James Watkins’ Speak No Evil, a remake of Dutch director Christian Tafdrup’s 2022 film of the same name, leaves horror and psychological thriller lovers bored and unfazed.
Speak No Evil opens with an idyllic family vacation at a luxurious villa in Italy, where the Dalton family escapes the strenuous day-to-day city life of London. Over extravagant meals and delicious bottles of some of Italy’s finest wine, the Daltons befriend Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), their neighbors in the villa.
Bonding over their shared love of Italian culture, food, and scenery, their friendship quickly evolves into plans to meet up for a post-vacation reunion at Paddy and Ciara’s countryside home in England. Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) receives an official invitation to Paddy and Ciara’s countryside cabin, which he gratefully accepts. Upon their arrival, it is quickly made clear that the all-too-perfect Paddy and Ciara might be hiding sinister intentions under their bubbly facades.
McAvoy’s performance as Paddy is phenomenal, as he delivers a terrifyingly perfect deranged villain, whose portrayal of insanity is scarily convincing. Sadly, poor writing holds back McAvoy’s skills as an actor. With a lack of support from his supporting actors, the result is a relatively stress-free “psychological thriller.” McAvoy’s performance was still outstanding, yet no performance could have made up for the film’s flaws.
The only other notable performances in Speak No Evil were Mackenzie Davis as Ben Dalton’s wife and Dan Hough as Ant, their son. Still, both performances found themselves overshadowed by McAvoy’s. McNairy’s performance as Ben Dalton was mediocre, and left viewers disinterested as to whether or not he survived McAvoy’s wraith.
The mise-en-scène for the film left much to be desired, with long periods of over-saturated brightness, forgettable music, and a lack of shadow. The mood of the film could have been mistaken for a children’s movie.
Due to poor and unconvincing writing, frequent moments of unintended comedy had the entire audience laughing at scenes that should not have been funny. These moments of unseriousness were disturbing as they were placed alongside depictions of extreme child abuse and grooming. These moments served no purpose in enhancing the suspense or horror of the film, but rather detracted from the seriousness of the topics at hand.
The only suspense within the film took place in its final moments, but the lack of atmosphere or sustained suspense throughout the movie made the finale feel irrelevant. Viewers in the theater laughed after the final moment of the climax, proving how an inherently disturbing scene had become laughable.
With standout movies like Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs, Speak No Evil finds itself in fierce competition with other psychological thrillers this year. In terms of being a “psychological thriller,” very few aspects of the film invite contemplation or offer relatability, which are some of the most necessary concepts of a horror movie meant to mess with the viewer’s mind. Speak No Evil had the potential to be one of the best psychological thrillers of 2024, but overt foreshadowing, predictable writing, and a lack of atmosphere caused it to fall short.
Overall, Watkins’ Speak No Evil was a forgettable film that offered no depth or uniqueness. Without the bare minimum traits needed for a horror movie to stand out as a diamond in the rough, Speak No Evil will quickly fade into obscurity.
