‘Speak No Evil’ is a remake of the 2022 Danish psychological thriller of the same name. The 2022 original premiered in the Midnight Section at the 38th Sundance Film Festival and garnered decent reviews.
And, now, the American remake hits the big screen and really brings the tension and suspense, especially in the latter half of the movie!
When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming, yet free-spirited British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
‘Speak No Evil’ is definitely one of those movies that will really have you on the very edge of your seat throughout most of its running time and also delivers a couple surprising jump scares.
During the first half of the movie, we are introduced to the American family, who are trying to work on a few things in their life. As we see the American family quickly bond with the British family and have a great time, you can slowly get an uneasy feeling that something is kind of off.
That uneasy feeling definitely kicks up a notch once the American family goes to their new friend's house for the weekend. Once we see how unhinged James McAvoy’s character is, the suspense really builds and we ultimately see the British family’s intentions.
And, speaking of McAvoy, the actor really knocks it out of the park with his performance. His acting in this movie can make the suspense-filled moments even more unhinged and intense - almost like his performance in the 2016 movie ‘Split.’ There are also a few parts where McAvoy adds a bit of dark humor here and there.
Overall, ‘Speak No Evil’ is a tense, chilling thriller that can keep your eyes glued to the screen from the moment the suspense kicks in. All of the suspense-building moments lead to a third act that is beyond tense. The only downside is that the trailers slightly spoil a couple plot points/surprises that shouldn’t have been revealed in the marketing.
The cast: James McAvoy as Paddy; Mackenzie Davis as Louise Dalton; Scoot McNairy as Ben Dalton; Aisling Franciosi as Ciara; Alix West Lefler as Agnes Dalton; Dan Hough as Ant; Motaz Malhees as Muhjid; Jakob Hojlev Jorgensun as Torsten and Kris Hitchen as Mike.
‘Speak No Evil’ is written and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake; The Woman in Black) and based on the original Danish film’s screenplay by Christian and Mads Tafdrup.
Principal photography for this remake took place in Croatia and Gloucester, England. Filming was suspended before it was to wrap up due to the Hollywood strikes last year and resumed in November 2023.
‘Speak No Evil’ is rated R for some strong violence, some sexual content and brief drug use and has a running time of 110 minutes.
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