Talk to Me (2023) - The Ending

Short Summary

Mia, manipulated by an evil spirit posing as her deceased mother, attempts to kill her friend Riley by pushing his wheelchair into oncoming traffic on a highway. At the last moment, she changes her mind and throws herself in front of a speeding car instead, dying on the pavement. She wakes up in the hospital, unaware she is dead, and discovers that Riley has fully recovered and is going home with his family. When Mia tries to follow them, no one can hear or see her. She then encounters a glowing hand and finds herself transported to another country, where she becomes part of the "Talk to Me" game herself, now a spirit trapped in the cycle she once participated in.

Expanded Narrative Account

The ending of Talk to Me unfolds across several distinct scenes that chart Mia's final descent into complete spiritual possession and her ultimate fate.

After Riley is hospitalized following his violent possession, Mia remains under the control of the malevolent spirit impersonating her mother. While at home, Mia's father Max approaches her to finally reveal the truth about her mother's death. He shows Mia a suicide note that he had been hiding from her all these years in an attempt to protect her from the painful reality. As Mia reads the note and begins to cry in her room, the spirit of her mother appears to her and tells her something different. The spirit claims that Max wrote the suicide note as a fabrication and a lie. The spirit also tells Mia that Riley is suffering terribly and can only be freed from his torment through death.

Convinced by this false narrative and still under the spirit's complete control, Mia becomes convinced that her father is actually one of the evil spirits trying to harm her. In a moment of violence driven entirely by spiritual manipulation, Mia stabs her father, wounding him severely.

Mia then makes her way to the hospital where Riley is recovering. She tricks both Jade and Sue, Riley's sister and mother, into leaving her alone with Riley by getting them to step away. Once they are gone, Mia places Riley in a wheelchair and wheels him away from his hospital room. She takes him toward a nearby highway, with the intention of pushing him into oncoming traffic. As they approach the road and the speeding cars pass by, the evil spirit impersonating her mother continues to goad her, urging her to throw Riley into the path of the vehicles so that he can be liberated from the hell of possession.

In this critical moment, something shifts within Mia. She snaps out of the spirit's control and realizes what she is about to do. Unable to go through with killing Riley, Mia makes a final choice. Instead of pushing Riley into traffic, she launches herself in front of a speeding car. She is struck and dies on the pavement.

What follows is deeply ambiguous and disturbing. Mia wakes up, but she does not immediately realize that she is dead. She finds herself transported to the hospital. She sees Riley, who has made a full recovery from his injuries. Riley is preparing to go home with Jade and Sue, his sister and mother. She also sees her father Max, who appears to be healed from the stab wounds she inflicted upon him.

Mia attempts to follow them and tries to interact with them, but they cannot hear her voice or see her presence. The lights in the hospital begin to go out around her. She becomes increasingly aware that something is profoundly wrong. She then sees a dim light in the distance and finds a hand reaching out toward her. When she grasps this hand, she finds herself facing a man in another country who is playing the "Talk to Me" game with the embalmed hand. Mia has now become a spirit herself, trapped within the cycle of possession that she once mocked and participated in. She is now part of the game, waiting to be summoned by the living who will hold the ceramic hand and invite her to speak through them.

The film's final moments show Mia confronting a mirror in the hospital and seeing no reflection staring back at her, a visual confirmation of her death and her transformation into a ghost. She is surrounded by darkness before walking toward that pinprick of light, only to discover that instead of finding peace or reunion with her mother in an afterlife, she has become trapped as a spirit in the very game that destroyed her life.

The movie Talk to Me (2023) does not have a post-credits scene. Despite the story leaving some open-ended elements that could suggest a sequel or prequel, the film concludes definitively without any additional scenes after the credits. The filmmakers chose not to include a post-credits scene because the ending and character arcs are considered satisfactorily complete, and adding such a scene might have diminished the impact of the film's climax.

Riley is initially forbidden to use the hand but eventually takes a turn for 50-60 seconds. During his possession, he appears to be communicating with Mia's deceased mother, Rhea. However, the possession goes beyond the time limit, and Riley becomes violently self-destructive, smashing his head against a table and nearly gouging out his eye. He ends up hospitalized, catatonic and near death, with spirits repeatedly trying to claim him permanently.

Mia communicates with Rhea's spirit through the hand, who claims that Mia's father Max lied about Rhea's death being a suicide, insisting it was an accident. Rhea's spirit manipulates Mia, convincing her that Max is evil and leading Mia to stab him. Rhea also tells Mia that Riley can only be saved through death, pushing Mia toward drastic actions.

After stabbing Max, Mia goes to the hospital where Riley is recovering. She tricks Jade and Sue into leaving her alone with Riley, then kidnaps him in a wheelchair, pushing him toward a highway with the intent to end his life to free him from possession. Mia hesitates at the last moment, and from the perspective of an oncoming car, she is struck and killed, an act interpreted as a sacrifice to save Riley.

Jade and Sue are close friends who care for Riley during his hospitalization. Jade forbids Riley from using the hand initially and later tries to protect him from Mia's dangerous actions. They catch up to Mia as she attempts to kill Riley on the highway but arrive too late to prevent Mia's sacrifice. Their presence highlights the tension between protecting loved ones and the supernatural dangers they face.

After Mia is hit by the car, she finds herself in the hospital but is invisible and ignored by others, with no reflection and a disfigured body. She becomes engulfed in darkness and sees a hand extended over a candle. When she grabs it, she is transported to a party in another country where someone else is playing the 'Talk to Me' game, implying she has become part of the spirit world and the cycle continues.

Talk to Me is not family friendly. It is rated R for strong/bloody violent content, some sexual material and language throughout.

The film contains several potentially objectionable elements for children and sensitive viewers:

Violence and Gore: The movie features very strong and sometimes bloody violence including self-inflicted injuries, stabbings, head trauma, and possession-related violence. Characters engage in disturbing acts of self-harm while under supernatural influence. The practical effects create visceral and upsetting imagery that reviewers note can be genuinely shocking.

Language: Severe profanity is present throughout, with over 50 instances of the F-word along with numerous other strong obscenities.

Disturbing Imagery: The film contains gruesome scenes of decayed flesh, discolored faces, and demonic possession effects that create an unsettling visual experience. Reviewers specifically mention these visuals as being genuinely disturbing and capable of causing wincing reactions.

Psychological Themes: The narrative deals with heavy subject matter including suicide, death of a parent, and the psychological effects of loss and grief.

Sexual Content: While not explicit, there are sexual situations and references throughout the film.

Supernatural Horror: The core premise involves summoning spirits and demonic forces, which some families may find objectionable on spiritual or religious grounds.

This is a teen-oriented horror film designed for mature audiences and is not appropriate for young children or those sensitive to graphic violence, disturbing imagery, or heavy psychological themes.