A group of teenagers come across an embalmed hand. When you hold the hand and say “Talk to Me” you will see a spirit. If you then utter “I Let You In” you will be possessed by same spirit. The teenagers use this magic to make viral TikTok videos.

Mia (Sophie Wilde), a 17-year-old who is still grieving over her mother’s death two years prior. She died after taking too many sleeping pills and it is unclear as to whether this was accidental or suicide. Her relationship with her father has become strained so she spends most of her time at her friend Jade’s (Alexandra Jensen) house.

Mia is considered a bit weird by the popular girls and this is starting to strain her relationship with Jade. This is perhaps why Mia eagerly volunteers to use the hand at a party they attend.

There are rules regarding the hand. There are always rules with these things. You cannot be possessed for more than 90 seconds or the spirits they will remain in this world. Naturally, the rule gets broken and things get bad.

Talk to Me was directed by Danny and Michael Phillipou better known as the YouTube channel RackaRacka which is known for its horror/comedy videos. This was their first feature-length film. I haven’t watched any of those YouTube videos but you can see the influence of those types of videos on the film. The camera often moves in big swoops, the editing is quick, and when we peak into the supernatural the look is stylish.

It is a very entertaining film with some good scares and a lot of style. Sophie Wilde is terrific and I hope she has a long, storied career. I’m just not sure there is much to the film beyond its entertainment value. Mia is clearly still deeply wounded by her mother’s death, but the film doesn’t seem to know what to do with that, other than periodically have her mom appear to her as a vision. It has some fun with the idea that these kids are dabbling in the supernatural, taking huge risks with evil all for social media clicks, but again it doesn’t really know what it wants to say about all of that.

Plotwise it is a mix of Flatliners and a Monkey’s Paw story, which is fine in and of itself, I just wish there was something more to it than surface horror.