Talk to me

From what I know about horror movies is they are meant to create fear, tension, or uneasiness. The most recent horror movie I watched was to talk to me which is about a group of teenagers who find a hand that allows them to speak with ghosts. Through out the entire movie the teenagers battle with dangers communicating with the dead while addressing the characters past trauma and loss.
Throughout this movie the framing and cinematography heighten the tension by giving situations a very intimate and cramped feeling. The movie makes use of close-ups, mostly in possession scenes, to bring the viewer in close and show the protagonist’s unease and anxiety. By drawing the audience into the protagonists’ lives, this method creates an unsettlingly personal feeling in supernatural scenarios.
The first pivotal point in the movie is when Mia is possessed by the ghost. During the scene Mia’s face shows a chilling shift which shows fear. Her face is distorted by the harsh, unpleasant lighting, which represents her inner battles with sadness. The story here shows the connection between Mia’s readiness to use the hand and her grief over her mother’s passing. The way her face changes in the intense lights reveals how mentally unstable she is and suggests how much the spirits will influence her.
The second pivotal point in the movie is when Riley is possessed by the ghost. During the scene Riley’s possession takes a nasty turn and he loses control and starts hurting himself. At that moment there is fast camera movements with quick cuts. His scared look during the scene shows the shock and consequences of playing with the hand. This turning point in the movie is important because the group realises how dangerous what they are doing is. The scary images, which hint to the permanent effects of using the hand, show how out of control things have gotten and indicate that the spirits have taken possession of them.
Talk to Me tells a chilling tale of loss, temptation, and consequences using a range of plot and visual tools. The movie emphasises people’s emotional loneliness and foreshadows disaster by using a chilly, dark colour scheme and well-placed lighting to create a terrifying mood.