— Why did you do this to us?
—Because you let us do it.
The exchange perfectly sums up Speak No Evilthe Danish original and the American remake. These words are spoken in both productions: the first, directed by Christian Tafdrup, was released in 2022; the second, which is being released these days, is directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black). But despite their many similarities in situations and dialogues, the two feature films are completely different in tone (which is intentional) and in their impact (which is a shame).
The Danish film, a biting social satire, is a very, very slow-burning work that builds unease before exploding in your face in its final minutes. Speak No Evil new (Don’t say anything in French), also a critique of social conventions and current trends, is a generic horror drama which, let’s stop the comparisons here, is slow to get going before unleashing itself in the third act in a double rupture: change of pace (welcome) and change of tone (poorly managed), while the tension becomes action and the psychological thriller turns towards very dark comedy.
It all begins with a holiday in Tuscany. An American couple (Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy) living in London with their little daughter (Alix West Lefler, credible) meet a British family (James McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi and the young Dan Hough, convincing). The former are going through a marital crisis. The latter, who seem to be on a perpetual honeymoon, invite them to spend a weekend at their isolated property. There, quietly, everything degenerates. And not just a little.
McAvoy Madness
James McAvoy, who had a great time playing the psychopath in Split And Glass by M. Night Shyamalan, literally exults here. He terrifies and, when necessary, makes laughs (and many other things) burst out. With the mad look of Jack Nicholson in The Shining Stanley Kubrick and the (over)developed muscles of the Hulk, he carries the film on his shoulders. At his side, Aisling Franciosi (The Last Voyage of the Demeter) plays the seduction card to the full, but also knows how to pull out the duplicity card.
Facing them, the Canadian Mackenzie Davis (Station Eleven) plays the archetype of the preppy girl stuck in her principles (it’s funny) until this superego implodes in “Ramboesque” excesses (it’s very funny). Next to her, Scoot McNairy (Twelve Years a Slave) is frozen until the end in his role as a weakling making bad decisions. This is intentional and well assumed. Then comes the last act in the form of a domestic apocalypse. The quartet, solid, then seems left to its own devices by the director. As if James Watkins, who had until then done a diligent but conventional job, suddenly gave all the space to his star. And forgot to direct the others.
This is how the 2024 version of Speak No Evildespite its deliberately shocking twist and because of its finale “ made in USA “, will quickly blend into the mass of films of the genre. Two and a half years later, the original Speak No Evil still haunts those who saw it — without knowing what awaited them.