Speak No Evil is a remake of the 2022 Danish psychological-horror film of the same name. Following almost all of the same story beats, the remake’s few deviations are what makes it such a disappointing film. The film follows the Dalton family as they visit another family they met on holiday. Over their long weekend stay at the odd families house, the Dalton’s soon discover a dark secret.
Director James Watkins interpretation of the story features a completely different ending that left me baffled and confused. All the edge and commentary of the original film is ripped out, replaced by surface level visual hints that completely miss the point of the story.
It’s unfortunate that the remake doesn’t capture the same horror as the original because the powerhouse performance put out by Scotland’s own James McAvoy almost makes it worth seeing.
“You’ll have to come and visit”
Image credit: Blumhouse
American remakes of popular foreign horror films isn’t anything new, Blumhouse even produced the borderline unwatchable Martyrs remake in 2015. This is to say remakes are common, but Speak No Evil sticks out as a particularity confusing choice considering how recent the first film is.
The original Speak No Evil was released in 2022, only two years ago. The remake is too similar to be considered an original film, but also steers to heavily into being a shot-for-shot remake for most of its run time.
Speak No Evil’s horror is built on the uncomfortable situations created by the central characters inability to say the most powerful two letter word ever created, no. The Dalton’s allow Paddy (James McAvoy) and his wife (Aisling Franciosi) to walk all over them.
These moments stick out as the best in the film as they are completely cringe inducing, but they are also believably uncomfortable. Who hasn’t been in a situation they accidentally put themselves in because they couldn’t say no. It’s horror that’s routed in truth, but unfortunately, Blumhouse’s take on it leans too far into contrivance for the horror to be believable.
As good as James McAvoy’s performance is, Paddy’s motivation and actions often come off as slightly cartoonish and unrealistic which completely derails many of the scenes in the last half an hour of the film. However, the moments where its just Paddy and the Dalton’s are some of the most uncomfortable in the film, as you can never guess what he’s going to do next.
Surprisingly the best performance in the film comes from Dan Hough as Paddy’s son Ant. The character is completely mute, but Hough’s performance is incredibly compelling and endlessly fascinating when you start to consider the dark truths revealed at the end of the film.
“Somethings wrong with him”
Image credit: Blumhouse
The biggest change Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil makes is the ending. Unlike the original films ending, the remake takes a different approach and sadly, it doesn’t result in the same impact.
American remakes of foreign horror films are notorious for their sanitised presentation and happy endings. Just look at One Missed Call and The Uninvited as examples. Both films were fantastic originally, but their American remakes were less than stellar.
Speak No Evil’s original ending leaves a hole in your gut and will stay on your mind for days, I can promise that. But the remakes ending leans into a classic “Home-Invasion” style conclusion that leaves much to be desired. The sad truth is that if the original film didn’t exist, the remake would be fantastic.
Both films are clearly made for different audiences, this even extends to how both films were marketed. The original film features an iconic poster of a car at dawn, the lights shining bright in the dark as a woman looks out of the passenger window screaming. It’s an incredibly vivid poster that makes the audience question what they are about to see.
The remake’s poster is a portrait photo of James McAvoy holding his fingers to his lips in a “shushing” motion. It’s far less intriguing and is used to get as many people as possible to come see the film because who doesn’t like James McAvoy.
“We’re sad to see you go”
Image credit: Blumhouse
Speak No Evil isn’t a bad film, but it’s not a particularly good one either. With a year packed full of good horror films, it stands out as yet another weak Blumhouse film.
Without watching the original film, I can see how this remake seems as good as it is, but if you’re looking to be truly frightend and uncomfortable, watch the original and avoid this one at all costs.
Featured image credit: Blumhouse