TL;DR – Unnerving, unsettling, uncomfortable, and unpleasant, but given that was the intention of the film, I then have to say that it achieved what it set out to do.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Speak No Evil Review –

Well … phew … wow … today we look at a challenging film to review because I don’t think I have ever been this stressed watching a movie before. I am sorry for anyone next to me at the screening from the constant clicking of my pen. However, this stress was not a by-product of the film but the full intent of the filmmakers, which is what we will explore today.  

So, to set the scene, Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis), Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy), and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are all on a slightly stressful trip to the Italian countryside. Ben ripped his family from their lives for a new opportunity in London, only to lose his job when his company closed. Agnes has struggled with attachment issues, and it is clear that the parent’s relationship is under immense strain. However, one day, they meet up with Paddy (James McAvoy), his partner Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and child Ant (Dan Hough). The two families have a completely different vibe, but they bond in the face of Danish snobbery. At the end of the trip, Paddy invites the Daltons to visit them in the West Country, and they take them up on the offer. One long drive into the deep countryside, they come across a house full of possibilities, but it is also clear that something is not right.

Before we dive into the stress, I want to explore the parts of the film that stuck with me. First, the performances. There are no weak links in the cast, and everyone completely embodies their characters. James McAvoy is electrifying for the entire runtime, which, given the extreme swings he goes to, is saying something. Mackenzie Davis captured this person she was playing in such a way that it felt like I was watching a real person trying to process the world she was in, faults and all. Also, respect to the child actors for nailing what were complicated characters to portray.

Then we have the location scouts who have found such beautiful locations to make this film work from the charming Croatian countryside that beckoned to me at the start of the film. Then there was the house in the countryside that felt like it was birthed in an age gone by and layered with a life. Look, if that was a set, congratulations to the set designers because it felt like they just walked into a house out in the back end of England and asked to film in it. From a narrative perspective, I will say that this is based on a Danish film, but it is not a one-for-one re-make. It takes the setting, characters, and inspiration of the first film and then takes them in a different direction. However, it knows that you may have seen the first film, and it nods towards it in places to give you a false sense of security. They have also updated a couple of the points that have not aged well.

One of the tricky things about watching a film like this is that you, as an audience, know more than the characters in the movie. So, it is hard to detach that disconnect when you are watching, knowing what they are doing is a mistake, but also understanding that given everything they know, that is a valid choice. That does not always happen in this film, but generally, you know why they turned that car around when they should have put their foot down and gotten the hell out of dodge. Speak No Evil is a film all about manipulation, of a hunt where you bait a trap and then watch your prey squirm. On that front, the film excels.

However, with all of that said, I can’t in good conscience write this review, without talking about how the film made me feel. I was stressed for nearly the whole runtime, which dramatically ramped up toward the end, like making vocal utterances in the cinema due to the character’s actions, which is very much unlike me. There was this constant feeling of dread that the film masterfully deployed when it made you laugh uncomfortably, which made everything worse. Look, when I got home, I stress ate an entire tub of ice cream, and you can do with that information what you like.

In the end, do we recommend Speak No Evil? Well … look … This is going to be a film that some people will find stunning, and others will walk out of. You probably already knew where you were going to fall when you saw the warning at the top of the review. If you liked Speak No Evil, we would recommend to you Talk To Me.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Speak No Evil?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Speak No Evil
Directed by – James Watkins
Screenplay by – James Watkins
Based on – Speak No Evil (Gæsterne) by Christian Tafdrup & Mads Tafdrup
Music by – Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans
Cinematography by – Tim Maurice-Jones
Edited by – Jon Harris
Production/Distribution Companies – Blumhouse Productions & Universal Pictures
Starring – James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen & Motaz Malhees
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: 16; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R