Speak No Evil

British director James Watkins (The Woman in Black) returns to the getaway horror scenario of his harrowing debut feature Eden Lake in this mainstream re-imagination of the 2022 Danish surprise hit Speak No Evil. The point of departure is similar, even as the script transfers the action from Northwestern Europe to the UK and adjusts a few screws in terms of credibility, but Watkins avoids a shot-for-shot remake and has his very own takeaway in store.

An American family (Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Alix West Lefler) recently relocated to London and is still trying to find their bearings, far away from all things familiar. On vacation in Italy, they meet a disarming British couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi) and their mute son, and promptly get invited to spend a weekend on their farm in Devon. Eager to cultivate this new friendship, the Daltons accept their hospitality, but soon find their personal boundaries and inhibition thresholds tested by their hosts’s strange behaviour.

Speak No Evil’s grand cinematography feasts on the landscapes of Tuscany and West Country respectively, with a brief shot of gloomy London in the rain offering a hard-hitting contrast. As if delivering the clincher necessary to keep its protagonists in these locations they start to feel uncomfortable in, the camera finds extraordinary beauty in the solitary countryside.

Incapable of turning in a performance where he doesn’t give it his all, McAvoy is an absolute scene-stealer and with his Andrew Tate-inspired antagonist delivers his hardest-hitting role since DS Bruce Robertson in Filth.

In the original, Christian Tafdrup (who in his own words is not a fan of horror films) tried to explore the unnatural development that as a so-called evolved species, human beings will ignore their own instincts and gut feelings in order not to come across as offensive. Despite what the director calls “Scandinavian awkwardness”, both the Danish and the Dutch are generally not as cripplingly conflict-averse as the English and the Americans tend to be, so from a cultural standpoint it would have been an interesting approach to continue with this social criticism.

However, instead of scrutinising polite society, Watkins shifts his focus towards different displays of masculinity. From the first time he lays eyes on McAvoy’s character, McNairy’s humble family man feels an admiration towards the other man’s ability to outright ask for what he wants, and it is their bond that drives the progression of the story. While genre-savvy Watkins shows the appeal of audacity and skilfully sharpens situations his characters find themselves in for entertainment value, it is evident where his sympathies lie and as such the message from the 2022 film gets lost.

Bigger but unfortunately not bolder, the adaptation of Speak No Evil remains an edge-of-your-seat thriller that makes viewers question themselves at what stage they would pull the ripcord. The shift towards family survival film in its final third causes the feature to lose some of its verve, but nevertheless Speak No Evil promises a fun start into the new season of genre tidbits and is worth watching for James McAvoy’s terrific antics alone.

Selina Sondermann

Speak No Evil is released nationwide on 12^th September 2024.

Watch the trailer for Speak No Evil here: