‘Speak No Evil’ review: Just passing through

Blumhouse’s take on the Dutch thriller Speak No Evil makes an impression, but not one that’ll stick around for long.

When reviewing a remake, one might want to watch or rewatch the original movie in the interest of effectively comparing and contrasting two different (or rather, similar) films on their respective terms. But I didn’t revisit Chrisitan Tafdrup’s harrowing Speak No Evil before I opted to watch James Watkins’s English-language remake, and pointedly so. For one, the previous film, which I saw and reviewed at the time before its Sundance Film Festival premiere, is only two years old. And Blumhouse, who produced this redo, snatched up the rights to the Dutch film hardly a year after it was released. But in truth, the main reason why I didn’t rewatch the original is because it’s the type of movie that you don’t easily forget. 

It’s a violent, unforgiving examination of the dangers of social niceties, and what becomes of those who choose not to do or say anything in the face of clear and present danger. Tafdrup’s movie is not for everyone, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but it’s ruthlessly effective. It also has the type of ending that isn’t exactly what some audience members might want to see if they’re pursuing the theaters as a means of escapism. It’s easy to see American producers watching the film, begrudging the dour resolution, and feeling compelled to tell the tale in their own direct, more conventional way. Does that make it ineffective? Surprisingly no. But at what cost does this retelling come to be?

Keep a civil tongue.

Louise (Mackenzie Davis), Ben (Scoot McNairy), and their emotionally stunted daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are a seemingly ordinary American family living overseas. While on vacation in Italy, they meet Paddy (James McAvoy), a small-town doctor and overly-gregarious personality also on holiday with his lovely wife, Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their mute son, Ant (Dan Hough). Charmed by Paddy’s winning hospitality in a foreign country, Louise and Ben decide to take them up their offer to visit them in their remote farmhouse.

But what seems, at first, like a friendly getaway gets increasingly unsettling for Louise as she is more and more unsettled by increasingly off-putting asides and behaviors that could spell trouble for the unsuspecting guests. While Ben recognizes his wife’s concerns, the patriarch isn’t one to upset the status quo due to some micro-aggressions. As the days go on, and Ant and Agnes get closer, it becomes clear that these humble hosts aren’t exactly who they claim to be. 

The McAvoy of it all.

My feelings towards the new Speak No Evil mirror my thoughts on its central performance from James McAvoy. As an appealing slippery screen presence here, the actor plays into the darkly sinister intentions of his character with ease and enthusiasm. He is sincerely appealing when he needs to be, and genuinely unsettling when the movie calls for him to show off his sinister side. 

But compared to Fedja van Huêt, who played the 2022 film’s counterpart, you can’t help but see how devoid of nuance this performance is. Part of the appeal of the original film, if you go in without any preconceptions, is the uncertainty of who he is and whether the worries of our protagonists are exaggerated or legitimate. But there’s never a moment of doubt when it comes to McAvoy. He plays an evil dude, and you don’t doubt for a moment that his intentions are anything but nefarious. It makes for a funny, mischievous performance, but that blatant sleaze makes it less compelling or intriguing. It’s a comparatively superficial portrayal that lacks any ambiguity. 

To be clear, it’s not a bad performance. It keeps your attention and serves the movie’s chilling tension well. But it’s less about the if and more about the when, and that builds to its own tense climax. It certainly serves its purpose in the theater and doesn’t wrestle with you after the fact like it does with van Huêt’s more multi-faceted portrayal, which leaves an indelible mark. 

Until the bloody end (SPOILERS).

From this point, I’ve tried to keep it semi-coy about what exactly happens during the climaxes of these two movies. But at this point, I’m going to be a bit more upfront here. So, expect spoilers. 

The original Speak No Evil is a movie that hinges on its ending. Our ill-fated lead characters, Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), are stripped, beaten to death, left in a pit, and die knowing that their Agnes (Liva Forsberg) will lose her tongue and be forced to live a life (however short) in servitude to their killers as their would-be daughter. It’s not the ending that anyone wants to see (except maybe sadists) but it’s the one that serves the purpose of its moral.

That’s not how the new Speak No Evil goes out. Borrowing more from Straw Dogs than the Dutch movie that influenced it, Watkins’s retelling goes out guns a-blazin’. Justice is bestowed, the various Chekov’s guns incorporated throughout the movie are used against the bad guys, and audiences can walk away knowing that our morally righteous characters stood their ground and got out with their lives intact. Even though there’s not a second of Speak No Evil that takes place in the States, it’s the decidedly more American approach to the material, it’s safe to say. 

This isn’t like the 2008 redo of Funny Games. This isn’t an attempt to reiterate the same story. At a time when Parasite wins Best Picture, and Anatomy of a Fall, Drive My Car, and All Quiet on Western Front are able to find wide audiences along with award accolades, one had to assume that the fear of subtitles is slowly, but gradually, fading for western audiences. Hell, it’s worth noting that a lot of the original Speak No Evil was already in English. So in that respect, remaking it so quickly has to be an intentional effort on the filmmakers’ part to do what they see as their course correction. And yet, when it’s all said and done, what value is served with this?

The bottom line.

In the grand scheme of English-language remakes, the new Speak No Evil is not one of the best. But, having seen my fair share of listless and pointless retellings that suck all the pulp and verve out of their foreign counterparts, it’s nice to see one that still has a little juice. Credit to Watkins for guiding this film with a heavy but competent hand. McAvoy is having a ball, even if he hams it up too much to match the bone-chilling dread of the original. But when it’s all said and done, I won’t forget about the original Speak No Evil anytime soon. As for the remake, it’s been two or three days since I’ve seen it and it might as well be a stranger to me.

Speak No Evil is now playing in theaters everywhere. You can watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Productions. You can read more reviews from Will Ashton here.