By: Jerry Morrison

(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of shot-for-shot remakes. My biggest complaint with them is that, by their very nature, they’re unoriginal, predictable, and fail to have a reason for existence. Most shot-for-shots are cash grabs, plain and simple. The worst of the lot include dumpster fires such as Van Zant’s Psycho and 2006’s ultra-unnecessary remake of The Omen. However, there have been a couple of outstanding shot-for-shot movies, including Funny Games, a 2007 shot-for-shot remake, which stands as one of my favorite home invasion movies.

The recently released psychological thriller, Speak No Evil, is largely a shot-for-shot remake of a 2022 movie from Denmark, The movie centers around an American family who meet a Danish couple and their son while vacationing in Italy. Soon after their chance meeting, the Americans receive an invitation to spend the weekend in the north country with the Danish family at their out of the way home. What starts out as a weekend of relaxation and good times soon devolves into a twisted nightmare fueled with deciept and torture, both mental and physical. 

I make it a point in my movie reviews, especially of newer movies, to avoid spoilers. So, I make every attempt to mainly discuss only those plot points that are revealed in the movie’s trailers. I mean…who really wants to know the ending of a movie before watching it? That’s why I’m going to resist discussing the many plot twists that occur during Speak No Evil as it’s these twist that provide the movie it’s very essence. 

Where does Speak No Evil fare among the other shot-for-shot remakes? Let me examine it by taking a look at the good, the bad, and the meh of this psychological thriller.

The Good

One of the things that stood out for me with the 2022 movie were the outstanding performances. The same can be said for the remake, especially in respect to James McAvoy who turns in a creepy and memorable performance. He continues to impress with his choice of some really juicy roles and he, most certainly, chews up every scene he’s in. He has a talent of playing characters with many layers to their personalities, and in Speak No Evil, he plays Paddy with the charisma and darkness the role requires. He’s truly bad ass. But, he’s not alone. All of the other actors turn in stellar performances, especially the two child actors who excel in roles that have to be on the tougher side to play.

Another thing I love about this movie is director James Watkins ability to create suspense in, at times, very subtle ways. This isn’t an over the top chiller like The Conjuring or as brutal as your basic home invasion movie. The scares in Speak No Evil are a lot more beneath the surface. Watkins creates a creep tone from the first scene that simply shows a POV of a car being driven down a dark, country road, eerie music playing in the background. That’s not to suggest that Watkins doesn’t turn up the heat. It’s just that through his restaint, he’s created a psychological thriller that may stick with you for a while after seeing it.

As I said earlier, Speak to Me is largely a shot-for-shot remake of the 2022 Danish film. That’s because the first two acts replicate the original, scene for scene, but the final act deviates quite a bit. If you’ve seen the original, the ending in this one isn’t nearly as dark, but I found it to be a good change that will give this one a little more repeat viewing value than the original.  This ending alone is reason enough for Watkins’ Speak No Evil to exist.

The Bad

Movie fans, especially horror fans, are conditioned to accept a certain number of what I call the “what the fuck?” moments in movies. These are scenes where supposedly normal people do very abnormal things or make illogical choices. As a critic and movie fan, I’ve built up a certain tolerance for these “what the fuck?” moments, but there are a couple of decisions made by the characters in Speak No Evil make that defy any explanation one would make. 

For example, the American couple in the movie are having fidelity issues and are much more in need of couples therapy than a weekend in the country with a family that they don’t even know. This defies any rational reasoning with me. Another example occurs later in the movie and involves a choice made involoving a lost, stuffed animal. To avoid possible spoilers, that’s all I’m going to say about that scene but suffice to say, there are a couple too many “what the fuck?” moments in Speak No Evil. But, I had the same issue with the original. I guess that goes back to screenwriting and the need to have characters react in certain ways to allow the story to move along.

The Meh

If you’ve never seen the original, the first two acts should seem fresh and interesting. If you’ve seen the original, then the first hour or so of the remake is going to feel like familiar territory. I think it would have been interesting had they tried a couple of different variations in the beginning to make the movie fresh from the beginning until the end. As I said earlier, one of the worst qualities about a shot-for-shot remake is their predicatability for those of us who’ve seen the original. Sadly, the first part of Speak No Evil falls into this category, but is redeemed by a fresh and unpredictable ending.

In Conclusion…

Speak No Evil is a taut thriller, driven by a divine performance by James McAvoy. I’m fairly certain, North American audiences may be unaware of the 2022 original as it was a Shudder exclusive, but if you’re someone that likes psychological thrillers that turn out to be good, old-fashioned cat and mouse affairs, then Speak No Evil may be up your alley. 

Disturbing and even a little demented, it’s a movie that I plan on revisiting again in the future. It was quite the thrilling ride. If you enjoy the remake, I encourage you to check out the original which has a slightly darker tone (especially the ending). If you’ve seen the original and enjoyed it, I think you’ll find enjoyment in the remake as well. Speak No Evil is an early Autumn surprise that’s turned out to be a true sleeper.

Rated R/110 minutes

Starring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Scott McNairy

Writer: James Watkins

Director: James Watkins