Riley asked his friend at the start of the film if trying a cigarette once would give him cancer. Then he tries the Hand once and immediately gets the worst kind of possession out of everyone in the group. It just goes to show it only takes one time for someone to go over board. The Hand being a symbol of substance abuse and addiction works so well in this without being overly heavy handed.
I think it also goes to show who is most vulnerable to substance abuse. Because, it's true that it only takes one time, but people that are okay to begin with don't get as far as one time. Like Mia is the perfect victim, she's grieving and she's just a kid. Especially with the timing of her moms memorial. She was seeking some sort of escape from it all. She said she felt alone, and when she took the hand there was an entire room of people cheering her on. And for the symbolism to be her literally taking someone else's hand and forming a bond too. There was a community, and a culture of it. When she saw Daniel take the hand, she was super excited, like she had someone else to share the same experience with. I think that's part of the reason why she encouraged Riley with the "It's okay". Nobody wants to hurt, and there's nothing wrong with that. She's not evil, she never wanted to hurt anyone. But obviously, even if you don't want to hurt other people it can still happen. That's why I think Riley partially represents like, second-hand smoke sort of thing, latent and unintentional consequences that it has on people around you. She saw the pain Riley was in after he tried the hand, and thought that going back to the hand would make it all better. It reminds me of how slang for taking heroin is sometimes called "getting well". And all the way to the end, Mia almost took Riley with her.
I took the ending as both a flash forward in time and Mia's worst fear come true: her surrogate family existing happily without her and her finally reaching out to her father only for him to not hear her. The entire movie she's terrified of being alone and by the end that's all she'll experience for eternity. If anything, her addiction to the hand will be even greater now, those brief flashes of connection with people will quite literally be her only reprieve from the empty void of nothingness.
That is a perfect example of my experience with addiction! A lot of people were saying how the movie connects with substance abuse, and I haven’t seen the movie yet, but based on the reactions and comments it’s probably true! I notice how the ghosts look an awful lot like the decaying bodies and lost souls of the addicts I’ve regularly seen, I was originally terrified to watch ts but now I think with the relatability I might!
Babadook was about depression, Hereditary was about grief, Get Out was about racism and Talk to Me was about addiction. I love this trend of horror films looking at societal issues, although they are so much harder to watch i think
I think that was purposeful. Notice they rarely reappear and when they do they aren’t particularly helpful. Often that is how being exposed to addiction works. They pretend to be your friend, get you hooked, then disappear. The only thing we can know is that their dangerous behaviors will indeed catch up with them. Bring on a sequel!
I think with the ending any sense of time has completely disappeared to Mia. Even the hand being in a different country shows that time is passing a lot quicker than Mia is experiencing it.
I believe one of the douche bag friends told Mia that the living body naturally expels dead spirits if given enough time, so that may be how Riley overcame the possession and since time passed quickly in the afterlife with Mia, she saw his recovery happen within seconds. Also, that wasn’t Mia’s mom, it was the swamp lady from the beginning pretending to be her mom & slowly decaying back to water because Mia held on longer than 90 seconds. Love your reactions, Alanda ❤💜
Well the spirit hand was a metaphor for drugs...yes drugs will naturally expel from human body given times, but if you cant control your desire to relapse and USE it again it is pointless...so no matter how many rehab you been to if you took it it again even a little bit you will be suck back in to it. This whole movie is about the struggle of people who has a drug addiction. Just like Babadook movie was about depression. Even how they got the hand in the first place was a reference to a drug addict life...taking it from a dead guy's hand...meaning you can get drug everywhere now from people who are drug addict who are dying on the street all over the city easily. Riley was still young and didn't have any mental or family problem so its easier for him to kick out the drug and its effect from his body. Unlike Mia who already struggle with mental illness and drug addiction in her own family.
Omg I never made the connection to the swamp lady from the beginning, thank you for that. I knew it had to be a different spirit from her mother and her getting more decomposed and wet confirmed it for me but I forgot all about the swamp lady Mia first let in.
Finally someone else got it that the spirit the whole time was the drowned lady bc Mia was held for longer than 90 secs. The spirits are manipulative and want to keep ppl with them so they were pretending to be the ppl the haunted loved, Duckett’s father, Mia’s mother, etc.
