Cease me for those who’ve heard this one earlier than: A bunch of highschool college students get their palms on a cursed occult object and, after some enjoyable and video games, find yourself being terrorized by a presence from the opposite facet. Not essentially the most authentic premise. However in Speak to me — the directorial debut of brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, finest recognized for his or her YouTube channel — takes on a brand new urgency and ferocity with a narrative that builds to its bloody and brutal conclusion with out letting up.
The occult object in query is an embalmed hand that supposedly has the facility to let folks see and be possessed by the spirits of useless folks. The method is easy: you seize the hand, say “speak to me” to summon a random specter, then say “I allow you to in” to ask it to inhabit your physique. It is creepy stuff and straightforward to repeat, which makes it perfect for viral video fame. All of the sudden, highschool youngsters in Australia are watching movies of what seem like possessions, typically ending in blood splatter. After all, it is only a prank, proper?
Mia (Sophie Wilde) first experiences the results of the ritual at a celebration and is immediately hooked. Possession, it appears, is as addictive as a drug – particularly for youngsters going via a tough patch, the place being out of physique for a bit is a welcome change. That is Mia, grieving the lack of her mom and desperately clinging to her pals Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Riley (Joe Chook) to keep away from loneliness. Shortly after her first expertise, she tries once more and, regardless of her objections, lets Riley be part of as nicely.
An vital a part of the ritual is timing. Let the spirit keep too lengthy and it will not need to depart. Her lack of ability to cease going again for extra possessions, mixed with this very strict rule, finally ends up leaving Mia haunted by terrifying visions as she tries to save lots of her good friend from a dwelling nightmare.
What follows is a reasonably customary ghost story, however one that’s heightened by urgency and brutality. Critically, when dangerous issues occur on this film, they’re actually dangerous – “I needed to look away from the display” dangerous. Possessed kids brutalizing themselves, horrifying visions of the afterlife, and deaths that, even whenever you see them coming, are so violent you may’t assist however cringe. That is in all probability to be anticipated from a film run by the homeowners of a YouTube channel stuffed with dangerous and gory movies. However the Philippou brothers present outstanding restraint Speak to me. There may be extra to violence than pure shock worth; punctuates the story, which – as soon as it begins – strikes at a relentless tempo. The twists aren’t essentially that shocking in hindsight, however they arrive at you so rapidly that you just barely have a minute to catch your breath.
If nothing else, Speak to me it is a shockingly competent debut – and under no circumstances what I anticipated from a horror movie made by YouTube stars. It may be a film about viral movies – however the movie itself is rather more than an prolonged skit on YouTube.