Speak No Evil is a remake of a moody 2022 Dutch film of the same name. Unlike a lot of American horror movies of late, there is no twist ending; what you see is what you get. Unfortunately, it makes for a very predictable film – even if you never saw the original.
Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy), recent expatriates living in London, take a vacation in Italy with their anxiety-prone daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler). While there, they meet another couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), who have a son, Ant (Dan Hough). Ant has his own issues, namely that his tongue is too small for his mouth, meaning he can’t speak. The two kids become fast friends, and Paddy and Ciara are affable, open people who immediately take to Louise and Ben.
Paddy and Ciara invite the Daltons to spend the weekend at their middle-of-nowhere farm. The Daltons accept, though somewhat warily. After all, they barely know this couple. Stress from the move to London, and the loss of their jobs causes the Daltons to throw caution to the chilly wind and accept the invitation.
The weekend gets off to a rocky start when Paddy convinces Louise to eat a piece of goose, despite being an avowed vegetarian – something that Paddy knows. Then the sheets are dirty; Agnes is found sleeping snuggled up to Ciara; and Paddy freaks out when the Daltons decide to leave early one morning without saying goodbye.
Even if you have never seen the original Speak No Evil (I haven’t), you have to know where this is going. McAvoy’s Paddy becomes irrational, and overreacts to everything…. I don’t want to spell it out because it is supposed to be a surprise. But I could tell just from the logline what happens. And the trailer basically gives away the game.
The first half of the film is basically an example of different societal norms. The Daltons are clearly American, and are a little bit uptight. Agnes, even though she is nearly 12 years old, still has a bunny stuffy that she clings to. Louise isn’t ready to wean her off of it, though Ben is. Eventually it becomes clear that Mackenzie Davis’s Louise is a helicopter mom, always careful to keep an eye on Agnes, and ready to help her through any difficulty.
Paddy and Ciara are of undetermined European origins, and seem to be much looser with how they raise Ant. He is given free rein, with few rules – until Paddy starts getting more unbalanced, in the second half of the film. Then it is yelling and signs of abuse that worry the Daltons (especially Agnes).
The performances are wonderful, and really what kept me hanging in there, until the movie hit the raucous third act. Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy play a troubled married couple with ease, never making them uncomfortable to watch. One must imagine that their work together on Halt and Catch Fire solidified their union, giving them a shorthand familiarity with each other.
Aisling Franciosi plays her role as the sweet, sexy Ciara with such gentleness that you can’t quite tell where her motivations lie until the end. James McAvoy plays Paddy with such deranged enthusiasm that, even though his motivations are easy to guess, it is still great fun to watch.
As a minor thing, I hate that the title is Speak No Evil. I understand its significance, focusing on Ant’s inability to speak (and another good example of what is going on in this film). But it is so generic, it is hard to remember what film this is referring to.
Speak No Evil is about as slow-burn as a horror movie gets. Nothing happens for the first half of the film. Luckily, the talented actors carry us through that until we get to the “horror” part of this horror film.
