Overall reaction to Talk To Me
I really enjoyed Talk To Me. The sound direction was amazing and every character was extremely well-acted. Hated the dog scene but I don’t imagine anyone liked it. Thank god they used a prosthetic.
The possession scenes were fantastic, as were the ghost designs. The drowned woman truly was horrifying to look at. The group possession scene almost makes you want to take a stab at getting possessed. I felt a bit of FOMO watching it.
I disliked how a majority of the characters introduced ended up falling away by the final act and becoming irrelevant or nonexistent, such as Hailey and Duckett’s brother. I expected more interactions with the secondary characters, or for their perspectives to be wrapped up.
To me, it was pretty evident the film was about drug abuse and loneliness. The Hand and its possessions were clear stand-ins for drug use. Mia, the main character, only didn’t feel alone or isolated when she was participating in the possessions; offering to be possessed is what even got her in with the group to begin with. She exposed Riley to the drug scene somewhat against the wishes of Riley’s older sister Jade, who never partakes in the possessions, and allowed him to participate despite Jade’s refusal. Due to his younger age, he essentially overdosed doing the same amount of time as the older kids, and ended up hospitalized and fully possessed. His bad trip under Mia’s watch ended with Mia being ostracized from Jade and Riley’s family, leaving her totally alone and even more susceptible to further possession.
Three Characters
The Hand
The catalyst of the story. While not a physical character with a speaking role, the embalmed hand is the figure in the film I have taken the most interest in. It is the object the cast utilizes to speak with the dead.
I imagine the hand will be further expanded on in the sequel, particularly in regards to its origins. We know based on the ending that there is at least one more hand in the world still being used. There were numerous theories dropped about it throughout the film—that it was the hand of a Satanist, a medium, amputated and embalmed and coated in ceramic. There are also many easter eggs written on the hand itself. It almost acts as a vessel for a litany of characters, being the demons and ghosts it holds within it.
Riley
A child victim who avoids falling prey to peer pressure but becomes a manipulator himself and suffers for it. They should have never brought him to any of those parties to begin with.
The little brother of Mia’s best friend and someone who is considered as her family. He rejects cigarettes from his friend even when pressured to smoke and seems generally intelligent for such a young kid, but Mia “can’t say no” when he asks to go with her and his sister Jade to a party for older teens. He ends up witnessing multiple possessions and, after being instructed not to by Jade, convinces Mia to let him have a go as well, telling her he wished she’d be on his side for once. His possession nearly kills him and sends the entire cast into a downward spiral.
Riley cares for his family, which to him includes Mia, and has a sense of confidence against peer pressure that most boys his age would not. He isn’t afraid to reach out and ask to sleep in Jade’s room after witnessing a terrifying possession, though that may change after the movie as he is rejected and made fun of for it by her.
Rhea/Mia’s Mom
A false face that rots throughout the runtime. Whenever she appears on screen, water can be heard, signifying her true death.
The ghost acting as Rhea is nothing but a farce trying to abduct Riley for the desires of another ghoul. She spends her screen-time haunting Mia after connecting to her during a possession, though she only uses Mia to get to Riley. The ghosts confined to the Hand seem largely to have lost themselves during their time inside it and lack major personality or desire outside of wanting to escape or add to their numbers. When she is not trying to possess somebody simply to escape her prison, she is trying to convince Mia to kill Riley and others to torture their souls for all eternity.