@@wewenang5167I didn’t internet it that way. The hand is the separation between life and death. In the same way Riley’s dad was knocking at the door, attempting to save her, with crawling on the door. He loses. On the other hand, Mia connects with death through hand (door), and tries to save Riley. She wins, but kills herself.
Riley is the most emotionally mature character in this entire movie and it's been proven on multiple occasions but, to me, it's been solidified when he's having that conversation with Mia after the first party and the question he asks at 15:20 and how he asks it, when he asks it. Immediately after she describes her possession experience in a positive light he brings her back to reality like okay girl, enough dissociation, time to face our grief head-on. He's such a wonderful little kid and every single dumb dumb in this movie has something to gain by paying attention to him and listening to him but oh noooo, we're too busy seeking irresponsible, demonic thrills 🙄💔
Riley is not the most emotionally mature in this movie. All he cared about was what his friend thought about him. He also saw what the hand could do in the first party and still wanted to try it. It's definitely not him.
@@novafire7067 I see what you're saying but those aspects can all be true at the same time. What struck me the second time they gathered to play with the hand it was at Riley and Jade's house and NOT at his behest, like it happened right there in his space, what was he supposed to do? And yes, pair that with an underlying desire to be accepted by his peers and the social pressure to fit in and he goes ahead and tries what the older people around him try because he trusts them that he's going to have fun like they seemingly have had fun. I get where you're coming from but you can have your childlike moments and still be intelligent and emotionally tuned in
I’m sorry but him agreeing to participate in the seance proves he’s not that mature at all ecspecially him wanting to sleep with his sister because he was scared but still fav character
@@ariallucas8913 I personally consider being able to seek help, reaching out when he was scared, looking for comfort in his loved ones a very mature thing to do, even if he is still a young teenager, let's not forget. I like to look a little deeper into the symbolism of certain actions in certain contexts, that's all 😊
truly crazy to me that this movie is the feature-length directorial debut of 2 youtubers, like it's insane how well-made this is, the Philippou brothers are insanely talented.
Yassss! I hope they do a wacky high-octane action thriller for their next film, something similar to like the “Crank” movies since those seem so on brand for them!
have y’all seen their RU-vid videos? It’s better than an average RU-vidr while came from Vine or who’s whole thing is to be offensive through jokes. They actually had quality ideas and quality editing while maintaining the medium of RU-vid vlog styles. It’s just surprising because the other RU-vidrs made movies for quick cash grabs at the height of their fame. But these creators have always had the passion.
watching your reaction to Riley’s possession scene was just as hard to endure as watching the scene for the first time in the movie. its so sudden, graphic, and absolutely tears your heart of your chest. what a film.
As someone that doesn't struggle with gore/violence in movies, Rileys possession scene was horrifying. The fact he was literally the innocence of the movie and was repeatedly brutalized, yikes.
5 minutes into the movie, after one interaction with the two people who go through the most in this movie "I'm attached, I hope nothing bad happens to either of them" WELL 😂
As soon as she said that I was wholeheartedly surprised that she was able to finish this film. I was definitely proud but there were a few moments I thought she would end it early.
I think the best representation of it was when Mia took Riley's headphones off, and then the wet hand followed afterward and went toward Riley's throat. Then off comes of course the Mia and Daniel bedroom scene as well. The layers this dang film had, I'm obsessed with it.
small explanation: the brother of the boy who dies at the beginning tells the characters that they basically just need to stop Riley from dying because over time the spirit will leave him, so that's what needed to be done, but only when the ghost of the girl's mother Mia says that "he will be theirs forever" she understands that and gave up on killing him because she knows he will be fine eventually. Mia's father must have recovered, which I think is impressive for someone who gets scissored in the neck. In fact, I have a theory that it was never Mia's mother there, but rather the first ghost that possessed her that took on her mother's form and used that to manipulate Mia, even because as time passes the mother begins to look rotten and wet, exactly like the first ghost
@@lavenderbambi3501cause the spirits make them self harm. Made that one guy fall and make out with the dog, made the guy in the beginning hurt his brother and kill himself and Riley.
