Carl Roberts 
“With a chilling and devilishly unhinged by James McAvoy, Speak No Evil is a wonderfully suspenseful thriller from start to finish.”
Speak No Evil is the American remake of the 2022 Danish psychological horror thriller film Gæsterne. This new version of the premise features James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, and Scoot McNairy. Jason Blum brings the film to us through Blumhouse Productions with Universal Pictures distributing. Given the nature of the original film and the shock it gave us throughout, all eyes are on writer and director James Watkins to deliver an English-language version that will live up to the original. The question is, can it live up to our high expectations? Or should it have been left well alone?
PREMISE
A dream holiday in a beautiful country house becomes a psychological nightmare.
THOUGHTS
Fans of the original movie will enjoy this remake immensely, although they may object to some of the directions the film takes. The film does play things too safe at times and some creative decisions won’t sit well with those who love the original movie. However, for those unfamiliar with the original film, hold onto your seats. The film slowly and deliberately builds tension and mystery until the final thirty minutes when all hell breaks loose. Anchoring this is the performance of James McAvoy. Fans of the actor are in for a shock. Forget what scared you about the actor’s performance in Split and Glass. Here, his performance is enough to send you home with nightmares. It is, quite simply, sublime. With Mackenzie Davis also delivering a fine performance, this is the kind of movie that will thrill, scare and entertain as it reveals all that it contains.
What will surprise the audience is the amount of humour the film contains. While the original movie wasn’t a bundle of fun, this version is darkly humorous. The shock of finding ourselves laughing at what transpires during the film is unnerving. It also keeps us on our toes. At any time, this hilarity could easily turn to sinister violence. At any time, Paddy could snap, spewing vile comments, beating his own son and so on. This undertone permeates throughout the film once it shifts to the English countryside. We know something is amiss but can’t quite put our finger on it. When we find out, it shatters the illusion of safety, leading to violence that isn’t for the squeamish. Believe me, you’ll never be able to listen to The Bangles’ song ‘Eternal Flame’ in the same way again.
THE CAST
With the exceptional performances from McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis, the rest of the cast could be expected to play second fiddle. Not so. Aisling Franciosi as Ciara, Paddy’s wife plays the character in a nice, calm, understated way. Ciara seems to be the downtrodden wife, the shrew, the quiet and unassuming woman in Paddy’s life. The truth about her will be revealed in the final thirty minutes. But during the build-up to the climax, Aisling Franciosi gives a retrained and lovable performance.
Scoot McNairy as Ben Dalton, Louise’s husband comes across as a soft, scared, easily influenced man. A man with no backbone, no desire to rock the boat, no wish to cause conflict. At times, we want to slap him around the head and shake him by the shoulders. Scream at him even to stand up as a man and to show some strength. McNairy plays his role to perfection. Ben seems to be a complete pushover, someone who will tolerate anything that is thrown his way, even if it hurts him, angers him or threatens him. But anyone who has seen the classic ‘Straw Dogs’ knows you can only push a man so far before he snaps into action or violence. We get that feeling with McNairy’s character here. By the climax, we find ourselves cheering him on.
THE CHILD ACTORS
The two young actors who play the children of our four main characters excel, showing they have great futures ahead of them if they so desire. Alix West Lefler as Agnes Dalton gets the majority of the pair’s screen time. At times, we feel sorry for Agnes. Her need to cling to a stuffed toy bunny, despite being too old for such things is touching. But we don’t see that the toy will play a major part in things as we go through the film. This desire makes us want to scream at her, bellow at her that her devotion to a stuffed toy could lead to danger for her entire family. It is a wonderful performance from Alix West Lefler.
Dan Hough as Ant stands out amongst the cast. His role is virtually silent from start to finish. Ant has a medical condition that makes his tongue grow smaller and deformed. Or does he? If this is true, why is he always trying to get Agnes’ attention, leading her to things that will become major revelations? And why does he pass her a note in a foreign language instead of English? At the three-quarters mark, these things will be addressed. But Dan Hough’s performance throughout is exceptional. We feel sorry for him from the time we first meet him until the climax and his fate is revealed.
DIRECTION AND WRITING
James Watkins directs and writes the film. His screenplay is based on the original film’s script by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. And he has done a brilliant job. He takes the premise, updates it to the English countryside and runs with it. He adds a good amount of dark humour to things while paying tribute to the original film throughout. Those who have seen the original version will recognize the plot threads, settings, and dialogue in that film that permeate here. Watkins’ screenplay is terrific. But he does play things a little too safe. I personally would have liked to have seen him push the envelope a little bit, to make the film darker than it already is. But despite this slight niggle, Watkins has managed to capture the spirit, the darkness and the values that the film needs.
He directs things with a brilliant and keen eye for detail. From the bright and vibrant colours of a foreign clime to the bleakness and dull skies of England, Watkins captures it all with a brilliant flair. One sequence featuring McAvoy driving down a country lane with his wife and visitors conjures up a feeling of dread and not just by what we see on the screen. Watkins directs the lighter moments as well as he directs the darkness and violence that will rear its head during the last half an hour. With his background making horror and thriller movies, Watkins keeps his winning streak intact.
VERDICT
With a chilling and devilishly unhinged by James McAvoy, Speak No Evil is a wonderfully suspenseful thriller from start to finish. It deliberately draws us, like a spider to a fly, into its web before unleashing itself upon us. And when it does, we know that things will chill and scare us. By the time the end credits roll, we have been masterfully drawn in, thrown around, thrust into danger and left chilled to the core. Make no mistake, the thirty-minute finale is worth the build-up. We realise we have been watching a delightful version of cat and mouse. But we will be surprised to find that the mouse isn’t so timid after all, it will reveal its true self, much to our enjoyment.
As we begin our journey from summer blockbusters to Halloween horror and the winter and Christmas movies, Universal Pictures has released the film at exactly the right time. Releasing it during the summer could have seen it swallowed up and ignored amongst the bigger movies. But now it has its time to shine with nothing to bother it or its audience. It should, by rights, become a hit. It deserves that much. Its quality shines through in every frame, in every capacity until the credits fade out. A wonderfully terrifying and uniquely funny movie, James Watkins has delivered an English-language remake to be proud of. I truly cannot Speak No Evil about the film. A complete treat.
Speak No Evil will be in cinemas on September 13th from Universal Pictures.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
