'Talk to Me' review: In horror thriller, possession is just a handshake away

Shake an embalmed hand, cross over into the spirit realm, go viral.

Ah teenagers, always chasing the latest TikTok trends. In "Talk to Me," a group of Aussie teens peer pressure themselves into a deadly game of ghost chasing and possession, via a possessed handshake. Jeez, whatever happened to playing Spin the Bottle?

Twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou — they got their start on YouTube, so the language of virality is second nature to them — make an auspicious feature film debut with this spooky supernatural horror outing, which has the authentic, lived-in feel of real teens doing dumb things for Likes.

In this case it's a party game where a willing participant takes the grip of an embalmed hand and invites in a spirit by uttering the words "talk to me," followed up by "I let you in."

No one has ever accused teenagers of making good decisions; in my day, pre-smartphones, it was standing against a wall and making yourself hyperventilate until you pass out. Fun times.

Here the ante has been upped — at least we weren't calling on or messing with the dead? — but a 90-second limit has been placed on the possession, because after that things get dicey. So yeah, immediately the film's characters are pushing up to and past the time limit, because what fun are rules?

Sophie Wilde plays Mia, whose mother died a few years ago of an apparent suicide. Mia now spends most of her time with her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and her little brother Riley (Joe Bird), and together they've formed their own little surrogate family unit.

At a party, Mia takes the hand. Everybody is doing it, right? Her visit to the other side is a frightening but exhilarating high, and the brothers Philippou treat the trips like a communal drug experience. (The film's best sequence is a thrilling montage of teens partying, laughing and clowning each other while taking the quick journey to the netherworld.)

But when 14-year-old Riley takes on the possession, the consequences are much more dire, and things get real, quick.

"Talk to Me" is a sleek and stylish ride that plays better as social commentary about teenage behaviors than it does as an exploration of trauma, which is the path it eventually leads down. But the Philippous stage a handful (hehe) of ace sequences, including the startling opener, which sets the pace for what's to come.

And "Talk to Me" makes it clear that if you should ever find yourself at a party and people are pressuring you into shaking a dead guy's hand just for funsies, the best decision is to get new friends, because you don't want to be around when the hand shakes back.

agraham@detroitnews.com

'Talk to Me'

GRADE: B

Rated R: for strong/bloody violent content, some sexual material and language throughout

Running time: 94 minutes

In theaters