When it comes to horror films, A24 seems to be the best in the business at the moment. Their latest addition, Talk To Me, is a hit. In their directorial debut, Australian YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou, who are also twin brothers, have made a horror that many are calling the scariest and best of the year. As well as receiving heaps of praise from critics, the film has been a huge box-office success. The budget for Talk To Me was just $4 million, and the film has already grossed over $20 million.

The Philippou brothers debut feature tells the story of Mia, played by Sophie Wilde, and her group of teenage friends that latch on to the latest trend. A ceramic hand that can put you in contact with the dead. As well as this, Mia is also dealing with the grief of losing her mother, which plays a key role in the events that unfold. It is a concept that fans and critics have clearly loved, given the box-office success and the praise the film has received. But does the film deserve all the hype it has been getting?

Homage Or Rip-Off?

There is a lot to admire about Talk To Me. It is a highly impressive debut from Danny and Michael Philippou that shows that they definitely have what it takes when it comes to filmmaking, and a sequel has already been announced. Their YouTube background has seemingly helped with this, especially when you see the scenes of iPhone footage that are done quite well throughout the movie.

Overall the film looks and sounds great. The fact it is their first feature, as well as the budget being only $4 million, makes it even more impressive. And they clearly have an eye for horror and what the modern audience wants to see. But when you watch the film, you can't help but notice some of the heavy inspiration it took from some of the best modern horrors, such as Hereditary and Get Out.

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It is natural that filmmakers take inspiration from others and are influenced by some of the highest-quality films. We often see films pay homage to other movies with variations of classic scenes or lines. In the horror genre, it can be difficult to escape the typical horror tropes that make a film work. And a lot of the time, we see the same thing over and over rather than something original. In the case of Talk To Me, it is more like seeing the same thing done again rather than an homage to previous horror films.

Thematically and visually, some glaring examples seem to have come straight from Hereditary and Get Out. At the beginning of Talk To Me, Mia is driving and having some carefree fun until she runs something over. We see that it is a kangaroo, and we watch it dying in pain.

It is a carbon copy of one of the earlier scenes in Jordan Peel's critically acclaimed Get Out, where a collision with a deer interrupts a moment of lightheartedness and startles the characters and audience. As well as that, there are scenes where the characters of Talk To Me engage with the embalmed hand, specifically some of the shots of Mia, where it looks very much like the scenes of Daniel Kaluuya entering the sunken place.

One of the scarier scenes of the film is when Riley, the younger brother of Mia's best friend Jade, experiences what the hand can do. However, it is similar to the horrifying scene in Hereditary, where Alex Wolff's character Peter breaks his nose by smashing it off a school desk. The scene works well in Talk To Me, and it is a gruesome and difficult watch, but it is something we have seen before, and pretty much in exactly the same way.

Even the theme of grief in Talk To Me is the same as Hereditary, as well as the plot of these spirits preying on vulnerable characters and trying to use them as vessels to do their bidding. Clearly, Talk To Me is heavily inspired by these films, but at times, it runs the line close to being a rip-off, which makes it a bit undeserving of the hype it has been receiving.

The State Of the Horror Genre

Nowadays, the term "elevated horror" gets thrown around a lot. Films like Hereditary and Get Out get put into that category, although Peele rejected the label. But both films are some of the best in this newish horror category. So, of course, others will look to them for the blueprint for success. Talk To Me tries that, and it is a solid film, but it isn't original and doesn't deliver on the same level as something like Hereditary.

Rather than going for jump scares, it goes for psychological horror told through characters experiencing trauma. By doing this, you hope the storytelling and atmosphere deliver the scares and an uneasy feeling throughout. This doesn't quite work for Talk To Me because it is just too similar to what we have seen before.

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It fails where Hereditary succeeds. While Hereditary is genuinely scary, Talk To Me isn't. This is unfortunate because the chilling opening scene sets the film up perfectly, there are some great performances, and the idea for the film is an interesting one. But as it goes on, it becomes more and more like something we have seen before.

Talk To Me doing so well at the box office shows the horror genre is in a good place because of the demand from fans. And if given something good to watch, then fans will go to see it. However, the fact that this film has received so much praise and has been labeled as the best horror of the year shows that the standard of horror films is not in a good place.

While it is certainly a positive that the film did so well, it does not deserve the hype it has received. Unfortunately, it is just another unoriginal entry to the horror genre. The hype it has received has only shown that horror fans have been so starved of quality films that any half-decent attempt, whether original or not, gets this type of praise.