Speak No Evil [Review]
How does Blumhouse’s remake of Speak No Evil hold up to the original Danish film?
James McAvoy in Speak No Evil. Credit: Blumhouse / Universal Pictures
I’m always wary of American remakes of foreign films when they are made so close to the original’s release. Speak No Evil (2024) is writer-director James Watkins’ remake of Danish film Speak No Evil (Gæsterne, to avoid confusion), directed by Christian Tafdrup and released only two years ago. I hadn’t seen the Danish version, so naturally, I watched it on Shudder immediately when I returned home from the remake’s screening. Speak No Evil is thrilling and unexpectedly hilarious, and Watkins injects new meaning into his version. Still, while its thematic differences from Gæsterne are interesting, it takes the chilling, dread-inducing original and turns it into an entertaining but ultimately forgettable film painted with less subtle strokes.
Ben and Louise Dalton (Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis, together again after co-starring in AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire) are American expats living in London with their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler). On holiday in Tuscany, they befriend a carefree British family—Paddy (James McAvoy), Clara (Aisling Franciosi), and young Ant (Dan Hough)—who invite the Daltons to spend a weekend in their home in the British countryside. The Daltons agree, and what starts innocently soon becomes a horrific ordeal.
Alix West Lefler, Mackenzie David, and Scoot McNairy in Speak No Evil. Credit: Blumhouse / Universal Pictures
Both films share a similar story; the beats in the first two acts are nearly identical, except the remake swaps out Danish and Dutch families for Americans and Brits. Both films explore themes of politeness and respecting societal norms getting in the way of self-preservation. While Gæsterne delves into the consequences of not reacting soon enough to evil, the message of Speak No Evil is more about the dangers of toxic masculinity. In the American film, Ben endangers his family by falling under the spell of an alluring “alpha” male role model who promises him an escape from the insecure, disenfranchised identity he’s trapped in—lacking purpose and confidence because he lost his job and his marriage is on the rocks. Paddy repeatedly insists no one is honest anymore, but his rejection of norms of decency for “truth” is only an excuse for his toxic behavior. Ben endangers his family by falling for this false promise.
While a sense of icy dread permeates Gæsterne, Speak No Evil is often funny. James McAvoy’s scary and over-the-top performance puts other characters in situations so tensely awkward that we can’t help but laugh. McAvoy is a bundle of tension, his strained smile barely holding in an explosion of violence that is always ready to surface as the Daltons begin to sense the danger he represents. It’s delightfully hard to watch how the Daltons don’t extricate themselves from their situation as McAvoy repeatedly and intentionally lets his mask slip. Part of the fun is how Speak No Evil is painted with a broader brush than Gæsterne. The way the film sometimes cuts to Mackenzie Davis’ reactions of shocked disbelief or terror to what we see onscreen often makes the audience laugh. I’m confident this was intentional by the filmmakers, and it works very well as the situation becomes increasingly fraught.
Dan Hough and Alix West Lefler Speak No Evil. Credit: Blumhouse / Universal Pictures
While I appreciate Speak No Evil's new themes and relevance to the current cultural moment, it won’t stick with me like Gæsterne. The films’ third acts are drastically different, as appropriate to their respective thematic content, and punctuate the differences in approach to the material between both movies. Increasing tension and overt escalation lead to the American film’s action-packed third act and heavily telegraphed resolution. While effective, it won’t haunt me like Gæsterne’s quietly disturbing finale, masterfully set up by the film’s subtle, chilling, creeping dread. Ultimately, the Danish original will remain the more memorable film of the two.
Speak No Evil from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures will premiere exclusively in theaters on September 13, 2024.
