One of A24's best horror films is now available to stream on Netflix. It's not Hereditary, although that's another great A24 movie that's already available to stream. Be sure to catch it before it leaves the streaming service this April! The film we're talking about is the hit supernatural horror Talk to Me, which made waves when it was released in 2022. Now, as it makes its debut on Netflix U.S., it's sure to see a resurgence in popularity.
Directed by twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, aka RackaRacka, the Australian horror film centers around a 17-year-old girl named Mia, who is still struggling with the traumatic loss of her mother two years earlier. In an attempt to cope with her grief, she becomes involved with a group of her classmates who participate in a party game involving an embalmed hand, which they use to communicate with spirits. There are certain rules to be followed to ensure that nothing goes wrong. But when Mia becomes obsessed with the idea of reaching her late mother and breaks the rules, things take a terrifying turn. This leads to horrifying consequences as she inadvertently unleashes malevolent supernatural forces into the real world.
There are several moments in the film that'll leave you completely gobsmacked, but there's one particular scene that is so disturbing that it'll have you squirming in your seat and questioning whether you should keep watching. You may or may not see it coming, but when it finally does, it’s so unsettling and intense that it lingers in your mind long after it’s over. If you've watched Talk to Me before, you most likely know what scene we're talking about. But if you haven't seen it yet, let’s just say that when this scene happens, you’ll know exactly why it’s impossible to forget.
Spoilers ahead from Talk to Me.
A spirit enters Riley and causes him to self-harm
This is the scene in Talk to Me that we find the most disturbing and still can't shake. After all the older teens have their fun communicating with spirits, Mia's friend Jade leaves the room. With her gone, Jade's younger brother, Riley, convinces Mia to let him play the game and talk to spirits. The agreement is that he’ll only speak to the spirits for 50 seconds, but things quickly spiral out of control. The spirit that takes over Riley’s body pretends to be Mia’s late mother, and Mia lets the game go on past the 90-minute mark so that she can speak with her. Oh no! A rule was broken.
One of the key rules of the game is that the person holding the embalmed hand and communicating with spirits must not exceed the 90-second limit, as doing so risks the spirit permanently possessing them. Unfortunately, when Mia allows Riley to go past the 90-second mark, the malevolent spirit fully takes control of his body. What follows is a horrifying display of violence as Riley begins to choke and violently slams his head against a table. Covered in blood, he attempts to gouge out his own eye. Despite Mia and the others trying desperately to intervene, they're powerless to stop him as he's forcefully thrown back against the wall. He then proceeds to hit his head over and over again on another table until he knocks himself unconscious.
Take a look at this unsettling scene below if you dare!
As mentioned above, this is just one of several disturbing scenes in Talk to Me. Without going into detail, there's another really disturbing scene involving a possessed teen boy and a dog. Honestly, you don't want me to break down this scene because it's so shocking and uncomfortable that it’s difficult to even describe.
If you're looking for something good and entertaining to watch this weekend, you should definitely check out Talk to Me on Netflix. I promise this supernatural horror will not disappoint!