As much as I hoped and prayed for a happy ending for Mia, I think the ending is unfortunately fitting, especially from the standpoint of an addict who got hooked young. One thing I don't see a lot of people talk about when comparing Riley and Mia in terms of addiction is Riley having a support system ; while Mia had friends and her dad was alive, she didn't feel she had any form of support. Her best friend is busy with other things and people, her relationship with her father is incredibly strained, and her form of connection comes from people who are actively doing dangerous things and encouraging her addictive behaviors. Riley has his sister, his mother, and probably Daniel but even without counting him he has a pretty solid support system emotionally. I rambled on but I just have an attachment to this movie, it hits a little too close to home. Thanks for watching it!
This movie is such a brilliant analogy of drug addiction and how it can overtake someone’s life, hurting and driving away the people that they’re closest to until they eventually become a slave to it.
I don't think it's meant to be an analogy, per se. Like, you're not wrong, but I read it as sort of the other way around. All the markers of party drug use, addiction, etc are there very obviously. They used relatable experiences of positive and negative interactions with drug culture to make it easier for the audience to emotionally access what the characters are going through inside an absolutely batshit supernatural reality. So, rather than the possession being an analogy to teach us about addiction, I feel like they use addiction as an analogy to show us their interpretation of possession. Either way, it's definitely a spectacular component of the film.
On one hand…as Australian it gives me joy to see horror films of this caliber from my home country. On the other hand…as an Australian…THE LEVELS OF FOOLISHNESS MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN EXHIBIT IN THIS FILM!!! I lost my sense of reason!
As an Australian, SAME !!! I spent my youth going to many a party with soooo many dumbass kids like the ones in this movie. I'm just thankful that back in the 90s we didn't have phones to record our shenanigans...
Yeah, the true to life nature of the characters and the familiarity of the Australian setting make it so much more disturbing. I've known and hated people like Haley, seen the damage done by insecure Mia's, and the general recklessness when you're that young. It's easier watching American horror films as there's a buffer of unreality to them from an unfamiliar world.
@@pennie2387 that’s one of the things that horrified my about this film…I saw myself and far to many of my old friends in it. Let’s just say the obvious “drug use” metaphors in this movie hit very close to home
Not sure but I believe at the end, Mia was sort of in Limbo and lost perception of time. Undoubtedly, Riley had to spend a lot of time in the hospital recovering but for her, it all happened in a brief period of time. Also I believe Jade was able to take the father to the hospital and she saw him recover and leave. She was dead for God only knows how long and she was "haunting" the hospital, because all the people she cared about were there.
“I hate these teens.” Oh I felt that! I was so overprotective of Riley because I also have a little brother and I would NEVER let something like this happen to him. He was curious and wanted to be part of the group.. all those irresponsible teens (including his sister) are to blame for what went wrong. Mia’s grieving was sad to witness but she made all the wrong choices every time. It was hard to feel bad for her after a while. No excuses for getting people hurt and almost killing them. She got no sympathy for me either! Love your reaction, Alanda! ❤
Yup. I can see how she may have been like oh it’s her mom so she wouldn’t hurt him but rules and rules he shouldn’t have been allowed to do it in the first place. No means no
God, the instant attachment to Riley was PERFECT... "As long as he's ok, I'll be fine" :) Hope you're feeling alright Alanda haha. Thanks for another hilarious reaction!
23:01 One of the things I love is how the Sister came in clutch, and put her hand in between the table and Riley's head, despite their insults she still loves him dearly.
Alanda: I don’t want anything bad to happen to either of them 😂. Meanwhile…movie dedicated to disturbingly horrific things happening repeatedly to both of them.
We collectively need a palette cleanser after this absolute assault on our psyches. I've seen people recommend Ready or Not in the comments (I’m now being told you’ve seen it), so I’ll recommend Evil Dead 2. Get better soon Alanda! Halfway through the vid but I assume you're gonna need at least a week's recovery girl. Seeing you cry with anger and despair is a crime. 😭
Idk which of her reactions she said it in, but she's already watched ready or not and said she enjoyed it. However, I guess a rewatch is always possible.
The mom is literally the best parent. She strict but she definitely is aware of what’s going on in her kids life and actually the best parent in scary movies
This is _SUCH_ a good horror movie! I'm so glad you got to watch it, because you never really seem to emotionally distance yourself from the characters the way some reactors do.
After seeing this film and watching multiple reactions/analysis, I believe the ending heavily implies that if you die with the possession in you, you are basically sent to your own version of hell. Mia's biggest fear was feeling like she was unimportant or invisible in other people's lives, hence her reoccurring nightmare of not having a reflection and her seeing everybody else (her dad, Riley, Jade) fully healed and happy without her, implied to be soon after her death. It's sadly probably a thought she struggled with prior to her mom's death/sc because of depression/mental health issues. She was obviously a social outcast and had a distant relationship with her dad, which we're never given an insight into their relationship prior to the event, so that opens a lot to interpretation. Was her dad abusive, neglectful, and/or toxic? Did he write the note? Did he kill her mom? Why was he sleeping on the couch the night she took too many sleeping pills with the door locked? On the flip side, Mia is obviously traumatized and blames herself for the incident, so she could just be pushing her father away because she feels guilty, or unworthy of love, or she's projecting her guilt onto him, or a combination of all three. Either way, mental illness is a heavy message throughout this film, and the amount of nuances used are a very effective way of unleashing this subject. The fact this was created by 2 RU-vid/content creators is astounding, to say the least. Showing attention to detail in extremely subtle ways about a very serious and personal/universal matter (mental health is an issue everyone that develops an ego and conscious will struggle with at some points in their life, regardless if they have a chronic or diagnosed mental illness) is way more effective story telling, without relying on cheap jumpscares and padded filler *cough* SMILE. This film is extremely well done and thought provoking, especially as a feature film debut. The real important question though is...did Jade push Mia?
In my opinion Jade definitely pushed Mia. She finally put Riley first. There was an underlying resentment between the two girls that also was apart of the push.
When i saw mia at the last second take her hands off that wheelchair, it did make me reconsider whether she jumped. Then again i feel like she shouldn't have been so confused about dying.
Seems like the lights going out in the hospital signified MIA coming off life support. She must have been in there for months, thats why Riley looked better and her dad had fully recovered from her attack. So she died, appearing as a ghost on the highway, they must have brought her back to life, but she stayed in a coma for months and then died again, reappearing as a ghost in the hallway.
It's amazing that this is a DEBUT film from brothers more well-known for being RU-vidrs. And kudos to A24 for giving them the chance. It's also great that this is an all-Aussie cast with practically one big name (Miranda Otto, who I last saw in the Lord of the Rings).
It's really nice seeing a movie that was directed by two guys who got their start on RU-vid turn out this good, it's like "they made it" and gives you hope... and with this movie, you take all the hope you can get lol
To me, the little girl who shows Mia Riley being overwhelmed by rhe spirits indicates that not everyone reached by the hand are bad entities. With that said, i dont think Mia's mother was ever there, specifially because the spirit in Riley tried to k*ll him after he went over the 90 seconds after Mia and the others didn't release him from the hand. I think it was always the old man, the one who the bloated woman said was behind him when Mia was first possessed. Another character mentioned that the spirit knew what the host knew when they possessed them, so it makes sense that a crafty spirit would see the heavy convo Riley and Mia had about her mom's death and play off that in an attempt to get Riley to stay possessed for enough time for the spirit to overwhelm him. And i stand 10 toes down when i say that Mia was not solely to blame here. Halely and the other dude knew what happened to Duckett, and even if Mia asked for them not to take the hand from Riley, they did NOT have to listen to her. Jade, his sister, was so pissy that Riley wasnt listening to her and embarrassed by his comment regarding Daniel, that she LEFT HER BROTHER ALONE. Like, never would I have ever done that; my eyeballs would have stayed on my kid brother, and i would have snatched that hand out of his as soon as his eyes started to roll back, because hell naw! The only person i dont see as responsible is Daniel (even though he was acting like a dumb teen too).
