“Speak No Evil” is the newest film from British filmmaker James Watkins (“Eden Lake”) and a remake of Christian Tafdrup’s acclaimed 2022 Danish film of the same name. The story follows an American family who visits the country estate of a British family they encountered on vacation, only for things to turn awry. The film stars James McAvoy (“Split”), Mackenzie Davis (“Black Mirror”), Aisling Franciosi (“The Nightingale”) and Scoot McNairy (“Halt and Catch Fire”).
I have been dreading this film since it was first announced, largely because it is an English-language remake of a great foreign film with interesting social commentary and one of the most bleak endings I have seen in years. I initially predicted that the movie was going to get rid of the social commentary, neuter the ending and add a bunch of random jumpscares for no reason.
Yet, to my surprise, I was only partially correct. Watkins’ “Speak No Evil” is actually an effective thriller with great performances from McAvoy and Davis, and it’s a movie that I think I can recommend to any horror fan. However, the main faults are in how it functions as a remake, as the third act was predictably changed into something more audience friendly and the pacing is affected by how rigidly faithful the first two acts are.
The biggest strength of this film is the cast, which was one the only things that I was genuinely excited about. McAvoy delivers an endlessly entertaining and scenery-chewing performance as a psychopath, and Davis makes her character feel incredibly grounded — like somebody I might actually know. One performance that really surprised me was from child actor Dan Hough, who plays the mute son of the British family. He mostly managed to communicate the character’s pain and fear throughout, and I have to give credit to both Hough and director Watkins for getting a solid performance for such a young performer.
However, that’s pretty much all there is to the film on its own. Watkins’ directing is perfectly fine, and the movie works really well enough as its own thing. The problem is that this is a remake, meaning that fans of the original will have some sort of expectations in terms of how the plot will go; and while there are some changes that work in the remake’s favor, there are others that completely take away from what made the original so effective. On the other hand, there are certain moments that mean absolutely nothing for the film but are still present just because something similar was in the original. Basically, the film fails when trying to be like the original and also fails when it tries to be different.
The most egregious change to the original is the third act, and I can imagine a lot of fans of the original being very upset with this incredibly different ending. As noted earlier, the ending of Tafdrup’s film is incredibly bleak and harrowing, to the point where I immediately predicted that the remake would change it — and I was completely right. Without spoiling the remake’s ending, I can safely say that it ends exactly the way that you think it will. All of the subversive elements of the original have been replaced by a standard home invasion horror, and while this would be perfectly fine if “Speak No Evil” was a standalone film, it just doesn’t work as a remake. This choice is especially strange, as I would argue that while the original is a great horror film, the last act is the most memorable part. I just have to ask: why remake this film in the first place?
There are also a few elements from the remake that were clearly only present just because they were in the original, but without some of the context. For example, there is a pivotal scene in both films that have the two male leads screaming on a cliff as a sort of bonding exercise. While this scene actually comes back in the original’s ending, we never see any reincorporation in the remake. While this isn’t the biggest problem in the world, it is still something that bugged me as a fan of Tafdrup’s original film.
All in all, “Speak No Evil” is a very strange film to criticize. As a regular horror movie, it’s really effective, largely due to McAvoy and Davis’ performances. The problem, however, is with the fact that it’s a remake that isn’t nearly as effective as the original. It’s still something I would recommend, but mainly to people who want to watch a by-the-numbers movie that doesn’t make you feel terrible by the end.
RATING: 6/10
