A24’s Australian supernatural horror hit from the Philippou Brothers follows a a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand. The Saturday, October 28th screening of Talk to Me will feature an introduction + Q&A from local film critic and Filmspotting co-host, Josh Larsen.

Conjuring spirits has become the latest local party craze, and looking for a distraction on the anniversary of her mother’s death, teenage Mia (Sophie Wilde) is determined to get a piece of the otherworldly action. When her group of friends gathers for another unruly séance with the mysterious embalmed hand that promises a direct line to the spirits, they become hooked on the new thrill, but are unprepared for the dangerous repercussions of bending the rules through prolonged contact. As the boundary between worlds collapses and disturbing supernatural visions increasingly haunt Mia, she rushes to undo the horrific damage before it becomes irreversible, finding herself wondering who to trust, the dead or the living.

Filmmaking duo (and twin brothers) Danny and Michael Philippou, the duo behind the acclaimed YouTube series RackaRacka which has built an audience of over 6 million with its low-budget, high concept horror/action/comedy short films, suspend us in the foreboding and nightmarish realm of their remarkable debut feature, making the most of their twisted propensity for the surreal and grotesque.

Effortlessly blending the creepiness of a ghost tale with the modern sensibilities of a horror-thriller for the Insta-generation, Talk to Me exposes an uncanny reality where the dead roam eerily close to the living, as the Philippou brothers bring a tense atmosphere and dread in a tangible tale about grief, peer pressure, and evil forces. Filmmaker Peter Jackson has said that “Talk to Me is very very good, and it is the best, most intense, horror movie I’ve enjoyed in years, relentlessly scary and disturbing — in the best possible way.”

Danny and Michael Philippou, Australia/United Kingdom, 2023, DCP, 95 mins

Festivals, Awards, & Nominations

Official Selection – Sundance Film Festival 2023
Official Selection – Berlin International Film Festival 2023
Official Selection – SXSW Film Festival 2023

SPECIAL EVENT – JOSH LARSEN INTRO & Q&A

On Saturday, October 28, Josh Larsen, film critic, co-host of Filmspotting and author of the new book, Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies will introduce the 8pm screening of Talk to Me and host a discussion afterwards in FACETS’ Lounge.

Josh Larsen is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers and Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror, as well as editor/producer for Think Christian, a website and podcast exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally since 1994. Josh’s career began in the newspaper business, where he started out as a beat reporter for a weekly community newspaper and went on to become a film critic for the Chicago-based Sun-Times Media for more than 10 years. In 2011, he joined the Christian media landscape as editor of Think Christian, and in 2012 he joined the long-running weekly podcast Filmspotting, aired on WBEZ in Chicago. A veteran of the Sundance, Toronto, and Chicago International Film Festivals, Josh has given talks on film at various colleges and conferences. Since 2017, he has led “Ebert Interruptus,” a tradition established by Roger Ebert, which analyzes a single film scene by scene over several days at the University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs. You can connect with Josh via josh@larsenonfilm.com, or on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Letterboxd.

In Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies, critic Josh Larsen makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience. Larsen will introduce a screening of the Australian possession film Talk to Me, then lead a discussion after the film about how it might fit into his chapter, “Religious Horror – Fear of a Spiritual Realm.”

Official Website

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Tags: Chicago, Danny Philippou, Facets, JOSH LARSEN, Lincoln Park, Michael Philippou, Talk to Me