Tatianna Bourque

I genuinely feel like every person giving 5 stars is a bot or being paid to do so. For starters, the brother and sister have the codeword 'grapefruit', which is meant to make it seem like they're close, but the moment the foster mom starts isolating the sister, they both immediately turn on the brother and make him think he's crazy. Additionally, to show they were 'close', when they first moved in, it was established that they could hear each other between their rooms. Does that ever matter? No. SO WHAT WAS EVEN THE POINT? Especially when we see the mom doing things to them in the middle of the night, it would've been a perfect opportunity for them to piece things together. It's like the film realized they had a limited amount of time and ran through all the 'bonding' moments to get to the main plot. Also, when the CPS worker is like 'aw, we've known her for ages, she'd never kidnap someone'. Like, mkay, I still think if someone's throwing around an accusation like this, that you have to treat it like the threat that it is. Additionally, the CPS worker clearly knew of the mom's loss of her daughter, which makes me wonder why no checks were done to ensure the pool was safe and that the mom was mentally sound. Another thing that left me baffled was the party scene after the funeral. No one cared for the little pale victorian boy locked up in a room? Everyone's priority was to be wasted and leave little possessed Timmy shoved in the cupboard? Don't get me started on little possessed Timmy. Can't believe the brother didn't call for an ambulance after the knife scene. Like you watched this kid shove a knife down his throat, the mom comes back and locks him in her room and then screams at you?? I was yelling at my screen the whole time, wondering how the brother and sister were capable of being this dumb. This woman is pressuring you to kiss your dead, abusive dad on the lips, and you just bypass that like it's nothing. PLUS, she then proceeds to kiss him in front of you. Is it a trained trait, or was it genetic to be this THICK IN THE HEAD? Talk to Me was so fire, but it's like A24 wanted another unique indie film that couldn't have made me hate the outcome of the film more. Of course, I don't always expect happy endings in horror films, but my god, the only thing I wanted was for the mom to die, and y'all couldn't even do that. I wasn't rooting for the sister either since she was made so unlikeable. After the brother died, I kinda tapped out on my Care-O-Meter.

Films like this remind me why life is so exciting. Truth be told, this film is part of the reason I'm currently on the other side of the world, already planning my next adventure. It makes you feel that longing to explore that many of us lost when we were children. It makes you want more for yourself, to leave the mundane, even if it's just for a little while. The quotes, the concept. It's not often I write a review, but this film deserves it.