YouTube brothers make their leap to the big screen with "Talk to Me," which would be the most powerful horror debut of the year.

"Talk to Me" is the leap to the big screen by two YouTuber brothers and the supposed horror movie of the year. Since Sundance, which takes place in January, they haven't stopped talking about it.

Some say it's the horror film of the year. Others say it's one of the most powerful debuts they've seen, and others say it takes the possession genre to another level. "Talk to Me" premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it had its global premiere in the "Midnight Screenings" category, and since then, it has been constantly talked about. A24 made a strong bid for this film and secured distribution rights in North America. Universal Pictures also wanted it in their catalog.

This is the directorial debut of the Philippou brothers, Danny and Michael, a pair of YouTubers who have cultivated a series of fans on their channel (RackaRacka), dedicated to creating comedy horror content and accumulating over 1.5 billion views over 10 years. Their content has not been without controversy.

"Talk to Me" follows a group of friends who discover a way to summon spirits using an embalmed hand, which sparks interest and excitement among them. However, one of them decides to go too far and unleashes terrifying consequences by summoning brutal supernatural forces. Everything happens on the anniversary of the death of Mia's (Sophie Wilde) mother (Mia is the protagonist), and at a time when summoning spirits is the latest trend among local young people's parties.

The production stands out as a story with a unique premise that the Philippou twins have successfully brought to life, moving from stories where the intensity of young love is common to one where emotion translates into the desire to pursue a new and dangerous escape. And since it all starts with Mia, the protagonist, grieving the loss of her mother as a teenager, Danny, one of the directors, comments, "Losing someone is the worst feeling in the world, but the main theme for me wasn't so much the pain, but the connections between people: real and forced."

Equally described as a horror coming-of-age film, Danny says that he and his brother have always been interested in the transition from adolescence to adulthood, where many risks are taken, and the consequences can be devastating. For both of them, "the film is an honest look at not knowing how to deal with feelings as a teenager and finding outlets that interfere with the mind."

During Sundance, where it was selected for the midnight screenings, it was commented that in this directorial debut, the brothers demonstrated their propensity for the surreal and grotesque, skillfully blending all the spine-chilling elements of a ghost story with the sensibility found in modern horror thrillers, unleashing a good dose of violence and gore. "Talk to Me exposes a mysterious reality where the dead wander eerily close to the living."

The feature film also participated this year in the Berlinale, in the "Berlinale Special" section, where they highlighted that "Talk to Me" is "an equally shocking and viral horror film that transposes the excesses and satire of real action found on the internet into the narrative demands of cinema. The result is a mix full of adrenaline, comedy, fear, and incredible visions that are hard to forget."

After its screenings at this and other international festivals, the film will be released in Australia (the place of origin for this production) on July 27th and in the United States on the 28th. Diamond Films has distribution rights for Latin America under the title "Háblame" (Talk to Me), although its release date has not yet been confirmed.

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