Based on of the 2022 Danish film of the same name, this remake has been turned around fairly rapidly and with an impressive cast, especially with James McAvoy on board. However, with a bad track record across the board for English-language remakes of foreign language films, will this remake buck the overall trend?
Personally, this reviewer has no issue with a subtitled film. He would like it if audiences weren’t separated from a spectacular film or series simply due to the presence of an inch or so of text on screen along with the rest of the action (or horror, or romance…). It’s also worth noting that the original film isn’t even entirely, or mostly, in Danish if that’s the sole thing preventing you from viewing it. However, he’s also a big fan of James McAvoy in basically anything he does, especially his horror and thriller work, such as ‘Split’ and ‘Filth’. So with this in mind, we proceed with trepidation into this latest adaptation.
‘Speak No Evil’ is titled exactly the same as the original, and follows much of the same story beats. A couple going through a few marital issues (Louise, Ben and daughter Agnes), meet a new couple (Paddy, Ciara and son, Ant) on holiday and hit it off – the second bit probably being a little familiar to a lot of people. Paddy and Ciara quickly invite Louise and Ben to spend time with them out in the sticks in Devon – the couple, thinking this will be good for them and their anxious daughter accept the invite, and the descent begins.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, McAvoy is the lead in every sense of the word in this production. Prowling the scenery with a sense of menace and barely veiling toxic masculinity, he becomes a far bigger terror than his frame should allow. Alongside the excellent Aisling Franciosi (perhaps unknown to anyone who hasn’t seen the equally gripping series, ‘The Fall’), they play the part of a couple barely managing to maintain a veneer of normalcy. As their ‘holiday’ with their opposing couple gradually degenerates and gives us, the viewer, a sense that we too are slipping into inescapable isolation with people who are not as they seem.
Mackenzie Davies and Scoot McNairy play Louise, arguably the true heroine of the film and Ben, arguably the most irritating character, so well against their deranged housemates. Louise may not be likeable, but nor is she meant to be, managing to show that despite her imperfection and problems, she is a realistic and relatively balanced heroine, as opposed to simply a ‘final girl’ horror trope – not that she is the last one standing either. Ben is irritating for the right reasons to counterbalance Paddy’s menace. Whilst he can be seen as weak and a pushover, as the film rolls on, you realise the meeker of the two men is far more relatable than the animalistic Paddy.
Perhaps in the largest change to the Danish original, the children in this film manage to carve out roles for themselves as opposed to being plot devices within the scene, adding an extra layer of investment to the realism of both families.
Surprisingly, and a welcome one at that, is director James Watkins’ ability to take the more minimalist approach of the original Scandi-noir thriller, and enhance it whilst using the same formula. By sticking almost uncomfortably to shots, as opposed to lurching around to build horror, the slow burn of the suspense comes from these lingering shots, and what is not implicitly shown. Once the blaze begins in earnest at the end, the movie has drawn you in and holds on until the end.
For those who have seen the original, don’t be worried about this simply being a rewatch with a different language. Whilst there are of course plenty of similarities, the changes made are stark enough to warrant the view. Possibly most unnerving about the view is how believable it is that this could happen. The lack of supernatural influence leaves you with monsters you could reasonably encounter in your lives, and ones you could easily mistakenly spend time alone with.
Author: Tom, Cardiff Store
