Talk to Me ending explained: The eventual fate of Mia revealed

Talk to Me is a supernatural horror film from Australia, and it was the directorial debut of YouTubers and stunt performers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou. Written by Danny along with Bill Hinzman, the film is produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton. It had its world premiere at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival and was subsequently released theatrically on July 27, 2023, by A24. Here's the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

Let us look at how the film ends and what happens to its protagonist, Mia.

How does Talk to Me end?

Talk to Me revolves around a bunch of kids in their teen years who start calling out spirits through an embalmed hand that has been severed. They begin to contact the deceased for fun, but soon they realize that it's dangerous. The center of this group is Mia, who is a 17-year-old girl who is trying to cope with her mother's demise.

As the film progresses, Mia frequently starts getting visions of her dead mother. She eventually becomes possessed and needs to save Riley from the spirit. Her mother's spirit tries to convince her to stab Riley to end his suffering. But she doesn't want to kill him with the same scissors she had once stabbed her father with. Rhea sees her and tries to convince her to push Riley into oncoming traffic after she wheels him out of the hospital. Instead, Mia is the one who jumps into the oncoming traffic and dies.

Later, Mia opens her eyes and realizes she can't see herself in the mirror. She sees that Riley has recovered and is speaking to Sue and Jade. Max has also survived. They can't see her, and she is unable to talk to them. Mia's face seems to be disfigured. Suddenly, she finds herself surrounded by darkness and sees a candle in front of her. There is a hand in front of her that she grabs, and she is transported to a house party in Greece. She is now attached to the embalmed hand after dying on the road. This was possibly because she died while being possessed by the spirit.

When Mia took Riley out of the hospital in a wheelchair into the traffic, it was unclear if the spirit was actually Mia's mother or a force posing as her mother to make her do certain things. We realize that it's only interested in targeting Riley, which would not have been possible if it were their mother.

What was the hand's origin in Talk to Me?

In Talk to Me, Joss (played by Chris Alosio) and Hayley (played by Zoe Terakes) reveal that the severed hand belongs to someone worshiping Satan, or it's merely a medium. The fact that it functions under a set of rules hints that it might have been in existence for several years. The makers do not reveal the real nature of this hand, which adds to the mystery and ambiguity around it.

However, the creators of the story said that the inspiration came from a tragic incident that took place in their life. Danny talked about how the touch of someone he loved brought him out of a state of shock following an accident he had as a teenager. Though only mentioned in passing in the movie, the Phillippou brothers have alluded to a great deal more backstory that will be explored in upcoming sequels.

What do you think about the ending of Talk to Me?