A new ‘freaky’ Australian horror movie is terrifying cinemagoers around the world

Even amidst Barbenheimer, the horror has proven to be a big hit.

As Barbie and Oppenheimer continue to smash records, an unexpected third movie is proving itself to be a major hit at the box office. That movie is Talk to Me, a scary Australian flick released in cinemas on Friday (28 July) that is already being dubbed by some as “the best horror film of the year”. It follows a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits by using an embalmed hand. They subsequently become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. Directed by YouTuber brothers Danny and Michael Philippou (also known as RackaRacka), Talk to Me was made on the low budget of $4.5 million. The movie has already garnered $10 million worldwide in just the weekend of its release.

Sophie Wilde in Talk to Me

It has also received raves from critics and has gone on to garner a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%. You can read a sampling of some of the film's very positive reviews right here: Digital Trends: "Knowing the shoe is going to drop doesn’t make its landing any less shocking. The centerpiece sequence of the movie is harrowingly intense." Independent (UK): "Those combined elements suggest that the Philippous have taken their biggest cues from Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. Like that Eighties classic, Talk to Me cycles between humour and terror with exhilarating speed." Observer (UK): "An intelligently entertaining chiller that packs a crowd-pleasing wallop without succumbing to quiet, quiet, LOUD jump-scare cliches." RogerEbert.com: "Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk to Me cleverly imagines a deadly craze that would easily sweep a generation—this horror movie's plausibility is one of the freakiest things about it." San Jose Mercury News: "This is one freaky, talk-back-at-screen horror show." Talk to Me is in Irish cinemas now. You can watch its trailer right here: Meanwhile, you can take JOE's recent Talk to Me-themed horror quiz at this link.

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