Speak No Evil (2024) (Movie Review)

Speak No Evil (2024) The first one, the original, was pretty correct! Not politically, that’s for sure! In French, it had been translated as ‘Ne Dis Rien (“Don’t say anything” or “Don’t say a word”)’, whereas the perfect translation would be ‘Ne parlez pas du mal’.

When I watched the 2022 film, I had James McAvoy’s face in mind, because I knew he was playing in this remake. I could see him in both male roles, although I knew which one he’d undoubtedly been cast for. Good old James! We know when to call on him, in any case! That said, I would have liked to see Javier Bardem in this role too. But given that he’s already terrorised and traumatised everyone in No Country for Old Men (2007) and Perdita Durango/Dance With The Devil (1997), among others, he had to avoid certain roles!

Here, an American family living in London spends the weekend at the dream property of a charming British family they met on holiday. In the original, a Danish family befriends a lovely Dutch family on holiday in Tuscany. There’s also a little nod to the Danes in this film. Before watching this film, I asked myself “But why make a remake just two years later? To make it even more violent? Or add pseudo-justice?” And I also said to myself that this time, the Americans have really made a big mistake in terms of their ego, that it was frankly quite clear that they want to appropriate the most important works of other countries and that it’s a shame, because they really do have the talent to make good original films. You just have to make an effort to do that and directors don’t always want to.

But I was quite wrong. What’s more, the film isn’t American! It goes without saying that those who adored the 2022 version and thought it was a masterpiece will not appreciate this remake and will cry “Scandal!” As far as I’m concerned, they complement each other and it’s as if the same story happened differently in two places around the world, in this case two places in Europe. As a result, I preferred this version, even though I didn’t really want to relive the story, but I wouldn’t have liked it as much without having seen the one that helped create it.

Ahhhh! All these remakes! Funny Games or Spoorloos (The Vanishing), etc. Let’s talk about them a bit, since Speak No Evil is comparable to those two films. It has the same unease as Funny Games, although Funny Games (1997) and its remake Funny Games U.S. (2008) – both directed by Michael Haneke – are unbearable from the start. These films all have the same impact: you don’t come away unscathed. These images and stories leave an indelible mark on you for the rest of your life.The other film with a similar atmosphere is Spoorlos – The Man Who Wanted to Know (1988). Yes, that Franco-Dutch film that was remade as The Vanishing (1993). The same kind of trap that closes, the same kind of hopeless film. Details of the last 20 minutes reminded me of Get Out (2017). Inevitably! But there are other films in this genre whose names escape me.

The director, James Watkins, who had made an episode of Black Mirror (Shut Up and Dance) also created ‘The Lady in Black (2011)’, which wasn’t a success, given that it repeated all the clichés about ghosts, which ended up being tiresome, and that Daniel Radcliffe wasn’t really expressive in it. On the other hand, the most sadistic, jaded and twisted among you loved Eden Lake (2008). I relatively hated it, although I’ve re-watched it once or twice for the few interesting details that drive some of my more important debates. Watkins also wrote the screenplay for The Descent 2 (2009), although the first was more than enough.

This English film based on the Danish film is gripping from the start. There’s no time to get bored. You get caught up in this nightmare at the same time as the main family. We ask ourselves lots of questions. Most of the time, we’d probably have the same reactions as they do…But injustice and bad luck take over, unfortunately. Then there’s weakness and politeness, which become downright cowardice. Here we discover how to sink into horror and get the worst possible holiday. Being too nice can certainly be disgusting in these situations.

Christian Tafdrup, the director of the original, is also an actor and, hard as it may be to believe, he has acted in a comedy. So either he got fed up, didn’t like the experience and said to himself ‘Never again!!!!’ Or maybe he’s really capable of playing several sides. He explained that he had also been invited by some people he didn’t know, who seemed very nice and benevolent, but that he preferred to decline the offer. But he began to imagine the worst and imagined everything that could happen in a situation like that. That’s how he came up with his ideas.

Apart from the fact that it’s a thriller, this film does a good job of showing us all the problems of communication, particularly the worries that gnaw at couples. We’re not the same as a couple or in public. We’re not the same with our friends or our family. We don’t bring up our children in the same way. Children don’t all get along just because they’re children. The same goes for adults, they’re not all made to be able to communicate in a civilised way. Many of us don’t express what we really feel or think. We choose cowardice, hypocrisy and diplomacy, and that’s a shame. At what point should we respect ourselves? At what point can we leave our host’s house and slam the door? What are our limits? They are different for everyone, but not having any limits can quickly put you in danger, depending on the ill-intentioned people you find yourself with. For those who don’t think this film is a thriller, it’s all in the unease of the situation. Right from the start, there’s a trap closing in.

A thriller doesn’t have to be about a masked killer lurking in the shadows, breaking down closed doors and tying up and torturing his victims. That’s where the horror starts. Nor is it necessarily a serial killer who looks like a serial killer. Anyway! We’re not going to explain genres and sub-genres. Anyone can do their own research (if they feel like it, of course!) into cinema and its history and draw their own conclusions.

My Rating