This is not Blumhouse’s year. They’re 0 for 4 so far, with Night Swim, Imaginary, AfrAId, and now Speak No Evil. While the latest film from Blumhouse is easily the most watchable of their 2024 offerings, is “bland and forgettable” really the bar they want to set here? Maybe next year will be better.
Speak No Evil is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name. It comes to us from The Woman in Black director James Watkins, and stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, and Aisling Franciosi. I’ll say this much: the stars are definitively the best thing going for this one.
Much like the original, the film centers on a family who meets another family while vacationing in Italy. The couple, Patrick (McAvoy) and Ciara (Franciosi), invite their new friends Ben (McNairy) and Louise (Davis), and their daughter Agnes to stay with them and their son Ant at their home in the English countryside. What seems like a pleasant gesture soon devolves into an uncomfortable series of events leading to sinister truths about who Patrick and Ciara really are and what their true intentions might actually be.
If that sounds like every thriller ever it’s because this watered down American version treats its subject matter like so. There’s nothing remotely interesting or chilling about this one. Frankly, I can think of no cinematic sin greater than that of a tepid thriller being downright dull in the most predictable and conventional ways.
Watkins’ script and his direction feels like a lot of contrived hoop jumping with twists that don’t feel twisted, and a by-the-numbers setup, payoff, and execution. At least the original had the benefit of leaving you unnerved by its cynical finale. This version reeks of studio notes from executives pushing for a “Hollywood” ending in fear of a negative CinemaScore value from an audience desperate to see the good guys win. And it’s true that American moviegoers typically don’t prefer movies with darker finales, but they also don’t like dumb movies either.
From beginning to end, Speak No Evil feels dumb and focuses on characters that continuously make bad decisions to dig the holes they’re in deeper. The premise seems obvious from the very beginning, and moments, intentionally or not, seem silly with conflicting tones. From the moment we’re introduced to Paddy and Ciara they’re already pretty off-putting. So why anyone would agree to spend a weekend alone with them is astonishing. I understand there’s a bit more subtlety to them in the original, and they’re meant to be charming. That’s not to say they aren’t given moments of charms in this version, but I wouldn’t have made the decision (several decisions) Ben and Louise make throughout the movie based on how they’re depicted in the beginning of this film. I don’t know if a lot of this is intentional, but if so, it was a bad choice, since we need to be believably convinced that this couple would make the decision to visit and stay with this other family. I just couldn’t reconcile why in my head.
There are several moments where I feel like the film doesn’t know if it wants to be an intentional comedy, an unintentional comedy, or a jet black thriller. Moments like Paddy breaking out into song, singing “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles in the car while staring into Ben’s eyes feel incredibly goofy, and undercut any sense of tension and discomfort we’re supposed to have as an audience. I must say, it was a bit of a head scratcher. I suppose it’s meant to convey that Paddy and Ciara get off on screwing with this couple. But it really just felt silly to me, and left me confused more than anything.
However, that’s absolutely not any of the actors’ faults. It’s more to do with the direction, writing, and choices than anything. In fact, the performances are solid across the board. In particular, McAvoy is the dominating force carrying the film. He’s stunning. Any charm the character of Paddy is supposed to have is only somewhat believable because of McAvoy’s charm. On the opposite side of it, he’s also terrific at conveying menace, having pumped himself up for this role, and tapping into the incredible versatility we saw in Split and Glass to help create many of the most tense moments in the film. It’s the actor carrying the script here, and creating tension with every line delivery. That’s because he truly is a terrific performer.
I’ll also give credit to Davis, who I’ve been a fan of for some time. In a film with characters who are just stupid and unlikable, she’s the closest thing we have to a character with something of a brain, and she has one of the most badass scenes in the film. She’s saying things we’re thinking aloud, she’s just mostly not doing anything about them. Again, this is the subpar writing more than her performance. Does she elevate the script? Perhaps not to the extent McAvoy does, given her character is a lot less interesting. But she does what she can to play whatever the voice of “reason” is in this film with a sense of toughness that her counterpart, McNairy’s Ben, completely lacks.
On a technical level, there’s nothing really that remarkable about this film. The cinematography is nothing to write home about, and the score is par for the course for this genre. Naturally we’re not coming to a schlock-fest like this expecting high art, but much like the film itself, it feels complacent being conventional.
Overall, it’s not like Speak No Evil is horribly offensive. At least not in the way a movie about evil pool water is (sorry I just can’t let that go). But it’s just… there. It’s a bland movie, that fails to thrill or intrigue, and that’s the one thing a suspense film should do. McAvoy does everything he can to save it with a terrific performance. But I just can’t help but think I’ll have a better time whenever I watch the original. I wanted to be shocked and unsettled by this, but by the end of the film, I was simply bored. The only thing memorable about this cheap and easy thriller is its use of “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles. That’s simply because that song, unlike this film, has actually left a true impact.
Overall Score: C