‘Speak No Evil’ Review: An Unnecessary and Toned-Down Remake

2022’s Danish film Speak No Evil is a deeply disturbing dive into the horrors of extreme people pleasing and the lengths some people will go to make sure the others around them don’t feel uncomfortable, despite how they may feel themselves. It’s dark, bleak, and shows the worst possible outcomes of this social anxiety. In just two years time, Blumhouse has come up with their own remake of the horror film with James Watkins as director, and for the most party it follows the same trajectory as the original but changes up the third act in a way that tries to differentiate itself but ultimately downplays its themes and disappoints in its delivery. Speak No Evil is an unnecessary and toned-down remake that has little to say.

Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis) are vacationing overseas with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) where they befriend the charming and confident Paddy (James McAvoy) and his wife and son, who ends up bringing some excitement back into their lives. The Dalton’s eagerness to please their newfound friends leads them to visiting their secluded farmhouse for a weekend getaway. The situation slowly grows more and more uncomfortable as their personal boundaries are pushed to the absolute limit and then some. There is something far more sinister behind Paddy and his happy-go-lucky family, and the Dalton’s are about to find out.

Speak No Evil is all about anxiety. Ben, Louise, and Agnes are all anxious people. Ben has no confidence. Louise can’t properly tell Ben how she feels about their relationship. Agnes cannot go anywhere without her stuffed animal for comfort. They are a family who are all not living their best lives, but it’s not terrible either so they’re a going with the flow without ruffling any feathers. For them, that’s better than dealing with the anxiety that come with confrontation.

That anxiety is transferred directly into audiences as Paddy tests their limits of just how far they will go to not be bothersome. Louise is a vegetarian but Paddy cooks a roast for dinner when they arrive and offers her to taste the best cut despite knowing full well she doesn’t eat meat. Rather than politely decline, Louise takes a big bite as to not insult them or be perceived as a bad guest. It doesn’t really occur to them that it’s possible for Paddy to be a bad host. But he does it with confidence so it seems like he’s in the right. Watching it all go down you just want to scream at them to get out of there, but their anxieties keeps them frozen at the farm. Every time they manage to get a little bit of distance between them, something pulls them back in and it starts all over again.

The original Danish film is an unwaveringly bleak exploration of this anxiety. The Blumhouse remake starts off pretty similar as a straightforward adaptation, but the third act turns into a mediocre slasher horror that slowly lets out all of the anxious gas that has been building throughout the film rather than letting it pop for one final terrifying scare. The original will haunt your dreams for years to come. This version simply gets lost among the rest of the horror films of the year. There are moments where it’s fine – James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis deliver some decent performances – but it doesn’t hold a candle to where it takes its namesake from.

Speak No Evil would have worked better as its own standalone thing. But by remaking a barely two-year-old film, it already sets similar expectations. Ultimately it’s a lackluster attempt at exploring social anxiety and feels unnecessary given how well the original film handled its themes. Rather than do something new or different, Speak No Evil holds its tongue, resulting in an underwhelming horror film that doesn’t hit as hard as it could.