A24 horror film “Talk to Me” has reportedly been banned in Kuwait, a strict marketplace for releases, due to the casting of non-binary star Zoe Terakes, per The Hollywood Reporter. Terakes’ gender identity is not mentioned in the film.
Terakes identifies as non-binary and trans-masculine and announced their gender-confirming surgery in 2022. They are set to star in the upcoming MCU series “Ironheart,” making them Marvel’s first transgender actor in a TV series.
Australian thriller “Talk to Me” has marked the second biggest domestic opening for A24 since “Hereditary” with $10 million. The film is the feature directorial debut from YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou of the RackaRacka channel. The script was written by co-director Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman. While “Talk to Me” has already been released across all other Gulf territories, it will not premiere in Kuwait, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“Talk to Me” premiered at 2023 Sundance during the Midnight Selections lineup and was acquired by A24 for a high seven-figure deal; the film later screened at SXSW.
The film follows a friend group that becomes addicted with speaking to the dead through a series of séances. Sophie Wilde, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Alexandra Jensen, and Joe Bird also star in addition to Terakes. The IndieWire review compared the film to “Flatliners” for the internet age meets Jordan Peele, writing that “tight crafts, unrestrained palpability, and like all great horror films, the joining of ambiguous shadows with a gurgle of tension spewing music” make the feature an unmissable debut.
“[Lead star] Wilde’s physically demanding, and emotionally draining, performance, makes the stomach churn fast enough for you to forget to cover your eyes,” the review reads. “‘Talk to Me’ offers frights that’ll murder you long before the next movie arrives.”
The banning of “Talk to Me” in Kuwait follows Gulf nations previously blocking the releases of “Eternals,” “West Side Story,” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” due to gay themes and non-binary actors. Billy Eichner’s “Bros,” the first R-rated studio gay rom-com, skipped premiering in the Middle East markets and did not screen in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Kuwait.
Agatha Christie adaptation “Death on the Nile” and “Wonder Woman” were additionally banned from Kuwait and Lebanon because of actress Gal Gadot’s Israeli heritage and military service.
