“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel
Movie remakes have been around as long as cinema itself. In 1896 Georges Méliès made a movie called Playing Cards, a remake of a movie of the same name produced by Louis Lumière which was released earlier that same year. It is a short film depicting a group of friends playing cards and drinking beer. Not exactly a thrilling start to the movie business but it’s important to remember, “Big things have small beginnings.”
Fast forward (Fun Fact: The term “fast forward” was first recorded as a noun in the 1940s. The earliest evidence of the verb “fast forward” is from HiFi/Stereo Review in 1965.) 128 years later and here we are on the verge of Speak No Evil, an American remake of a Danish horror film also titled Speak No Evil. If ever there was a movie that didn’t require a remake just yet, it would have to be this one, as the original premiered just two years ago in 2022. It’s particularly absurd considering a majority of the original film is in English. And yet here we are. They announced the remake, we all exclaimed “why?!” and Hollywood apparently took that as a big thumbs up. Who says Hollywood doesn’t listen to moviegoers?
Anyone who has watched their fair share of horror movies knows one succinct and salient fact and that is American made horror movies are rarely ever as unbridled as their foreign counterparts. American horror, while still brilliant and insane in its own right, foreign generated horror tends to reach its finish with far less oversight dictating what a more prudish and violence-averse person might condone as “too much.” It’s why when someone is looking to get a rise out of someone by showing them a shocking horror movie, the movie tends to be of foreign origin. Some of the most recommended horror movies that almost act as dare-to-watch viewing are Martyrs(abhorrent violence), A Serbian Film (DO NOT WATCH), The Human Centipede(Just gross), Cannibal Holocaust (Can NOT recommend either) and The Sadness (DISTURBING) to name a few.
Also on this list is the Danish original, Speak No Evil. I maintain the original is different from the others I just listed for several reasons but I think most important is this: while epically brutal and wholly unforgiving, the Danish version of Speak No Evil still allows for discussion. It leaves room for opinions and examination. It doesn’t ever feel vile to simply be vile. A Serbian Film, for example, feels as if some sociopaths got together with a singular goal of trying to see how much they could get away with. As it turns out, they could get away with quite a bit. Seriously, don’t watch it. Speak No Evil (2022) leaves its mark without question. It leaves you feeling squeamish and maybe even a bit disgusted by humanity while never forgetting to provide nuance. This is my long-winded way of saying it is exceedingly effective. Now, 2024, the American made, let’s call it an attempt.
From my limited research, this may be one of the fastest turnarounds for a remake in modern cinema at a meager two years between them. And based on my recent viewing of the remake, it would seem one of their greatest points of emphasis was avoiding the extremity of the original, particularly its undeniably cruel ending. When I see a change as drastic, and potentially unnecessary, as this I ponder how a movie like The Mist (U.S.) was allowed its shocking finish. I’m grateful for the creators’ bravery and commitment to the matter but still I think about it often.
Perhaps if I hadn’t seen the Danish version about a year ago I might be more accepting of this new version no one asked for. It’s difficult for me to separate the two and judge each of them as two movies connected by name and nothing else. I can feel the choices made to avert this version away from a similar fate the characters find themselves in at the climax of the original. Much of the 2024 version is packed with palpable discomfort and tension. It’s effective in a lot of ways but when it’s demanded of the story to truly earn its genre label of horror it lets go of the wheel and covers its eyes leaving its passengers, us, heading toward an ineffective climax with no one at the helm. I keep hearing the word neutered ringing around in my head.
I’m sure they will claim these changes are a means of making the new version more psychologically driven and less brutal. And to that I give an emphatic yawn. The original is packed with psychological terror and then ends it with very real, physical violence emphasizing the significance of the mind games committed by the film’s antagonists. Now the 2024 version does have a healthy amount of violence, particularly in the third act, but even then it feels pedestrian. I bet I could piece scenes from other movies together and create the same sequence of events as this uninspired remake. In the end I don’t think this is a movie I’ll ever have any interest in returning to, at least anytime soon. But this would feel incomplete if I didn’t give the movie its praise where it’s earned.
The most significant strength to 2024’s Speak No Evil is James McAvoy as the eccentric friendly foreigner. Of course there is more than meets the eye with this odd fellow and as time carries on we see his darker, more sinister side. He is quietly off putting with sudden moments of uncomfortable bursts of anger or frustration. He is brilliant at conveying a complete loss of his decency and then is able to immediately put on a face of confusion as to why people are reacting to him in such a repulsed manner. His portrayal of sociopathic behavior is unnerving to say the least.
Speak No Evil tells a deceptively simple story of an American family abroad in Italy who meet an odd but seemingly harmless couple from the English countryside. Feeling out of place they see this newly acquainted couple as a sort of safety blanket and so they keep in touch. Back home in London, the Dalton family decides on an impromptu visit to their new friends whose farm is within driving distance. On their isolated farm, this odd couple, along with their shy son, greet the Daltons with open arms and little to no filter. The Daltons, a more conservative, traditional family paradigm, begin to notice the behavior of Paddy and Ciara, the odd couple, is steadily becoming more and more unacceptable. It isn’t long before this discomforting long weekend of differing parental practices becomes something the Daltons might not survive.
The first two acts of this remake are exciting and surprisingly funny. The humor is always bizarrely tense. The violence is significant enough but rarely ever daring in its execution. It descends from psychological warfare in the beginning to rudimentary horror cat and mouse by its unimaginative finale. In a world where two Speak No Evil movies exist, I have to recommend the original every time. And for anyone that sees the remake first and is curious about the original, heed my warning: As I have clarified several times now, the remake, specifically the ending, is remarkably different and far less shocking than its Danish counterpart.
The 2024 version has its strengths, James McAvoy is naturally personable and when he snaps is a force all his own but ultimately it pales in comparison. It is in many ways a shell of its predecessor who is far more daring and boundary pushing. It never had to be as disturbing as the original but it needed something far more inventive and disquieting to close it out with a bang.
The original Danish version is currently streaming on Shudder.
P.S.
To all American horror writers and directors, please listen to me: It’s a horror movie, the good people, the heroes of your stories if you will, are allowed to lose. It isn’t a must but it does often make for a fantastic finish when the evil actually wins.
Rated R For: some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use
Runtime: 110 minutes
After Credits Scene: No
Genre: Horror, Drama, Thriller
Starring: James McAvoy, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi
Directed By: James Watkins
Out of 10
Story: 6.5/ Acting: 8/ Directing: 6.5/ Visuals: 6
OVERALL: 6/10
Buy to Own: No.
Check out the trailer below:
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