'Talk To Me' review: All rise for the talking dead

Wait, did I get lost and end up in 'Oppenhiemer'? – Photos: Handout

In this movie summer of screaming pink (Barbie) and flaming orange (Oppenheimer), is there psychic and aesthetic room for a dour, low-lit Australian horror film about demonic possession?Talk To Me, a crafty debut feature from the brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, makes an unnerving case for the answer to that question in the affirmative.

The premise has elevator-pitch simplicity in its favor. A mysterious embalmed hand, attached to roughly half a forearm, is making the rounds in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, among various groups of teenagers. Grab the hand, say the words “talk to me” and suddenly you’re in touch, violently, with a particular evil spirit. You have 90 seconds to unclasp, or the spirit makes the jump to the real world.