“Speak No Evil” Review
James McAvoy delivers a throughly unhinged performance in "Speak No Evil", a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name.
In many horror films, we often see characters make poor decisions which often drives the audience nuts. How could that character go into the basement or off on their own? How could they make such a comment to an easily agitated individual? How could they not carry any weapons while being stalked by a killer? But what if you’re in a situation where there isn’t really any smooth way out? It’s in this kind of environment that “Speak No Evil” thrives in, resulting in a thrilling experience.
A remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name, Louise and Ben Dalton (Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy) are a London-based American couple who meet enigmatic British couple Paddy and Ciara while on holiday in Italy. With Louise and Ben’s daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) and Paddy and Ciara’s son Ant (Dan Hough) being roughly the same age and hitting it off, the two families spend their holiday together when the Daltons are invited to spend a weekend at Paddy and Ciara’s farmhouse. While this countryside retreat starts off inviting, the Dalton’s realize that something is deeply, disturbingly wrong with their new friends.
Making characters who consistently make wrong choices engaging is certainly no easy task but Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy really pull it off because they are often put in lose-lose situations. At the farmhouse, Louise and Ben see their new friends behave in a way that feels off-putting but is often not enough to justify a reaction. Writer/director James Watkins has done an excellent job placing the audience in the uncomfortable situation and has us as viewers wonder how we would react in certain situations. Would we say something or would we do nothing for the sake of manners? “Speak No Evil” is certainly an accurate title because the film addresses what we’re willing to let slide for the sake of keeping the peace.
At the center of this rising tension are the excellent performances of Aisling Franciosi and James McAvoy who bleed charisma. You quickly understand why Louise and Ben would grow to like these people since they are so engaging. However, there is this feeling that something is not entirely right with them which blows up into a thrilling climax that showcases brute violence and survival. To play this kind of dormant psychopath cannot be easy but McAvoy especially is brilliant at this. After all, when you successfully play a man who has dozens of personalities in his head, being a straight-up crazy man has to feel like a load off.
While this American remake of “Speak No Evil” takes some liberties with the story of the original Danish film (especially with the ending), it ends up working to the film’s benefit by creating a different animal. Instead of being a shot-for-shot remake of a foreign film or a sanitized cash grab, “Speak No Evil” finds its own path that does replicate the original’s uncomfortable atmosphere while standing on its own. Like the original, this film tests the patience of the audience because it takes its sweet time setting up the explosive third act.
In the meantime, you’re stuck in this beautiful rustic environment that is perfectly contrasted with the insanity brewing underneath the surface. If you have strong anxiety, “Speak No Evil” is going to place you on edge but holds back enough so that the audience for this mainstream horror film, produced by Blumhouse, can survive the one-hour-and-fifty-minute running time. As far as remakes go, “Speak No Evil” is a perfectly good time that, if one is up for it, could make for an interesting double feature with another recent isolation psychological horror film, “Blink Twice”.
