It’s slightly depressing that the ultimate fate of seemingly every novel and exciting European genre film is to get a slicker, more accessible American English language remake just a couple years on. All too often, they’re functionally indistinguishable from a dubbed version of the original with a more recognizable A-list face on the poster. I expect soon they’ll start using A.I. to make them and expedite the process even faster. Maybe we won’t get the originals released over here at all, just deep-fake dubs. I expect to see the new Adam Wingard Titane starring Mia Goth announced any day now. Still, as in all things, criticizing the trend should be offset by evaluation of the individual case, and in the one at hand is Speak No Evil, Blumhouse’s English language remake of Christian Tafdrup’s 2022 psychological thriller, this time starring Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis and an absolutely feral James McAvoy, and directed by James Watkins.
For those unfamiliar with the original, the film follows cosmopolitan young parents Louise (Davis) and Ben (McNairy) as they ill-advisedly take up an offer of hospitality from the seemingly charming couple they met on holiday. Anxious to reset the tense home atmosphere, they and their young daughter Agnes (Alix West-Lefler) decamp to the remote farmhouse of Paddy (McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Francosi), only to find their unpredictable hosts significantly less than pleasant company, which leaves them floundering for a face-saving way of escaping an increasingly uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation. For those who are familiar with the original that should be fairly recognizable, however, and I should emphasize that this is the best thing this film does…Speak No Evil 2024 does play out very differently from Speak No Evil 2022.
Thank goodness. I will admit I was only mildly engaged throughout the first two thirds, but once I realized, “hang on, this might actually be going somewhere different…?” I was as locked in as the demented McAvoy is. This will not be how many feel, many will think it’s sacrilege to concoct a whole fresh third act, but really, why would you want to see the same film again? If you’re so devoted to the original as to be offended by the idea of changing anything about it’s tone or message, then why watch a remake at all? If not to confirm your (justifiable) bias against English-language remakes for being watered down. Speak No Evil ’24 is unquestionably watered down from the original, but better that than a shot for shot remake, no? At least here I got to think I knew where it was going but then steadily got shaken out of my certainty and the movie bought back the tension as a result!

It was a similar feeling to the one I got in the last third of Trap. The trailers had led me to believe it would all take place at the concert, so when the concert ends and they leave, I was snapped to attention, thrilled to see the movie go off-road. I know a lot of people who think that movie falls apart there, but for me, that’s where it goes from good to fantastic. It’s much the same here. Speak No Evil is no Trap though. At its heart, it’s still a fairly predictable albeit intense thriller, without much audacity or flair and deprived of its chilling social commentary, it’s a much more mundane squirm-fest. It’s not as dark as the original, but it’s also much, much looser and more fun. In fact, you could almost take it as much for a recast sequel as for a remake.
Watkins is in familiar territory here, having achieved his breakthrough with the similarly themed-Eden Lake, as well as the somewhat milder The Woman in Black. This might be his best showcase yet as a talented metteur-en-scene who manages to grind some real tension out of the distinctly nasty scenario. McAvoy is undeniably the film’s strongest asset though. The movie’s built around him and his vulgar, dangerous charisma and he floats the boat with his crass Alpha-male schtick, which is alternately engaging and repugnant. I alluded to Shyamalan earlier, and between this and Split, I believe McAvoy may have found a permanent home playing villains that straddle the line between terrifying and hilariously inappropriate. Francosi is having great fun as well as his partner in awkwardness, and after her phenomenal breakthrough in The Nightingale I hope this leads to some more high-profile work for her. Matching McAvoy’s freak isn’t easy.
Opposite them, Davis and McNairy were at risk of being steamrolled, but McNairy’s browbeaten beta is a role he slips into well and Davis injects sufficient humor and bite into her part that we’re never bored or frustrated by our normie heroes, despite how loud your internal screams of “get out of there you morons!” may get. Mention has to go to the kids too, both Lefler and Dan Hough are excellent as the anxious Agnes and brave, secretive Ant.
As disappointing as the Hollywood remake train is, I do think Speak No Evil does enough to justify its existence and may even do more for the original than divert traffic. I don’t think many of the people who will choose to see this instead would’ve seen the original anyway, and some may be persuaded to give it a try, and they’ll be in for a shock too! If you put the original on much of a pedestal, maybe give this a miss, but if you’re in the market for a good old thriller with some viscera to it, this should check your boxes. It’s uncomfortable and nauseating, but cathartic and satisfying too.