The latest American horror remake, Speak No Evil, has finally arrived and with it, a tense and suspenseful film marred by its incompetent characters.
Over two years after the original Danish film premiered, an American remake, courtesy of Blumhouse Productions, has been released in theatres. Based on Christian Tafdrup’s 2022 film of the same name, Speak No Evil follows an American family, the Daltons (Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Alix West Lefler) as they travel to Italy for a much-needed holiday. There, they meet the seemingly normal but eccentric Brits Patrick (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and mute son Ant (Dan Hough). After being invited back to the English family’s homestead in rural UK, the Daltons find everything isn’t as picture perfect as they initially thought.
To be clear here, I have not seen the original Danish film and know little about it, other than the fact it is a far more disturbing film than the Americanised take on the material, which I have seen some call “cleansed”. While it is true that there are fewer horror elements here, there are still some disturbing and uncomfortable ideas thrown around, particularly in the third act. The movie opens pretty quietly and straight to the point, ready to take hold of its nearly two hour runtime and make the most of it.
It does do this quite effectively, but rather than jumping straight in, it’s a slow burn for 90 minutes, before climaxing in a home-invasion style set piece. And from the moment the family begins to show signs of unease towards their hosts, you as an audience member begin to feel a grounding tension in the pit of your stomach. Whether that slow-burn is worth it is entirely up to your reception of the final showdown, which I luckily did like.
The movie is far from without problems though, with a heavily contrived plot that hinges on the naivety and sometimes idiotic decisions made by the protagonist’s family. As a father and husband figure, Scoot McNairy’s Ben Dalton is frustrating to watch as he makes poor decisions that endanger him and his family. Davis’ Louise has the same issue but to a lesser extent.
The visual language of this movie isn’t necessarily special, but something does not need to be groundbreaking to be great. There are many interesting shots here throughout and the usage of the Croatian and British countryside really give a cinematic but grounded feel to the movie. There is one shot early in the film of a rain-splattered London that is so simple and grey, but I weirdly loved it. It sets a cosy mood, which contrasts the rest of the movie so heavily.
But to me, the true factor of the movie that elevates it above and beyond are the performances. James McAvoy is THE standout of the movie, who absolutely nails a sincere uneasiness, riddled with vitriol caused by a marred childhood. His performance is less flamboyant compared to his ones in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable trilogy but is just as unhinged and dually scary. Without him, this remake would be incredibly underwhelming and would definitely fall flat on its face. McNairy on the other hand is also an expected highlight, who gives a nuanced and laid back performance. He remains one of the most underrated actors working today, and with his impressive filmography, it is upsetting he does not receive more recognition.
Although Speak No Evil is laced with stereotypical horror stupidity, the tension work and performances are a great reason to experience the movie. I will certainly be checking out the original Danish film, and further diving into director James Watkins’ works because while this movie is far from perfect, there are plenty of interesting ideas throughout.
Speak No Evil stars Scoot McNairy, James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen, and Motaz Malhees. The movie was written and directed by James Watkins for Blumhouse Productions and is now playing in theatres worldwide.
Thanks for reading this review, for more horror movie opinions, check out some of our other reviews here at Feature First. Stay tuned for a comparison article comparing this film to its 2022 counterpart.
