Talk to Me (2022)

Last updated:
October 25, 2025

Talk to Me is a chilling and refreshingly original Australian horror film directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, better known for their YouTube channel RackaRacka. This film blends supernatural terror with psychological trauma, exploring grief, possession, and the dangers of playing with forces you don’t understand.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

The Opening: Chaos and Shock

The film begins with a shocking one-take sequence. A young man named Duckett frantically searches for his brother Cole at a crowded party. After finding him in a distraught state, Duckett suddenly stabs Cole and then kills himself in front of everyone. This disturbing opener immediately sets the tone—something evil is infecting young people, and no one knows why.

The Main Characters: Mia and Her Grief

We meet Mia (Sophie Wilde), a teenager struggling with the recent death of her mother, Rhea. She lives with her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen), Jade’s boyfriend Daniel (Otis Dhanji)—who also happens to be Mia’s ex—and Jade’s younger brother Riley (Joe Bird). Mia is emotionally fragile, haunted by unresolved grief and guilt surrounding her mother’s supposed suicide.

The Hand: A Party Game from Hell

Mia and her friends attend a party where they are introduced to a mysterious embalmed hand that supposedly allows you to communicate with spirits. To use it, participants grasp the hand, say “Talk to me,” and then “I let you in,” allowing a spirit to temporarily possess them. The catch? You must break contact after 90 seconds, or the spirit can stay inside you.

When Mia tries it, she sees terrifying visions but feels an intense rush of euphoria afterward. The experience is so intoxicating that the group becomes addicted to the ritual, filming each other’s possessions like social media challenges.

The Possession of Riley

Things spiral out of control when Mia convinces Riley—Jade’s little brother—to try it. During his turn, Mia sees what she believes to be her deceased mother’s spirit. She lets Riley hold the hand for too long, hoping to communicate with her mom. But the entity possessing Riley turns violent, smashing his head repeatedly into a table in one of the film’s most shocking and brutal scenes.

Riley is hospitalized in a coma, and Mia becomes convinced that his soul is trapped in the spirit realm. Jade blames Mia for the incident, straining their friendship and driving Mia into isolation and paranoia.

The Descent into Madness

Haunted by disturbing visions and hearing voices, Mia starts to lose her grip on reality. She keeps seeing her mother’s spirit, who insists that she didn’t die by suicide and that Mia should help “free” Riley by killing him to release his soul. At the same time, the other teens, terrified by what happened, dispose of the hand—only for Mia to steal it back in her desperate attempt to fix things.

Movie Ending

In the devastating climax, Mia fully succumbs to the spirits’ manipulation. Convinced that killing Riley will save him, she takes him from the hospital and drives to a highway overpass. However, as she’s about to push him into oncoming traffic, she sees flashes of her dead mother’s true nature—revealing that the “mother” talking to her is not her mom at all, but a malicious spirit using her grief against her.

Mia finally realizes the truth but it’s too late. In a moment of horrifying self-awareness, she throws herself off the bridge instead of killing Riley.

The film then cuts to Mia waking up in a dark, otherworldly void. She wanders around confused and sees glimpses of Riley recovering in the hospital—alive, safe, and surrounded by Jade and Daniel. But Mia cannot reach them. Slowly, she approaches a flickering light, and we realize she has become one of the spirits. A new group of partygoers appears, holding the embalmed hand. One of them says, “Talk to me,” and the movie ends as Mia becomes the entity being summoned.

It’s a brutal, poetic ending: Mia has become what she feared most—a lost soul trapped in the world of the dead, forever reaching out to the living.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, Talk to Me does not have a post-credits scene. The story concludes definitively with Mia’s transformation into a spirit. However, the filmmakers have teased plans for a sequel and even a prequel exploring the origins of the hand and the events leading up to Duckett’s death.

Type of Movie

Talk to Me is a supernatural psychological horror film. It combines elements of teen drama and grief-based storytelling with raw, unsettling horror, focusing more on emotional and psychological terror than jump scares.

Cast

Sophie Wilde as Mia
Alexandra Jensen as Jade
Joe Bird as Riley
Otis Dhanji as Daniel
Miranda Otto as Sue (Jade and Riley’s mother)
Marcus Johnson as Max (Mia’s father)
Alexandra Steffensen as Rhea (Mia’s mother)

Film Music and Composer

The haunting score was composed by Cornel Wilczek, featuring atmospheric and minimalist sound design that enhances the film’s suffocating tension. The soundtrack includes a mix of eerie ambient tones and contemporary songs that fit the teenage party setting.

Filming Locations

The movie was filmed in Adelaide, South Australia. The suburban setting gives the story an everyday realism—it feels like something that could happen anywhere, which makes the supernatural horror all the more unsettling.

Awards and Nominations

Sundance Film Festival 2023: Official Selection (where it premiered to critical acclaim)
AACTA Awards 2023: Nominated for Best Film, Best Actress (Sophie Wilde), and Best Direction
Widely praised by critics, it became A24’s highest-grossing Australian horror film, earning international recognition for the Philippou brothers.

Behind the Scenes Insights

The Philippou brothers developed the idea from viral internet challenges and their fascination with grief and spirituality.
Sophie Wilde improvised some of Mia’s emotional breakdown scenes, drawing on real feelings of loss and anxiety.
The embalmed hand prop was inspired by real stories of mummified relics used in occult rituals.
A24 reportedly gave the directors creative freedom, resulting in their signature raw, handheld style.

Inspirations and References

Inspired by viral “possession” trends and themes of addiction, peer pressure, and trauma.
The directors cited The Exorcist, Hereditary, and The Sixth Sense as major influences.
The concept also draws on ancient spiritual practices where mediums “channel” spirits—reimagined as a modern party game.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

An alternate ending was considered in which Mia survives but remains permanently haunted, caught between worlds. However, the final ending—where she becomes a spirit—was chosen for its tragic emotional impact.
Deleted scenes include extended footage of the party sequences and a darker version of Riley’s possession scene.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The film is not based on a book, but a novelization and prequel short film (Talk to Me: Duckett) are in development, exploring the backstory of the hand and the first possession.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

Mia’s first possession sequence—her expression shifting from fear to euphoria.
Riley’s violent self-harm while possessed.
Mia’s hallucination of her mother begging for help.
The final sequence of Mia in the spirit world, realizing her fate.

Iconic Quotes

“Talk to me.”
“I let you in.”
“They’re getting stronger.”
“I can see my mum.”

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

The hand has markings resembling ancient runes—each tied to specific spirits.
Some spirits glimpsed during the possessions subtly mirror the teens’ inner fears and traumas.
A figure resembling Duckett’s brother appears briefly among the spirits, connecting the opening and closing scenes.

Trivia

The directors used minimal CGI—most of the possession effects were done with practical makeup and camera tricks.
Sophie Wilde was cast after her first audition ever for a feature film.
The hand was made from real plaster molds and aged to look centuries old.
The script originally had the title Talk to Me: The Other Side.

Why Watch?

Because it’s one of the most inventive horror films of the decade. Talk to Me is not just about scares—it’s about grief, trauma, and how loneliness can open doors to darker forces. It’s brutally emotional, visually unsettling, and lingers long after it ends.

Directors’ Other Works

RackaRacka (YouTube channel, known for horror-comedy action shorts)
Talk to Me 2 (Upcoming)

Talk to Me (2022)