Rise," which was also full to the brim with nasty, malevolent specters and splattery kills. In that case, however, the gleefully gruesome carnage was rooted in a story about a relatable family just fighting to protect their loved ones and overcome their personal failings to make it out alive. As blood-soaked as the proceedings get in "Evil Dead Rise," the most unsettling moments only hit as hard as they do because they're rooted in the characters and their struggles.
This is also what the Philippou brothers see as the key to "Talk to Me" and its efforts to sustain a pervading atmosphere of dread and discomfort once the bodies start hitting the floor. "So all those jump scares, it's not relying on external sources that are not tied to the character in some way," said Michael Philippou in his interview with /Film. He noted that this was something he and his sibling kept in mind as they went about developing the film's many scares. "I think the scares maybe work a bit more because you understand the consequences of what's happening to their friends and the world around them," he added.
Does "Talk to Me" actually live up to the hype? Everyone can decide for themselves by checking out the film, which is currently playing in theaters.