The moment you said you loved them as Mia and Riley sang Chandelier, my heart became full and then dropped. When you reasonably "dropped" Mia for her silly business with the hand and professed to only care for Riley's well-being, my heart simply sank. It SANK to the depths of the ocean just knowing... What happened to that kid is monstrous, chilling, and cruel. And I know Mia is a big part of why it happened, but I can't help but have a soft spot for her. First of all, Sophie Wilde, the actress that you are! Second of all, that vulnerability, like a pup looking for a home. It was her sweet grin when she got attention, her sibling energy with Riley, whom I know she truly loved, and her heavy persona on all other occasions. She was a mess, that's a fact. And, despite it not being her intention to cause the harm, she did. The intention doesn't change its impact. The fact that Mia was so seduced by the possession spell also made it so she didn't fully realize the weight of her actions, her own blame - the plans to help somehow always ended with using the hand more, never to get rid of it. I wonder if, in the end, she was pushed by the fake-mom or if she finally realized what she was being driven to do and chose to take herself out instead... I felt for you in this one. Your sisterly/momma-bear response to Riley was endearing, and while it may not have felt great, your wit is certainly fantastic in times of crisis. Another one for the books!
You are so sweet sympathetic and empathetic but also 100% real and always keep everything a buck I love it you're just amazing this reactions no different much love darling ❤
“The devil is in his bladder.” 😂😂 It’s interesting because you mentioned “feeling attacked” I didn’t initially see it this way but you are exactly right! That’s is the feeling viewers get watching this movie. It really makes you feel that way…which is the point I think. The film makers want you to feel what the characters feel and they did an EXCELLENT job.
I think Mia’s was experiencing time jumps at the end. She was seeing Riley after his recovery and her dad being able to leave the hospital (or saying goodbye to Mia)
Another amazing reaction, darling 😂 And can I just take a moment to give it tf up for Sophie Wilde? I sure hope to see her in many movies to come. Awesome performance.
My heart SHATTERED every time you mentioned how attached you were to Riley! Same over here. Sweetest little bean to exist and the actor was incredible. Only made what happens sooooooooo much worse. As for the ending, I appreciate how vague it is. A lot of the movie is interested in leaving enough room to question things (is there an embalmed hand in that thing? where did it come from before Duckett?) while still giving enough answers to satisfy viewers. Like I'm not sure if Mia is dead at the end. They spent time setting up her nightmare about having no reflection and then she mentioned Riley might be in some "limbo" but what if that's what happened to her? I can get behind the theory what she saw was a time-skip at the hospital but they managed to keep some things vague there. We never got a close-up of Riley's face so we couldn't see if there were any scars. Never got to see the dad's neck either. They keep that stuff just out of view to keep you guessing. Either way what a fucking ending.
Alanda I’ll literally be in the middle of watching a new episode of a show like just now and PAUSE IT because I see you uploaded a new video and you take priority. Your entertainment is gold! We love you
The whiplash from the insanely fun montage to Riley getting totally fucked up by the ghosts is just such a great way to get across how suddenly and violently shit can go south when people are doing stupid shit
Being from Australia, it’s great so many Americans see how we truely behave and speak as well as how well handle horror. Last indie horror to do well was Wolf Creek (2005)
I would count The Babadook too, isn't that an indie Aussie horror? It was quite impactful during its time, and a lot of people still put it up on their lists of really good horrors. My only thing is, why do these movies make Australia feel extremely lonely and depressing hahaha
@@joshdaniels We make them like that because we aren’t as strict as Hollywood so we can get away with more and make it more realistic with less interference. Like this movie, they tried it in America but the notes they received would’ve turned this movie into any basic run-of-the-mill shit where it’s all overexplained in frequent exposition dumps and it makes the movie mind-numbingly predictable and bland.
I watched this movie for the first time last night and was delighted to see you posted a reaction when I woke up this morning. Little observations: Mia went over the time limit while the bloated, drowned spirit was inside of her. I think it stuck around and was posing as her mother, hence the very... wet sound design and how she looks progressively more slimy as the movie goes on. Time doesn't exist in the purgatory Mia found herself in. It's a bit ambiguous, but I think Jade pushed her into traffic to save her brother. Duckett's brother was right. Riley would just gradually get better on his own. Mia murdering him would have let the spirits keep him forever. The drug/unhealthy coping mechanism metaphor - Between Jade's mother telling Mia she knows she's tried things before and Mia's "cold" mentioned several times in the beginning, I think she was already experimenting with drugs to deal with her grief.
I absolutely love your reviews. You’re reactions to the movie mirrored mine, I felt like I was the only one in the theater that was horrified by how things unfolded, particularly with Riley. This movie was so messed up!
The only way I can watch this movie & the new batch of horror is through reactors like you. This new generation of horror is bru - tal. I hate seeing suffering. Give me ghosts and mysteries and "fantasy" but this uber realistic stuff I cant do! Thank you for your bravery!
