Title – Speak No Evil (2024) 

Director – James Watkins (The Woman in Black) 

Cast – James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi

Plot – Louise (Davis) and her husband Ben Dalton (McNairy) are invited to a seemingly idyllic getaway with new acquittances Paddy (McAvoy) and Ciara (Franciosi) but soon come to suspect not everything is as it seems.   

“Hear no evil”

Review by Eddie on 13/09/2024

Becoming something of a sleeper hit in 2022, Christian Tafdrup’s Danish psychological horror Speak No Evil made a mark amongst local and international audiences with its unnerving mix of dark social commentary/humour and mortifyingly confronting horror elements that culminated in one of the most talked-about and controversial final acts of the last few years, making it of little surprise that Hollywood quickly came calling with a Blumhouse produced English language remake we now have here. 

Enlisting the support of a typically commanding James McAvoy and surrounding him with solid support players Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and The Nightingale breakout star Aisling Franciosi, Eden Lake and The Woman in Black director James Watkins, under the ever watchful eye of horror producer extraordinaire Jason Blum, has managed to ensure that Evil overcomes many English language remakes inability to launch to create a well-made but undeniably mid-tier product that suffers from a lack of tension and unease found in the original and a brave but lacking last act change-up that won’t affect new viewers but will disappoint many who were shocked by where the original took them. 

Following the increasingly odd budding friendship of London couple Louise and Ben Dalton (Davis and McNairy) and their young daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler), who after a European holiday end up at the remote residence of fellow couple Paddy and Ciara (McAvoy and Franciosi) and their mute son Ant, Evil is the definition of a slow burn as these couples begin to butt heads with one another over a range of issues and occurrences that culminate in a way that probably ensures this is a one-off joint venture between the families. 

Built around awkward politeness, a longing to connect and how far one can go to keep the peace, Evil’s core themes remain in-tact in this reimagining but this version frequently suffers from lulls in proceedings and long-stretches without many pay-offs and is often overly reliant on the screen presence and menacingly off-kilter powers of McAvoy to help carry it along as the talented Scotsman continues on with that skillset he refined in the likes of Split to deliver another memorable turn here as the wild-eyed Paddy. 

Without McAvoy’s can’t look away from turn, Evil may have suffered the same fate as many fellow foreign language remakes, even more prevalent in the horror genre, where they stumble and fumble their way to the finish lines, yet while Watkin’s version of this dark and chilling tale has its moments in the sun, mostly this is a rather predictable and pedestrian affair, something the original version of this tale absolutely wasn’t. 

Final Say – 

Providing another joyous chance to watch James McAvoy ply his bad trade, Speak No Evil isn’t a typical remake write-off and will provide more interest for the many who may not have had a chance to see the 2022 original but overall it’s another middle of the road Hollywood horror that is unlikely to break out in any significant way. 

2 1/2 prized geese out of 5