FOLLOWING its international theatrical release last July 28, the A24 film Talk To Me has earned more than $10 million. 

At present, it is the production studio’s second-biggest box office opening, following director Ari Aster’s Hereditary which was released back in 2018.

A24 has become well-known (and well-loved) for its unique horror films, which are different because of the fact that they’re unlike what is often seen in the same genre of CGI monsters and jump scares thrown in for no particular reason other than to garner a quick scream from the audience. 

At their core, A24’s horror films – Hereditary, Midsommar, Pearl, and the most recent Talk To Me, to name a few – are complex, well-written stories that delve deeply into the lives and emotions of their characters. 

They are stories first and horror films second, and that much is evident from the rave reviews that Talk To Me has gotten since its release.

Warning: spoilers ahead!

About the film

Talk To Me follows the modern story of a group of friends that starts to play a terrifying game centered around an embalmed hand. 

The rules are simple: light the candle, open the door, blow out the candle, and then hold the embalmed hand and say “Talk to me.” And no matter what, you can’t stay for too long, because the spirits you let in through the game may never leave. 

After a 17-year-old girl named Mia starts to play the game during her deceased mother’s remembrance day, she falls in love with the feeling she gets from it, and soon enough her obsession with the hand starts to grow. She explains that through it, it’s as if her mother is trying to communicate with her.

But over time, the game starts to grow more and more dangerous; people start to get hurt, and the possibility of death at any moment starts to hang over the group regardless of whether or not they’re playing. 

The group of friends starts to lose control over the spirits they’ve been playing with, and quickly enough realize that they’re going to have to make a lot of sacrifices if they want to get through what they initially thought was just fun and games.

Mia, played by Sophia Wilde, stars alongside powerful actors like Alexandra Jensen as Jade, Joe Bird as Riley, and many more who bring not only a terrifying tint but also a surprising depth to the characters that they play, as is expected of pretty much any A24 film. 

The film is directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, who are best known for their series RackaRacka and their work on The Babadook. 

Second to Hereditary

Hereditary, like Talk To Me, is a horror film that looks at issues found within one’s family. 

It follows the Graham family’s lives, which seem to be filled with death and dysfunctionality. After a series of deaths in her family, Annie tries to find comfort in a support group, unable to get it elsewhere given her rocky relationship with her family and her stress due to her upcoming exhibit. 

Driven by grief, Annie’s behavior starts to grow increasingly erratic, and soon she starts to have horrifying visions as she makes the mistake of interacting with the demon Paimon, who terrorizes her family in ways that are sure to leave the audience with nightmares as soon as the credits roll. 

The film is A24’s largest box office hit to this day, garnering $82.8 million with a budget of only $10 million, which is surprising considering films like The Conjuring and Us were made with twice that much money. But its budget proves to be no hindrance with the success of the film. 

Following its release, it received several awards, with Toni Collette winning Best Actress at the Houston Film Critics Society Awards, the Online Film Critics Society Awards, the Georgia Film Critics Association, and a handful of others.

Director Ari Aster also took home a handful of awards himself such as the OCFS Award for Best Debut and the 2019 CinEuphoria Award for Best Film.

It also has a current critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 90 percent, which is a cumulation of ratings of over 300 film experts. Meanwhile, Talk To Me has garnered a 94 percent critic rating on the same website, with a total of 192 reviews despite the film only having been out for a few days. 

The critics’ consensus for the film states: “With a gripping story and impressive practical effects, Talk to Me spins a terrifically creepy 21st-century horror yarn built on classic foundations.”

Michael Cook of KLRT-TV notes that the film is terrifying in a good way and is one of the better horror movies he’s seen in a long time, while Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune applauds actors Wilde, Jensen, and Bird for their show-stopping performances. 

Like Hereditary, this film has a lower budget than most horror films; it was made with only $4.5 million, but that didn’t stop it from making all of that money back– and then some– all during its opening week. 

Good things are sure to come for this film. Get ready, Philippou brothers: a mountain of awards may be coming your way any day now. 

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