Girl your energy is a balm to my day. I enjoyed this movie but even I closed my eyes at some moments. What happens to the brother and the boyfriend was disgusting. And anyone who sees someone struggling, vulnerable, humiliated and has the first instinct to whip out their phone and record you are gross human beings.
As a fellow New Yorker (also in nyc!!) I cannot TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM THAT WE ARE FINALLY (hopefully) PAST THIS HOT ASS SUMMER. I am ready for fall everything. I hope we get nice color this year.
No one magically healed in the end. What happens is that the concept of death here draws heavily from religions such as spiritualism and other African American religions. The way purgatory is portrayed in this film refers to these religions, in which it is a very dark and desolate place, where low-frequency spirits stay - angry spirits, very attached to matter, spirits of people who have had unexpected/sudden deaths or who took their own lives. Talk To Me shows little about this place, but it very well explores the concepts said by experts on the subject - how the connection between the planes works (earthly and astral), and the candle is very important in this sense, as it is the guide/ the light that attracts greasy souls. And that we should not trust these spirits, because they will try to trick us and deceive us. When Mia died at the end, time began to pass differently for her. Riley recovered, just like Mia's father, and she got lost in the dark.
The whole movie is about addiction the reason why Mia doesn't help Riley was she wanted him to try it because she thought it would bring them "closer." she just wanted connection anyway this is addiction she is so wrapped up in her addiction she can't see the negative bravo I love thus movie
What a movie, and what a reaction to a movie. I love how empathetic you are and how you try to enjoy movies for what they are and try to have a good time. So sorry this movie was so harsh, but as a person watching your reactions I was so gripped by it. Thank you for sitting thru it till the end and providing such thoughtful commentary along with your usual real honest and funny reactions!
Bless you for suffering for us, Alanda. Your reactions were top-notch, as always. Some truly magnificent one-liners. Looking forward to seeing what other scary films you're watching in October!
The mom was never there, it was the spirit that wanted Riley and Mia's was always possessed by the drown woman, there's rain in almost all of her scenes after the first posssession, they play around with the hand too much so of course some spirits would take advantage of her grief and Riley's innocence. My favorite horror film of the year.
The notification popped up and I cussed out loud. To quote Brenda “This was some scurry shit!” And surprisingly heavy. But damn good overall. I wish you some days of peace and serenity after this (and editing).
Yeaaaahhh, FELT! I knew the second you became attached to Riley ( just as I did) it was a wrap! I took the ending as that’s pretty much what happened with Riley, Jade, and the mom. He eventually got better and her dad was most likely checking on him after Mia’s death since they were so close. I hope you’re recovering well after this one.
"Oh Lord the devil's in his bladder" WHAT A FANTASTIC ONE LINER, Alanda I really felt for you, this movie is so graphic and overall sad. Loved your reaction as always! 😂❤
Fall is my SEASON. Unfortunately I live in Los Angeles, so that season is FLEETING. 😭 That being said, loved this reaction. And while I am THRILLED that the WGA strike has ended, and the SAG negotiations are commencing on Monday, I do still hope you keep checking out some really cool indie gems when you can. You are literally the best reactor with the best reaction channel, so as long as you’re making content, I will be watching. ♥️
I study to be an animator and I had ROUGH week in school (we are making a short movie it is so fun but also hell) and I feel like I have burned my brain. Like im dead. Let me tell u my face light up when I saw u made this video. Im going to REST and watch it girl
Talk to Me was one of the films I most enjoyed watching this year, I was looking forward to this reaction. Good News: the writers' strike is over and the actors' strike may come to an end soon, which on the one hand is a shame because I would like to have another rain of terror made by not so big studios on your channel, I was hoping to get yours react from Jeruzalem (2015), but who knows in the near future
So many channels reacted to this movie but your reaction is something no one can even get close to. It's so genuine and it feels like i am watching a movie with a friend. Love ur channel so much.❤️
Thank you so much for this movie reaction. These days most Action flicks have numbed our brains so whenever a film of whatever genre with a slightly nuanced plot comes along, we sometimes miss important plot points. When I first watched this movie, I did so with the expectation of good guy/bad guy or plot twist at most and two dimensional characters since I was just expecting another jump-scare laden teen horror flick. And I actually thought Riley was a tomboyish lesbian for some reason and didn't pay much attention to the dialogue. Watching this reaction made me realise how much of the story and details I'd actually missed. So thank you again so much; and I'm going to pay more attention while watching movies in the future.
