Film Review: Speak No Evil (2024)
President Daryl Cheong and Honorary Financial Secretary Venesya Ko collaboratively review James Watkin’s 2024 take on the 2022 Danish film, Speak No Evil (2022).
When a new Blumhouse horror movie comes along, you know it’s time to return to the theaters. In their latest flick, writer-director James Watkins (Eden Lake (2008), The Woman in Black (2012)) furthers his horror-thriller capacities with a blockbuster sure to titillate and entertain fans of the genres. For those familiar with Black Mirror, recall “Shut Up and Dance” (2016), of a teenage boy blackmailed into committing crimes because of a video of him masturbating. The suspense, anxiety, and uncertainties of that episode, directed by Watkins, is a reference point for any viewer still unsure about catching the film.
Adapted from the 2022 Danish film of the same name, this 2024 version explores the drama of an American family that migrated to Britain for work, visiting a British family they befriended at their idyllic country estate in Italy. James McAvoy, Blumhouse alum with his seminal works in Glass (2019) and Split (2016), plays one half of the British family eventually revealed to possess intentions much more sinister than just an ideal escapist holiday.
McAvoy, in his usual charismatic presence, feels oddly-casted at times as a scheming villain always on the verge of striking. For an audience aware of the story or the publicity materials, this breath-thin tension holding us to McAvoy can reach a punishing stage. Yet, it is when the story takes its genre-bending moments weaving between psychological horror, to thriller, to moments of comedy, that McAvoy’s talents as an actor are demonstrated and affirm the casting choice. Aided by a vision keen to always push the tensions further, McAvoy shines, outdoing his own performances in his earlier two Blumhouse works. In one particular scene of the American couple arguing, the framing of them against a stained window that eventually reveals McAvoy’s silhouette is a shocking moment rendered even more effective because of McAvoy’s command of his body and the tonal shifts of the work.
Of particular note, however, is the performance by Mackenzie Davis, who plays the American wife. Throughout the film, her husband (Scoot McNairy) plays a frat-boy like man keen to impress McAvoy’s character. Every moment of red flag or warnings that would make a regular horror flick-goer scream in frustration to get out, Scoot’s character remains steadfast in his willed ignorance. Yet, it is Davis’s turn as the dutiful and protective wife frustrated by the failings of men (aren’t we all?) that brings a strong emotional core to the work and an additional layer of outstanding performance. Against the beauty of the Italian landscape, Davis’s presence grounds the film in domestic themes without which the work could have easily strayed into meaningless grounds.
Shock factors and fear points may feel predictable at times, or the film might feel too different or disappointing compared to the source work. However, its effectiveness at a work that knows the genre elements and accomplishes them so effectively is what makes this still an entertaining and worthwhile watch. Those keen on deeper or more intelligent themes might find meaning through the initial changing dynamics in the film’s initial stages where the dichotomies of villain and victim, predator and prey, chaser and chased, were still at play and oscillating. When the generic elements come into force, however, it would perhaps be more intelligent to sit back and take in the fun and entertainment of a film unpretentious about its aspirations, and which affirms the pleasure and playground that comes with its genres.
speak no evil (2024) is playing in cinemas now. click here to book your tickets today.