Speak No Evil, written and directed by Christian Tafdrup, was one of the Best Movies of 2022, even though it had a limited release in the United States of America, streaming directly to Shudder the weekend after its release. Typically, it takes years for a film to build up an audience for other filmmakers to want to revamp it for a modern audience.
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As a Danish horror film, Blumhouse felt the need to take its ideas and quickly remake it for Americans. In an industry where it seems like everything is moving so much quicker, from theater films streaming the next week to mass quantities of films arriving for at home viewing, a two years later remake certainly became a new phenomenon.
Having the original so fresh in our minds, Speak No Evil (2024) had a giant hurdle to jump over when it comes to comparison. It succeeds in developing a similar tense sense of anxiety among its four main characters. Speak No Evil plays by its own rules enough to mirror what made the original successful, however it struggles to justify its own existence only two years later.
Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) meet couple Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) on vacation in Italy and become vacation friends during their holiday. Months later, Ben and Louise receive a postcard inviting them to Paddy and Ciara’s countryside house.
Deciding that it may divert their minds from their own marital and career issues, the two and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) arrive for a fun-filled week. When things get a little uncomfortable, Ben and Louise must reason whether Paddy, Ciara, and their son Ant (Dan Hough) just live a different type of lifestyle or if there is something more sinister at play.
Watkins’ redirection of Speak No Evil for American audiences shows his passion for the original in his ability to maintain the tension and unsettling nature of its predecessor. It is a constant struggle to watch the two couples interact, seeing clearly Paddy and Ciara’s “quirky” behavior that puts Ben and Louise off.
Just as Tafdrup was able to do, Watkins displays two people who slowly begin to dig their own graves, never wanting to stand up to or offend no matter what. Although it is difficult to watch these interactions (in a good way) it takes on our culture of sparring other people’s feelings rather than being open and honest.
In this way the film is decent, however its similarities to what made the original film work brings into question whether it needed to be remade. It goes without saying this version of the film is more physically accessible to audiences in its release but the major factor that seemed to promote its reimagining was that it was going from a Danish film to a US film.
Many Americans are turned off by foreign languages in a film and often opt for dubs or American remakes. Although this is a shame, it provides more context as to why this film is coming out again now but it lacks reasoning for its own existence because of its similarities in plot and screenwriting, especially so soon.
For a film focused on speaking the truth, rather than being weak and spineless, it decides not to venture into nihilistic territory despite its forward direction. It seems one small epiphany from Louise by the end of the film validates their fate by the end. However, as the original was able to show, this type of human behavior doesn’t change instantly. It requires a rewiring of the brain as it pertains to social norms and expectations.
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Having the characters not being able to achieve the film’s thematic undertaking, resulting in a nihilistic ending is what made the 2022 film so powerful. It achieves its grounding in the topic of appeasement versus strength, however it doesn’t follow through with an ending that drives this home. Instead, it operates the way a typical American mass audience film would, weakening its influence. Although Speak No Evil will be a fairly good time for many, it doesn’t differentiate itself enough to justify its own remake.
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