Speak No Evil (2024) Review: James McAvoy’s Unhinged Performance Elevates This Remake of a Dread-Inducing Slow-Burn Thriller

The 2022 Danish original of Speak No Evil made it to my list as one of the best movies that year. It was a tense, scary and uncompromisingly bleak horror-thriller that elevated the vacation-from-hell subgenre to a mean-spirited level.

So, when Hollywood decided to turn it into an English-language remake under the Blumhouse production banner, I had this instant thought it was going to be inferior. Besides, Hollywood’s track record of remaking foreign genre films typically pales in comparison with the originals. These can be seen in remakes from Diabolique to Martyrs, Oldboy and Goodnight Mommy. Another thing that worries me is whether the deeply unsettling tone and style of the original will suffer from a significantly scaled-down, sanitised result in this Hollywood remake.

But having James Watkins onboard, who is no stranger to directing a disturbing movie about a vacation gone wrong as seen in his provocative 2008 debut Eden Lake, seems like the right person for the job. Watkins, who also wrote the screenplay, retains pretty much the same setup: The Daltons — husband Ben (Scott McNairy), wife Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) — are American tourists on vacation in Tuscany. They meet a British couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) alongside their shy, young mute son Ant (Dan Hough), where the latter couple invites them to spend the weekend at their idyllic farmhouse in Devon, England (In the original, it takes place in the Netherlands).

Upon arrival, the Daltons enjoy the quaint surrounding of Paddy’s home and their great hospitality. But something is not right about Paddy’s odd and erratic behaviour. Like how he insists the reluctant Louise take a bite of his roasted goose, even though she already told them she’s a vegetarian. Or the way he mistreats his son in front of the Daltons after messes up his country dance routine with Agnes synchronised to Rednex’s “Cotton Eye Joe” on the radio.

Soon, after the Daltons eventually discover the truth about their hosts, they desperately look for ways to leave the place before it’s too late.

First and foremost, Watkins’ remake lacks the raw intensity of Christian Tafdrup’s terrifying original. But viewing it as a standalone effort and especially if you haven’t seen the original before, this remake does hold up reasonably well on its own. It works because Watkins brings out the best in his cast, beginning with Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis’ subtle performances as a troubled couple going through rough patches in their relationship. You feel the dynamic between these two as they try to push through and pretend everything is fine until it’s not. And more so after their already-rocky relationship is put to an ultimate test when they are forced to deal with the hosts’ increasingly twisted behaviour.

Then, there’s James McAvoy, who gives it all in his unhinged turn as Paddy, whose volatile personality adds a foreboding sense of dread even before he goes full psychotic. He certainly dominates the role without resorting to chewing scenery. His co-star, Aisling Franciosi who plays the wife Ciara delivers solid supporting turns. As for the kids, both Alix West Lefler and Dan Hough deserve equal mention as Agnes and Ant.

Watkins doesn’t rush things to get to the point. His deliberate slow-burn approach allows him to develop the characters’ personalities and viewpoints while building up the tension and suspense layer by layer. Again, the acting performances do help a lot in sustaining my interest, keeping me on the edge with an escalating sense of discomfort anticipating something bad is going to happen.

The one thing that made the 2022 original such an acclaimed horror film is the downbeat ending, which fits the age-old cautionary tale of misplacing trust in someone you hardly know. But Watkins took the creative risk of not rehashing the same execution and opted instead to go for the Straw Dogs-like route in the third act. It’s not as gripping as the original’s ending but the change remains justifiable to the characters’ reaction towards the dire situation under forced circumstances.

Speak No Evil also benefits from Tim Maurice-Jones’ atmospheric and dread-inducing cinematography beneath the facade of the otherwise rustic English countryside. Overall, it’s a worthy remake that I’m glad Watkins doesn’t screw up by dumbing down for the mainstream audiences.