- Mackenzie Davis, James McAvoy, Scott McNairy
- September 12th 2024
- James Watkins
James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis star in the Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish horror film.
The original Danish horror Speak No Evil shocked fans when it came out in 2022 so it was only a matter of time before it got the Hollywood remake treatment.
In James Watkins’s version, Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy play Louise and Ben, an American couple who live in London with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler).
Shortly after befriending Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough) on holiday in Italy, they are invited to spend the weekend at the couple’s remote farmhouse in Devon.
It sounds like a dreamy proposition so they accept the invite. But their idyllic break in the countryside soon becomes a psychological nightmare.
The original film was haunting and upsetting and there was no way that ending would have been acceptable in a Hollywood movie. But Watkins made substantially more changes than expected, producing a film that thankfully isn’t a carbon copy.
There are key differences throughout, although the story beats in the mid-section are largely the same, but the most obvious change is the overhauled final act.
Yes, it gives Hollywood audiences a more palatable conclusion, but it also means that all viewers can experience it in the same way. Nobody knows what’s coming in the final showdown, even those who have seen the original.
Also, the 2022 version was a bleak and brutal horror whereas this is more of a fun and entertaining thriller.
It isn’t scary but it is gripping and intense and the final act is a nail-biter designed to provoke reactions from the crowd.
McAvoy seems to be having an absolute ball playing the unhinged Paddy. He’s played menacing characters before in Split and Glass and he capably does so again here.
Paddy is also weirdly funny and you will find yourself laughing at his odd behaviour often.
Davis and McNairy balance out the madness with grounded marital issues and Davis’ Louise is particularly strong and resourceful.
Speak No Evil could have been a lazy scene-for-scene remake so it’s a relief that Watkins tried to do something different with it.
As a result, he’s produced a slow-burning thriller that builds to an edge-of-your-seat finale.
In cinemas from Thursday 12th September.
© Cover Media