Undoubtedly, horror fans these days are being rewarded with new concepts, ideas, and storylines. And while the successes of Evil Dead Rise and The Conjuring reinstated demonic possession as a primary fear-inducing element in many contemporary tales, an upcoming contribution to the genre has recently become a subject of hot topic of discussion.
We are talking about the forthcoming Australian horror movie, Talk to Me, which melds the familiar horror elements with quintessential teenage shenanigans. Filmmakers Danny and Michael Phillipou opened up about the plot of the film in detail to Entertainment Weekly, saying that it will revolve around a group of people who derive a kick out of possession.
“The way we describe it is, they use demonic possession to get high. I think there’s always something a little bit off with eyes and VFX, so I really pushed for it to be practical, and then [we used] a bit of visual effects to fill in some of the gaps. We had to sit down with all the actors and make sure they were comfortable with having these scleral lenses.”
Yes, you heard that right. Possession is no longer a terrifying element, but a way to overcome deep-rooted trauma (at least that’s how the film comes across as of now). Danny added that the story revolves around a girl named Mia (Sophie Wilde) who is deeply impacted by her mother’s death resulting in her developing a closer bond with her friend Jade and brother Riley.
The trio ends up going to a possession party where the attendees voluntarily allow getting possessed by an entity. All they have to do is hold a ceramic-covered hand of a medium and utter the words, “Talk to me”.
Mia develops an addiction to this game of possession which ultimately leads to catastrophic consequences. As fascinating as the story sounds, the film which already created a buzz at the Sundance Film Festival will mark the Phillipou twins’ directorial debut in the industry, and star Sophie Wilde opined on her experience.
“It was honestly the most surreal experience of my life. I mean, you make an indie film in Adelaide, and you know that it’s f—ing awesome, and you hope that people also respond to that, but you never know. For it to have the response that it’s had, to be picked up by A24, was unreal.”
With this intense commitment, viewers are looking forward to this new promising horror treat hitting the screen.
Talk to Me will be released on July 28