Speak No Evil

An increasingly unnerving & uncomfortable psychological horror that invokes an air of unease from its opening scene and ultimately descends into an inescapable nightmare, Speak No Evil hints at dark machinations at play even when nothing is happening and makes deft use of the genre elements to deliver a film that's wicked, unforgiving, gut-punching & downright nihilistic.

Co-written & directed by Christian Tafdrup, the premise is simple but the setup isn't hurried as Tafdrup takes his time to acquaint us with the families before disturbing details start surfacing. While it isn't difficult to figure out where the plot is headed and how the unraveling events may play out, it doesn't make the ride any easier as the sense of discomfort only escalates with zero respite.

Brimming with an atmosphere that builds up quietly and is smothering in its intensity once the intentions become clear, the film also benefits from its disconcerting score that forewarns the audience of awaiting malice with its foreboding tracks. The actors chip in with solid inputs but the Danes making awful choices even after several red flags does hurt our investment in them and it only gets worse later.

Overall, Speak No Evil intends to shock, provoke & upset its viewers with its brutal take on the extent to which people choose to stay polite in the face of misdeeds & unpleasantness and at times end up playing an incriminating role in their own torment. And the film takes that idea to the extreme in the finale which will frustrate some. In short, this Danish chiller is a harrowing blend of The Strangers, The Invitation & Funny Games.

This is a peculiarly brutal horror-thriller centered on a Danish family visiting new acquaintances in Holland, who turn out to be more than they can handle. Starting from such a minimalistic and low-key premise, the team builds up its characters through several layers of tension, toward a grand finale, all the more horrifying for being perfectly predictable.

The writing is well-paced, concise and visual, and the characters, their inner life and the tension among them is captured in a few elegant and subdued strokes. The two male leads are particularly impressive, the one providing a great 'on-the-edge' character, the other a particularly subtle rendering of midlife crisis, peppered with masculine insecurities, class issues masquerading as culture shock, and fantasies of authenticity.

The wives are get less air-time but both offer relatable and credible performances. The kids both have thankless roles and the movie might have cured me from ever wanting to start a family.

Finally, the sound is also unusually interesting for a film of this type, for example when setting the mundane hell of adulting, against ominous orchestral music.

This is a very subtle and subdued horror thriller, which has all the qualities of Nordic cinema and few of its defects.

The film has a great start. The WTF moments start to appear here and there and you get on that "what the hell is going to happen" ride and you enjoy it as a viewer and you think you are in for a treat. The first part of the film has plenty of these to drag you in, leave your room and be there with them and feel those subtle signs that something is very wrong and then I hated it, worst victims ever.

1st half - it was so uncomfortable to watch that I loved it; 2nd half - the victims have ruined that amazing atmosphere built in the 1st half.

Overall, I am just disappointed because it had the potential to be a great horror film without ghosts, evil spirits just mean intentions and pure terror.

It's a 6 for me just for the 1st half.

Slow, manipulative, lies, provoking, ambivalent, awkward, tough watch, pure evil.

***This movie is based on danish culture, and I can understand why some people wouldn't know whats going on or what the point of the movie is. But I will try to make an effort and explain it in short terms***

First of all the movie takes it's time building up suspension. It knows how to manipulate the audience, and it works. Especially if you are danish. The danish couple in this movie acts like most danes normally would in awkward situations. It makes the movie very realistic. The danes would be polite as long as they only FEEL something is wrong. A bit naive maybe, and I think thats what the director is trying to tell us. The danes tend to feel safe, cuz they live in one of the most safe countries on earth and therefore they normally wouldn't be suspecious or think people would harm them. They would see the misunderstandings as culture differences and try to be polite and get the best out of their stay. They wouldn't see that they were being manipulated.

In the first half of the movie the danes gets the sense that something is wrong with the dutch family, but they won't let it affect the mood. But when they SEE something wrong they begin to speak up. The second half of the movie is where the crazy things begins to happen. It's a tough watch, so consider yourself warned.

A good story that reminds us all that it's good to be polite and kind to others. BUT don't allow it to blind you from red flags or anything that could be dangerous to you or your loved ones.

Which is fitting for the title "speak no evil", as the family tries it's hardest not to say anything to offend their new friends or speak badly of them.

It's frustrating to watch at times but if you can remind yourself of the Intent of the film and it's message. It becomes less frustrating.

Overall though a good horror movie to watch, as long as you don't mind seeing children getting hurt and pretty damn dark moments.