SPEAK NO EVIL
Starring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, and Dan Hough
Director: James Watkins
KATIE
Had I not seen the trailer for Speak No Evil countless times, the slow deterioration of the increasingly sinister situation would have been more impactful. That said, it's still brimming with awkward tension, sometimes unbearably so. My patience eventually wore thin with the characters’ stupid decisions, but this effectively highlighted the extent to which they would go to preserve social etiquette and expose the weaknesses in the couple’s relationship. Above all else, James McAvoy is incredible, and it's worth seeing for his powerful performance alone, which veers from endearing and warm to sinister and malicious with a subtle flash of a sickeningly menacing grin.
PAIGE
The Speak No Evil remake never pushes its own boundaries, which is odd for a movie all about pushing boundaries. Though it is a solid thriller with a strong ensemble, especially James McAvoy's amazingly unhinged performance, it lacks suspense and doesn't really offer anything new. It’s essentially a shot-for-shot recreation of the Danish version, which has more to say about its subjects. The original also leaves a longer lasting impression on its audience than what we are left with here. It's by no means a terrible movie, and my criticism probably would be less if I hadn't just watched the original film so recently.
AMARÚ
You may not think it, but Speak No Evil is a banger of a crowd pleaser that is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. Spurred by a “how the fuck do we keep forgetting how amazing this man is” performance from James McAvoy, I haven’t had this much fun in the theater all year. Combined with its sparing use of music, it’s a steadily increasing ball of unnerving squirms and nervous laughter that had me continuously guffawing and exclaiming with my fellow moviegoers. The climax isn’t as tense as its creepy build up, but sometimes it’s about the journey isn’t it? This journey had me dying!
PRESTON
This is not entirely the fault of the writer-director James Watkins, but I hated the protagonists. The incapable, sniveling husband and over-righteous, hypocritical wife made me glad for their comeuppance. Plus, given the spoiler of a trailer, the film is just too damn predictable. James McAvoy is as creepy as you might expect, but any tension that is built is quickly deflated by the tame violence and pure stupidity of the victims’ actions. Overall, an entertaining film that doesn’t live up to its own hype or potential.
QUENTIN
Had I gone into Speak No Evil completely blind, it likely would have ended up with a higher rating. The movie is built on a delightfully unhinged, “keep ‘em guessing” performance from James McAvoy, except if you’ve seen any of the trailers, which (in Germany, at least) were shown nonstop, there isn’t much to guess. The marketing pretty much lays out the entire movie for you. So, the first hour, which should be a slow-burn of simmering tension blandly exists before lazily heading into a finale filled with generic and standard home invasion tropes. McAvoy is great, but the trailers shot this movie in the foot.
