Sir Peter Jackson has joined the likes of Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, Jordan Peele, Ari Aster and George Miller in heaping praise on Australian horror movie Talk To Me.
In a statement to Ahi, one of the film's distributors across Aotearoa and Australia, Sir Peter labelled it "relentlessly scary and disturbing - in the best possible way".
"Talk To Me isn't just good - it's very very good. The best, most intense, horror movie I've enjoyed in years," he said.
The Braindead filmmaker's comments come in the same week A24 announced a sequel, entitled Talk 2 Me, is in the works.
Following its debut at the Sundance Film Festival - where A24 acquired it - Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk To Me has become a cult hit with a global box office haul approaching US$30 million two weeks after release.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 95 rating, while on Metacritic it has a weighted average review score of 76 out of 100.
"Tense, stressful and savagely staged, this is a scarily good debut from YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou. Be sure to hold someone's hand while watching," wrote John Nugent for Empire.
New Zealand journalist and documentarian David Farrier called Talk To Me his favourite film of 2023.
"I left the theatre shaken, buzzed and thrilled," he said after attending the Sundance screening.
Talk To Me is currently in New Zealand cinemas.
