This week marked the Iowa City Sycamore Theater’s last set of screenings for the A42 film, “Talk to Me.” 

The film has maintained the limelight since its premiere in early July. This is no small feat for its filmmaking duo, twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. 

Known on YouTube as RackaRacka, the brothers showcased a polished and unprecedented style for amateur writers and directors with their ambitious launch into the industry. Their success can be attributed to their YouTube channel’s virality, which has garnered 6.8 million subscribers and over 1 billion collective views and continues to grow. 

The pair undoubtedly attained a shockingly natural sense of direction with “Talk to Me,” which propelled them far beyond the success of their online videos. 

“Talk to Me” is a thriller focusing on a friend group who discovers a disembodied embalmed hand that endows those who grab it with a medium-like connection to lost souls or demented spirits. What flips this seemingly simple concept on its head, however, is the way that the hand functions as a vice for those who engage with it. 

Those who participate in the eerie party game adopt sickening facial expressions after grasping the hand and speaking certain words that allow spirits to possess them. As soon as the connection between the participants and the hand is broken, they are transfixed by the euphoria they felt while possessed. 

The film portrays the realities of addiction using the hand as a metaphor for drugs and those who hold it as drug users.

Functioning on an allegorical level a tier above conventional horror, “Talk to Me” is a nightmare that splices addiction and obsession with pure disturbance in a spiraling downhill progression toward a harrowing climax.

Hopefully, the Philippou brothers will continue to make professional films while maintaining a YouTube career on the side, as the two have seemingly mastered the genre with a film that may take the spot for the best horror movie of the year.