You can appreciate why Talk To Me is a prime release for Second Sight Films, it retains that edge as a cult horror favourite ever since its 2022 release, and that spirit of a unique experience makes this a deserved special edition for siblings and directorial duo Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou.

This Aussie horror is a deeply visual journey, and undoubtedly haunting in that sense. It also integrates a crucial contemporary edge of dark comedy fused with societal comments on modern life that’s obsessed with technology, and how the negative side of that only fuels and fires up peer pressure for our younger generation, which all links to a fast-changing civilisation where people are living within a constant fear of missing out.

Depending on your horror-liking-level, and mine’s in the middle, Talk to Me actually finds a respectable balance of genuinely terrifying and horrifying, whilst also having something topical to say through its young, strong ensemble cast – led by a terrific Sophie Wilde as Mia, who’s life is changed in so many ways. She’s still grieving the loss of her Mother from last year, plus estranged from her father. In need of a change in her state of mind, she heads out to a party with her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) – a slightly more sensible type – and her younger brother Riley (Joe Bird) – the latter naïve but seemingly safe under her wing.

The central premise of Talk To Me follows a group of teenage friends who take part in a dangerous new craze sweeping through some local parties. Hidden away in the back rooms of houses, while their parents are away, a small gathering of rebellious teens are using an embalmed hand to somehow open the door to the spirit world. They do this by holding the hand and asking whatever is out there in the netherworld to ‘talk to me’, and this reveals someone from the dead in front of them, but only to the person holding the hand. That person then gets to decide whether they ‘let them in’ to experience a life beyond a life – which is usually someone very dead and emotionally messed up. At first, it’s fun (& there’s even a scene later on when the kids are all trying it with hilarious outcomes, in a super-fast editorial time lapse) but, as with any dopamine hit, some get addicted, some others have huge FOMO and probably shouldn’t be involved, which then comes to a horrific head when their own innocence or trauma puts them under the spell of the supernatural for much longer than they plan. Essentially, as they force the boundaries of life/death and known reality, they instead awaken a living nightmare and unleash lethal energies… with exceptionally shocking consequences.

Driving us through a world of the psychological and phantasmagorial, Talk to Me is an experience you won’t forget, and those different levels of humanity, in all its obsessive and terrifying reality, even when messing with the fiction elements of the spirit world, make for a compelling, occasionally funny, nasty and must-watch horror. Along with that aforementioned led performance from Sophie Wilde, plus Jensen and Bird, also keep an eye out for Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, and Aussie legend Miranda Otto as Sue, Jade and Riley’s mum.

While some of these special editions introduce restored versions of the film, this film hasn’t been out for that long so that’s not involved, but it doesn’t mean Second Sight sit back as this still contains a vast, expansive selection of Special Features, which all offer older and new audiences fresh behind-the-scenes perspective on how it came together, and I particularly enjoyed the discussion on how Talk to Me holds more profundity than you initially perceive.

People in their teens and twenties have grown up in an era where everyone seems to immediately share and see what everyone does, wherever you are in the world. When you bring that situation down to ground level, and how it’ll affect a life day-to-day, there’s much to be considered and applied. I can’t even appreciate how strange it must be as a teenager in today’s world, where anyone can see your life instantly, and they can judge it accordingly. The features on this release discuss those elements, and the addiction of mobile phones and consequently disassociation from reality, is echoed through the central narrative.

As a release, the boxset arrives in a rigid box, and within that a solid slipcase for both the UHD and Blu-ray. The film is presented in HDR with Dolby Vision – and is visually dark and fantastic. With associated artwork (and bonus art cards) from Ann Bembi, which fits the vibe excellently, it also contains a 120-page book with essays from Kat Hughes, whose essay on the reckless abandon of youth in other horrors, and then onto how those elements are crucial to what happens in Talk To Me is a great read, and also check out insightful pieces from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Meagan Navarro, Cecilia Sayad, Rebecca Sayce and Amber T.

On the discs, you’ve also got new audio commentary by Aussie film experts Emma Westwood and Sally Christie, as well as audio commentary with writer–directors Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, plus a new interview with the pair as well – and their enthusiasm never loses an excitable energy. Conjuring Demons is a new interview with producer Samantha Jennings, and then Beautifully Grotesque is a chat with cinematographer Aaron McLisky, who talks on how he discovered the script, and his desire to be a part of the production. The other feature is from horror expert Kat Ellinger and certainly worth spending time with. As well as these new features, you’ve got archival featurettes that go behind the scenes (x2), and deleted scenes, wrapping it up with other cast and crew interviews – in truth, you’d be letting in this boxset in without concern to possess you and indulge in…

Talk to Me is an inventive, original horror with much to say, plus one hell of a ride as it sits neatly as a contemporary cult classic and so it’s an ideal release for Second Sight Films.

Talk to Me is out now on 4K UHD from Second Sight Films, order yours: https://amzn.to/3IZmhgz