Speak No Evil (2024) | REVIEW

Directed by James Watkins — Screenplay by James Watkins.

James Watkins’ Speak No Evil is an American remake of Christian Tafdrup’s Danish culture clash horror-thriller of the same name. The remake stars Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy as Louise and Ben, an American married couple, who are, at the start of the film, on vacation in Italy alongside their young daughter Agnes (played by Alix West Lefler). On holiday, the family trio meet and befriend a particularly self-assertive British couple, Paddy (played by James McAvoy) and Ciara (played by Aisling Franciosi), who are also on holiday with their youngest, their son Ant (played by Dan Hough). When the Americans return home from their holiday to their normal lives, the couple receives an invitation from their new vacation friends, who want them to come stay with them in the British countryside. So, Louise, Ben, and Agnes soon decide to visit and stay at Paddy and Ciara’s home. However, not everything they thought they knew about the British couple is exactly how it was first presented to them, and soon they start to question if they’re actually people that they can trust or if they’ve put themselves in danger. 

I think most film fans, critics, and cinephiles have mixed feelings about remakes. On the one hand, a remake can help turn some attention towards a forgotten or unknown gem. On the other hand, a remake can be lazily designed, a remake can be completely needless (for a variety of reasons), and, frankly, a real fear exists among some film fans that some remakes can essentially overwrite the original film’s place in film culture. Of course, there is a very big difference between traditional updated remakes and remakes of non-American films. English-language remakes have a place, as there are numerous examples of genuinely great films being the end product of that process (e.g. Martin Scorsese’s The Departed). But, at the same time, when most of the rest of the world watches American films with subtitles, it can be frustrating to see American studios produce needless remakes solely for language (and financial) purposes thus continuing to foster an unhealthy relationship with foreign films and subtitles in America, but I digress. 

Watkins’ Speak No Evil is, as mentioned, a remake of a Danish film that was released only two years ago and which, it should be noted, had quite an impact on American horror movie fandom. It is yet another English-language American remake of a recently released Danish film, following in the footsteps of Antoine Fuqua’s 2021 remake of Gustav Möller’s 2018 film The Guilty (original title: Den Skyldige), and, despite the international star power of Mads Mikkelsen (which should be enough to get American audiences to check his films out), recent Danish Mikkelsen-led features like Another Round and Riders of Justice are reportedly also being remade in English by American studios. In the case of Christian Tafdrup’s Speak No Evil, however, an English-language remake makes even less sense, as Tafdrup’s original film was already mostly in English due to the inherent language barrier when a Danish and a Dutch couple interact, which was the case in the original film. And, yet, here we are. We’ve now got an English-language remake of a film released only two years ago, which was, still, largely in English. This English-language remake trend diatribe aside, the marketing for the remake even emphasized so many of the film’s twists and reveals that it just felt pointless. 

All of that having been said, Eden Lake-director James Watkins always felt like a logical choice to remake this type of film, and, admittedly, you can definitely tell that he is at home in the genre. The end product here is also largely successful, and, I suspect, most of the people who are unaware of (or haven’t seen) Tafdrup’s original film will be very pleased with the quality of the ride that Watkins sends you on, alongside his thoroughly competent cast. That said, I think most people who have seen the Danish film will agree that the first two-thirds of the film often feels borderline shot-for-shot in its recreation of the narrative, even if it isn’t actually. It all feels very similar (and maybe even more hastily paced) with the only real changes being a diminished cultural difference, a completely absent language barrier, and certain details and locations being changed somewhat. Some of these detail changes are, admittedly, quite fun to spot, though. The film is never bad, it just feels bland or pointless in several recreations in the first two-thirds of the film.

What saves the film from utter futility is the third act, in which Watkins, who also wrote the screenplay, changes things up quite a bit. While, yes, it should be said that it does feel like the ending, the denouement, and the climax have been Americanized and softened significantly so as to not be as dark, bleak, and nihilistic as the Danish culture clash horror-thriller film was, the changes in the third act are not only different enough to be fascinating, they’re also changing the ultimate feeling you’re left with at the end of the film. I will say that one might argue core characters are suddenly more competent than the rest of the film let on, but, nonetheless, I’ll concede that perhaps this ending is more satisfying, even if it isn’t as provocative. Acting-wise, I don’t think any of the original cast-members of the Danish film are blown out of the water despite the added star power in the American remake, with only Aisling Franciosi and James McAvoy feeling particularly different in moments. McAvoy predictably delivers a gloriously entertaining performance, as he always does in thrillers, and that alone will be enough, for many, to be excited by the competent remake, even if it is, ultimately, not particularly necessary. And, well, because of the notable changes in the third act, one might actually argue that this remake is a fascinating and additive companion piece (because of the cinematic cultural differences its third act brings attention to) rather than the much-feared needless substitute or replacement it could’ve been.

6.9 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.