Everyone knows that Hollywood has a habit of remaking non-American films to adapt certain stories to their narrative styles. These productions usually take a long time to be released or approved, but this is not the case with Speak No Evil (2022), a Danish film directed by Christian Tafdrup, which, even after just 2 years of its release, already receives an adaptation produced by Blumhouse. But is Speak No Evil (2024) just a copy of the original? Or does it manage to establish something new with the basic premise? This is what I will discuss in this review.
Directed by James Watkins, Speak No Evil (2024) tells the story of the American Dalton family, who, after moving to the United Kingdom, decide to vacation in Tuscany, where they meet an English family who invite them to spend a weekend at their country house. But what seemed like a peaceful and friendly trip turns into a deadly nightmare.
James McAvoy. This is the name that elevates Speak No Evil (2024). Not only for his commercial appeal but also for the strength he exerts on screen. Here he personifies a frightening person, but always in a subtle way, where he needs to hide this side to create good impressions. However, when he needs to explode, he does so in the most macabre way possible. The way James Watkins handles this character is of unparalleled quality, because while we become fond of his welcoming persona, we know that it is just a mask. A mask that hides a monster.
But James McAvoy is just one of the many instruments Watkins uses to create a tense atmosphere. But it is curious how this atmosphere is often disguised. We know something is wrong with that family, but we are deceived by the way the director guides us through the protagonist’s (Ben Dalton, played by Scoot McNairy) perspective, who constantly denies the signs of threat. However, when Watkins intends to centralize these signs in the narrative, it not only becomes evident that something will go wrong, but we also hope and rationalize ways for everything to end well, because unlike the original film, this remake makes a point of giving development arcs to its characters, making us easily attached to each one of them.
However, if Watkins chose to develop these characters, it was consequently necessary for him to sustain the suspense for a longer time, which ends up leading this narrative to prolixity in a good part of the film, more specifically in the second act.
At least the ending is quite pleasant, not only for the conclusion that the story in general receives but also for the way Watkins closes each character’s arc, making them develop in the face of their individual and collective problems. Some will cite the ending of this remake as “less courageous” or something of the sort, due to the bias it takes in the final stretch, being more direct in the way it reconciles horror with the plot, but I think that in both films, the creative decisions make total sense with what was presented throughout the narrative.
It is interesting to put the Speak No Evil films side by side and analyze how both, despite using different means, have the same degree of depth in the issues addressed in their subtexts, about taking action and how we should impose ourselves in the face of problems in our lives.
Speak No Evil does not fall into the group of remakes that merely copy the source material. James Watkins delivers a chilling, tense film that brings his own vision to this story and makes it as interesting as the Danish work, even if he uses a more direct and familiar language to the audience.
Speak No Evil releases in theaters on September 13.
