Speak No Evil – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Director – James Watkins

An American family (Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Alix West Lefler) are invited to spend the weekend at the isolated home of a British family (James McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi, Dan Hough) they met on holiday, however their hosts’ friendly attitudes quickly darken.

2022’s Danish horror Speak No Evil is a film heightened by its shades of European darkness. A sense of hopelessness emphasises the final half hour’s spiral descent into Hell – truly one of the bleakest things I’ve ever seen – which it feels an American remake (calling this an English-language remake feels wrong when a good chunk of the original is in English) wouldn’t want to stray near.

Indeed, this quickly turned around remake has its similarities to the original. Aside from the same narrative build-up and developments a handful of shots feel borrowed in terms of style and composition. Yet, this take on the tale of a family who visit the isolated home of another after meeting on holiday does have its extra elements. There’s no attempt to hide the darkness of the hosts as James McAvoy’s Paddy in particular (whose accent shifts throughout from generic British to auditioning for The Wurzels) plays up the thinly concealed rage from very early on.

Added into the mix are rifts between central American couple Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), and a developed relationship between their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler) and Paddy and Ciara’s (Aisling Franciosi) son Ant (Dan Hough) – apparently silent due to a medical condition which means he has a smaller tongue – revealing some of the true intentions at play. Such moments largely lean into the idea that the film knows the audience is aware that not everything is quite as it seems with McAvoy and Franciosi’s characters from early on. It’s not just the trailers giving something away, it’s more a key detail of the film and seeing how Ben, Louise and Agnes are going to escape; if at all.

By doing this there’s a less dark, pacier version of this story playing out, likely helped by the removal of ice-cold dead-pan intensity – which feels unnatural to this particular film, and most other American remakes of international features. However, while there’s less darkness this is no bad thing, the intensity is still present in places; largely in the third act, and the British hosts bring in a discomforting air through the fluctuating faces they present to their guests.

Where things truly get into their own though is in the third act. An extended set of events which rattle along with the pace of an escape thriller. As the film creates its own events the tension and threat are ramped up, making the familiar beats, and one or two additions which don’t entirely click; such as hints that Louise cheated on Ben six months prior, more worthwhile.

Certainly as things play out there’s a clear layer of threat at hand bringing out the horror of feeling trapped with people who you both don’t know and may not be presenting their true selves. A set of good performances mean that the ensemble effectively bounce off of, or rather deflect a good deal of the time, each other effectively and bring out the discomfort and tension at hand. Building up to a third act that goes out of its way to make something different where you forget about possible likely scenarios from a (in some respects) tamer American remake as you’re caught up in the pacey tension of the thriller-like climax.

With the darkness toned down, although still present, this remake leans into the clear threat of the hosts and the discomfort they create, focusing less on dead-pan bleakness and more on building to a thriller sensibility that’s handled well by both the pacey nature of the story, with its additional elements, and the ensemble cast.