Movie Review
Horror film Speak No Evil is a different kind of scary
Scoot McNairy and James McAvoy in Speak No Evil.
Blumhouse Productions has become the premier horror movie company over the past 15 years, starting with 2009’s Paranormal Activity. Over that time they have made all types of scary movies (along with the occasional non-horror), ones that range from silly to gory, ones that will haunt your dreams to ones that are more psychological in nature. Their latest, Speak No Evil, falls in the latter category, playing with perceptions in a way that may not please everybody.
Based on the 2022 Danish film of the same name, it follows Louise and Ben Dalton (Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy), an American couple living in London who, as the film begins, are on vacation in Italy with their daughter, Agnes (Alex West Leifer). There, they meet Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Francioni), who are staying at the same hotel with their son, Ant (Dan Hough). After hitting it off, the two couples soon agree for the Daltons to visit Paddy, Ciara, and Ant at their rural home in Ireland.
The visit to Ireland starts off well, but Louise and Ben soon start to feel uncomfortable with a variety of things. Paddy and Ciara’s attitudes toward parenting put the two couples at odds, especially when Paddy is overly critical of Ant, who they say is mute due to a congenital tongue condition. More and more is revealed as the story goes along, with each disclosure seemingly worse than the last.
Written and directed by James Watkins, the film is light on horror but heavy on personal drama and explorations of the human psyche. It might cause more than a few discussions among married couples about what they would do in a similar situation, as much of the story revolves around how people often hide their true feelings for the sake of being polite. Louise’s discomfort comes well before that of Ben, who’s often willing to give Paddy and Ciara the benefit of the doubt, but both of them bite their tongues until it proves impossible to hold back.
The enjoyment of the film by individual viewers will depend on their appetite for scary things. While Paddy and Ciara come off as strange, especially compared with the buttoned-up Louise and Ben, Watkins relies more on the building of tension instead of outright frights for the majority of the film. There’s an explosion of that tautness in the final act, but the time it takes to get to that point may not be fully satisfactory for some.
Instead, the film is character-driven, with the clashing traits at the heart of the drama. Louise and Ben are still struggling to come to terms with their recent move to London, and the stress of that and other marital issues colors many of their scenes. Paddy and Ciara seem to be gaga over each other, but there are signs of cracks that belie their free-spiritedness. The truth is easier to find between the two kids, although Ant’s condition prevents him from being fully forthcoming.
McAvoy has the ability to go from utterly charming to outright terrifying in no time at all, and his performance is what drives the film to be as engaging as it is. Davis is great at showing disbelief or outrage, and she makes sure the audience never trusts Paddy and Ciara. McNairy makes Ben into someone who’s especially timid, giving the chameleonic actor another level to play. Francioni is not as well-known as the other three main actors, but she holds her own.
While the killing and gore is kept to a minimum in Speak No Evil, it succeeds because of the way it pits its characters against each other psychologically. Blumhouse continues to show that they know multiple ways to make horror films, including the awfulness of not knowing when to confront someone over behavior you don’t like.
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Speak No Evil opens in theaters on September 13.
The Fort Worth section nods to Texas Motor Speedway and the Fort Worth Herd.Photo courtesy of ABC
The Glen Rose section has dinosaurs.Photo courtesy of ABC
The Mach family with Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse.Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach
