Making a remake to a movie released only two years ago in 2022 is ludicrous, right? Why do you ask? Well, you could say it is for a cash grab… unless the remake has something new to bring to the table.
The latter is the case with Writer/Director James Watkins’ (Eden Lake 2008, The Woman in Black 2012) Speak No Evil which was released September 13, 2024 from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions. In short, Watkins’ Speak No Evil is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name from Christian Tafdrup (read about the original here). The original, an award-winner at various festivals which fared pretty well on its own, arguably did not have the same shinny appeal as the American version; because the big studio version has a cast led by James McAvoy (Split 2016, It Chapter Two 2019) Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049 2017, Terminator: Dark Fate 2019) Aisling Franciosi (Game of Throne series, The Last Voyage of the Demeter 2023), Alix West Lefler (The Good Nurse 2022, Fire Country series) Dan Hough (Hollyoaks series), and Scoot McNairy (Blonde 2022, NightBitch 2024).
In Watkins’ version of Speak No Evil, Americans Louise and Ben Dalton (Davis and McNairy) with their daughter, Agnes (Lefler) are invited by Ciara and Paddy (Franciosi and McAvoy) with their “son”, Ant (Hough) to spend a whole weekend in a lonely home in the English countryside, but as the weekend progresses, they realize that a dark side lies within the family who invited them.
For the American remake, the setup is foolhardy in that the Daltons need very little persuasion to travel, with their daughter no doubt, to stay with a couple they barely know in a country, although beautiful, they know very little if anything about. If we are to believe this is set in the present day, this scenario more than likely would not happen because people are wary of others in the current climate.
Going into his role, James McAvoy said in an interview with EW he in some regards based his portrayal of Paddy on controversial Youtuber, Andrew Tate, with his over-the-top toxic masculinity while wearing a disarming smile. Incidentally, Killer Ted Bundy was said to be personable with a disarming smile too. Scary, right? Another inspired performance is Dan Hough as Ant. Essentially non-verbal with the exception of cries and grunts, Hough’s maturity shines with his physical acting. That in mind, another movie from 2024 with a young non-verbal character is Mila Lieu’s Alma in Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo, and she delivers a stellar performance.
Everything considered, the Speak No Evil remake is almost beat for beat like the original, that is until the third act with a few details peppered throughout. Effective in adding to the psychological horror elements… let us dive in.
The setting has been moved from Denmark to England. This might not seem big in the grand scheme of things, but, different country, different customs. Louise, Ben, and Agnes are out of their element away from friends and family. Anything happens, and it is on them to get themselves out of it. Tonally, everything seems copacetic in the beginning, but quickly goes off the rails as Ben and Louise decide to take Paddy and Ciara up on their offer to stay a spell with them. Paddy even has an infatuation with The Bangles’ 1988 hit, “Eternal Flame,” which he intentionally puts on while he and Ben are in the car alone. Ben’s expression shows he thinks it is off.
Paddy and Ciara do not necessarily look like one’s older than the other, but what is with Ciara wearing belly shirts and such? Sure, she could be a lure for Ben, although he and Louise have past issues; which in itself is different from Louise and Bjorn (Sidsel Siem Koch and Morten Burian) in Christian Tafdrup’s original. Given this, there is a fifteen-year gap between McAvoy and Franciosi, with McAvoy the senior. The writers seemed to have worked this fun fact into the story as you may or may not catch it way among other tidbits that tell things might be what they seem.
On the flip side, the dynamic between Ben and Louise, who appear at least close age-wise, are flipped with Louise seeming more dominant, not in a toxic way, mind you. When things go sideways, she and Agnes take control with ruses or plans of attack.
As mentioned, the third act is where this remake completely deviates from the original, and again, this comes down to location difference and sensibilities. James Watkins said in an EW interview he could not see the same outcome for an American audience; and he had already a similar end in 2008’s Eden Lake… which he did not want repeat. He not wanting to be repetitive is applaudable, not wanting to have a Shyamalan twist no matter how contrived it is, but each end is like night and day. This is where many will base their love or hate for the movie. Any other comparisons would be delving too deep into the plot, so you would not need to see the movie, but that would be defeating the purpose.
Aside from the insanely quick turnover from original to remake, 2024’s Speak No Evil speaks of perceived cultural differences in how people would react in an isolated situation of survival. Honestly, it says a lot about the individual directors. That is why Cryptic Rock gives this new version of Speak No Evil 4 of 5 stars.
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