This movie really is great! Riley was the sweetest who just wanted to be loved by someone. And what happened to Mia was very heartbreaking because they took advantage of her grief all the way!
Even though I knew from the start this was an Australian movie, I was still unprepared to see a kangaroo in the road. We usually see deer where I'm from. Armadillos, possums, squirrels and snakes. LoL I'm still not over that kangaroo.
I think it’s interesting to see how many people forget that Mia is still just a kid and only 17. I can see so many people doing what she did if they were grieving the way she was. What she did was wrong but I don’t hate her like some do. When you’re desperate and tying to find a way to heal anything that could relieve the pain becomes an option.
That’s fine if she was doing it to herself only, you can only help someone who wants to be helped, it’s when she involves a child in her care that’s when she crossed the line.
@@DresdenShuffleAgreed... She has the right to make her own mistakes, same as people in real life who fall prey to vices like hard drugs. But, the moment she gave in and allowed a *child* take part in it, while in her care, is not okay.
Yeah thinking about other possession and demon movies where it's adults doing dumbass stuff, it's not surprising watching a 17 year old do it, especially when you include the peer pressure aspect, I think that was a really frustrating part of the movie where she was the only one punished and not the other teens that took part. She only had like one person initially discouraging her and the kid from trying it. It also sucks the most when the ultimate end is them going to hell (like in Hellraiser) that's eternal punishment which sounds so harsh for the choice BUT Riley is now probably gonna be scarred for life both physically and mentally after what he went through and I can't imagine that at such a young age.
Agreed. Not sure why these replies keep telling you "that still doesn't make it okay". Like, you very clearly stated that what Mia did was wrong, lol. Nobody here is saying it's okay. Just that, despite it not being okay, we don't hate her. I can think that she should never have encouraged Riley and also feel genuine empathy and absolutely terrible for her, especially considering she too is a kid. These feelings aren't mutually exclusive at all.
Completely agree. It actually made me mad that some people watching this got so irrationally angry at her. She’s a child herself in deep emotional despair. She’s making very bad decisions but it doesn’t make her a bad person. She is also being manipulated from the first moment she lets the drowned spirit in. And her desperate emotional state makes her highly susceptible to that manipulation. Some people just can’t shift perspective and muster genuine empathy for someone who is clearly struggling. Black or white thinking, she’s either good or evil and they think she’s evil. But she’s human and broken. And she still maintained her own empathy that was awakened by the incident with the kangaroo. It was not part of her constitution to purposely take life even to end suffering. Shes being tricked into thinking she’s doing the right thing for Riley but she still sacrifices herself instead (Jade did NOT push her like some assume, she was at the top of the hill and called out from the fence as it was happening). Her emotional journey comes full circle, she faces the same decision with much higher stakes and she does what’s best for everyone but herself even though evil is pushing her not to. If anything, she fully redeemed herself and paid a high price spending eternity in darkness.
I took the ending as almost her seeing what happened in the near future with seeing Riley getting better, but I also took the dad going specifically up inn the elevator to symbolize him going to heaven while she is stuck in this purgatory. Also Im sorry for recommending it! Its such a well made film and such a horror gem but its definitely an unrelenting downer to say the least.
Your movie reactions are absolutely amazing! I've been a fan of your channel for over a year, and stumbling upon your channel has been an absolute game-changer. I didn't even know that reaction channels like yours existed, and now I can't get enough of them, but Yours is the best! Like the perfect companion to watch this genre with, I can always count on you to entertain me. Thank you for being such an excellent movie sidekick! 🎬🍿😄
I'm not sure if anyone already said this or noticed it, but Mia was still possessed from the 1st time she touched the hand (remember she was in more than 90 seconds). That spirit took an initial liking to Riley, which is why she let him touch the hand even though his sister didn't want him to, and also why she kept being drawn back to the hand. Keep in mind also, the guy told them that the spirits would naturally leave a living body... that is why they kept trying to make Riley kill himself, and Mia went crazy because she kept opening up a connection like a drug.
