SPEAK NO EVIL Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: James Watkins
Stars: James McAvoy, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen, Motaz Malhees, Jakob Hojlev Jorgensen.
Speak No Evil serves up an interesting twist on the home invasion thriller. This creepy psychological thriller is a remake of a little seen sinister 2022 Danish horror film that briefly screened here at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy, from Monsters, etc) and his wife Louise (Mackenzie Davis, from Terminator: Dark Fate, etc) are a nice middle-class American couple living in London. They are enjoying a relaxing holiday in Italy with their eleven-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler, from tv series Riverdale, etc) when they meet a British couple – Paddy (James McAvoy), a semi-retired doctor who works with Doctors Without Borders, and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi, from The Nightingale, etc) – who also on holiday with their young son Ant (Dan Hough, in his film debut). Ant cannot speak due to a congenital tongue defect, but he forms a friendship with Agnes.
The two couples share some meals during the holiday, but Louise begins to feel that Paddy’s presence is somewhat overwhelming, and she feels uncomfortable. Ben, however, is unwilling to listen to her doubts. There is some unresolved tension between him and Louise that also casts a pall over the holiday. Then Paddy invites them to share some time with them at their farmhouse in northern England.
Ben and his family return to London but tensions continue to simmer. Shortly afterwards he reluctantly agrees with Louise to accept Paddy’s generous offer to spend a week with them. They head off to the remote farm. The long drive through the dark is filled with tension and the accompanying score from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans is ominous.
But despite the warm welcome they receive there is something a little unsettling about Paddy and his passive/aggressive manner. From the outset there are hints that something is a little off about Paddy’s farm. There is a dinner at a restaurant run by Paddy’s friend that turns uncomfortable and creepy. Paddy’s mood swings disturb Louise, but Ben is still unwilling to rock the boat. When Ben and his family try to leave they are forced to return after Agnes says she has left behind her favourite stuffed toy. Then a second attempt to leave is thwarted by a flat tyre. Then Ant shares a disturbing secret with Agnes. Before long the holiday turns into a struggle for survival and Ben is forced to fight to protect his family when the real shocking motivation behind Paddy’s actions is revealed.
For the most part this remake from writer/director James Watkins (Eden Lake, etc) faithfully follows the original and its exploration of family dynamics and toxic masculinity, as he worked with original filmmakers Christian and Mads Tafdrup to adapt the film. But he changes the ending drastically and adds many familiar tropes from the thriller genre. The original’s ending was dark, bleak and a little nasty, and probably not for mainstream tastes. So producers Jason Blumhouse, who specialises in low budget horror films, and Watkins have changed the ending to make it more palatable, cathartic and formulaic, thus softening the blow. While those familiar with the original may find this a little disappointing, those unfamiliar with the source material will appreciate what this version of Speak No Evil offers.
However, this film continues a trend adopted by most Hollywood filmmakers when they adapt foreign language films, and most such adaptations are not as effective as the original version. For every The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo there are half a dozen botched remakes of films like the very funny The Intouchables which manage to get the tone wrong. This film also recalls Michael Haneke’s superb and disturbing home invasion thriller Funny Games – he directed both the original version and the Hollywood remake.
Watkins effectively builds the suspense, and he brings a claustrophobic tension and unsettling atmosphere to the material that keeps the audience off balance. He injects plenty of action into the drawn-out final confrontation. Regular cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones effectively uses light and shadows to good effect in the finale. The production design for Paddy’s cluttered farmhouse is also very good and makes it almost another quirky character in its own right.
The charismatic McAvoy is very good here, and he chews the scenery bringing some touches of humour to temper the claustrophobic drama. He dominates the film as his Paddy is by turns charming and easy going yet also menacing, misogynistic and volatile. His transition between charming and unhinged and dangerously manipulative is seamless. Davis brings strength to her role. Nairy is solid and portrays the polite Ben as something of a milquetoast at the start, but he finds the strength to defend his family at the end. He and Davis develop a prickly chemistry and their dynamic drives the action and enhances the tension.
Overall, this competent remake of Speak No Evil will resonate strongly with those audiences who haven’t seen the powerful original which left an indelible impression.
★★★