I think Alanda is more fucked up by this movie than Hereditary... I immediately knew as soon as you showed so much concern for Riley this was going to be a rough one 😬
Mia 100% fucked up but I feel like she is the only one that receives any blame for what happened. Jade tells Riley he can't use the hand and then just leaves the room afterwards. GIRL IF YOU DON'T TAKE THAT BOY WITH YOU!! There is just no way in hell I would ever be leaving my little sibling in a room where he asked to essentially do possession drugs lol. But from the get you see that she forgets to pick him, up, has his texts/calls on mute, and doesn't comfort him when he's rightfully scared as fuck after Mia's first possession, so I guess it's to be expected. Hayley and Joss have been rooting this whole thing on from the beginning, but then they just wipe their hands of it all together and just go home after providing the most dangerous activity to all these other teens. They didn't give a single shiteroni that this little kid wanted to try even though they knew the consequences if they went over. Mia shouldn't have given Riley permission because it was not hers to give and she let the spirit manipulate her into letting it stay in Riley's body too long, but so many other people were in the room and they just didn't really do shit.
I LOVE how they put that montage of everyone using the hand just fine to get you relaxed for Riley's possession. Really hurts to watch as the pieces come together
I had read some articles online that the characters Hayley from Talk To Me and Danny from Evil Dead Rise are trans (even tho it wasn’t mentioned in the movies), and the actors who played them are trans as well. As a trans woman who loves horror, I like and appreciate how those characters are portrayed where they're still respected and treated like every other human and they carry certain personality traits and qualities that humanize them, especially the negative ones. I also think it's fascinating how those characters' transness wasn't a major catalyst to the story yet they're still shown as people who are in this world existing with everybody else, which I commend. To me, this shows that the horror genre is one of those genres of films that are becoming more progressive and inclusive in terms of storytelling and character inclusion. Now, did I find those characters very annoying at times? Yes. Can those boys be trusted with demonic artifacts? Absolutely not lmao. Overall, I enjoyed this movie.
There are a lot of people that believe the spirit possessing Riley was never Mia's mom, but I think it was. Notice when he first saw the spirit, he seemed somewhat shocked, but not scared, then he immediately looked over at Mia. Riley would know Mia's mom on sight. When he said "I let you in," his expression was more sad and resigned. Given how scared he was the previous time, I think if he had seen some disgusting rotting stranger, he would have reacted very differently. Also, the immediate self-harm tracks with him being possessed by the spirit of someone that committed self-unaliving. Everything Mia saw after her own possession was all in her own head, being show to her by the drowned lady, including anything that even remotely looked like her mom, Riley being torn apart in "hell," and the disgusting burned/diseased old man. It was mental manipulation designed to make her either kill herself or Riley. Also, a lot of people think Jade pushed Mia into the road, but ... I've seen this repeatedly, first on the big screen and again over and over in reactions, and I don't think that's what happened. I think Mia realized at the last moment that she was being manipulated (when the drowned mom-mimic whispered "we'll have him forever"), and let go of the wheelchair. The only way for Jade to push Mia into the road was if Mia had already stepped away from the chair, off to the side, otherwise Jade would just have pushed Mia into the chair and forced both MIa and Riley into the road. No, Jade lunged forward to grab the chair. The spirit knew MIa had changed her mind about Riley, so I think it took Mia over and threw her(self) into the road.
Love your interpretation. Mine is a little different, I think the ghosts can mimic ppl and because Mia held on for longer than 90 secs, they found out too much about her and how to manipulate her. ‘I let you in’ goes both ways. I also think the ghosts that are in the hand’s afterlife specifically died while being possessed by the ghosts in the hand. That’s what they mean by “they have you forever”. But we will find out from the sequel/prequel. This movie was so good!
I was rewatching this and wanted to see if anyone had this same interpretation! I think it'd be so effective if Riley was possessed by the REAL mom and that gave the ghost attached to Mia the perfect setup to gaslight her
People are dumb if they think Jade pushed Mia. The whole suicide theme wasn’t a tip off? Hello? If not, they already set up the kangaroo at the beginning to make it clear: she was intending to put the kangaroo out of its misery, but stopped at the final moment, like she did with Riley.
