Speak No Evil - Non parlare con gli sconosciuti

While this version had scenes of good suspense and tension like the original, it seriously fell down in the last quarter and turned into a teen horror film with drawn out and boring cat and mouse scenes that culminated in a lot of nothing. A very predictable and uninspiring ending in the rewrite, collapsing the same way every American horror movie does. Ultimately this movie had very little to say and won't linger in your memory the way the original does. All it has to offer is the promise of a family secret, which once revealed, and in such a desperate way, has no idea where to go and falls flat.

A holiday overseas with wife and daughter, leads to friendship (with another family of three) when out on a sunny saunter, back at home a card arrives, come and see how well we thrive, spend a night or three within, our bricks and mortar. You take up the invitation and set off, unaware of just how this couple like to trough, or indeed how they behave, and the trinkets that they crave, if you did, it may just cause a mighty scoff. It's fair to say that your encounter's like no other, it doesn't end in the same way as Danish brother (or sister), which is a shame as that was better, it was unshackled and unfettered, leaving the viewer with more than, drainpipes and a gutter.

James McAvoy is brilliant, alas the ending isn't - watch the Danish version for that.

Speak No Evil is a 2024 psychological horror remake starring James Mcavoy as Paddy, a English father who invites a American family to come to their house and relax, however not everything is all it seems from the new Blumhouse feature.

While getting most of the aspects on point from the 2022 foreign film of the same name, Speak No Evil does create a good level of tension while exploding into a violent climax which is a good aspect regarding the film's strong point as a psychological horror flick. The American family are very likable and very realistic when it comes to some of the more tense scenes of threat, you do really sympathise with them in general and throughout most of the runtime you do also get to see some of what there views are on the other English family. At first they think it's a new way of bonding with their new home but as the film progresses there perspectives slowly change and it makes you think if they will ever recover from the horrific things they have witnessed so far which does add a level of clarity and dread to the film's dark tone and that's very good.

Acting-wise, very top notch for a Blumhouse feature nowadays as James Mcavoy really is quite terrifying but funny at the same time. He is very identical. He reminds me of Jack Torrance from The Shining, very maniacal and twisted figure that has his comedic elements scattered throughout, I thought this was quite a interesting thing that I might notice but I think Paddy was a little bit different though just because of his charming aspect rather than a downward spiral of Jack's character's.

Overall, while quite a solid entry into the Blumhouse library, the fatal flaw of this thriller is the lack of homage to the original film which really should be respected, but it seems like this entry does completely avoid some aspects which a remake shouldn't do unless it has a good reason to. But it's still a worthy, fun watch for a evening night.

Grade: A Next film: Big shark.

No I'm not talking about McAvoy, but we'll get to that.

First act: The setup is masterful. Nothing big happens this entire act, yet I found myself smiling and intrigued. It's a perfect example of how you can still create intrigue without needing action, or even worse, without having an opening scene that spoils what happens later in the movie.

Second act: Okay, now the lack of anything big happening is becoming a detriment. We should be seeing some escalation, but it just feels like a lot more setup.

Third act: Escalation finally arrives, but not enough. The potential doesn't reach the heights to make it memorable. And there are a couple of idiotic character decision. One almost made me facepalm in the theater.

As for the husband played by Scoot McNairy, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a lamer husband in my life. I know it was intentional and it didn't hurt my enjoyment, but all I kept thinking is, "Man up, you little...."

Overall, this was a mildly enjoyable, single-viewing type of movie. The reason I feel disappointed is because it could have been awesome if they "went for it" more. But McAvoy is a beast.

(1 viewing, opening night 9/12/2024)

Topic says it all. I really was curious how Hollywood would adapt the original, as it was one of the best real-horror flicks i have seen in years and one with a message. I still rate this remake with 6 stars, because everything was good: especially the actors, the screenplay etc., but the end is awfully bad compared to the original. If the original movie (crew) had the money and the actors from the remake, then it would have been something, you would not forget in years.

Hollywood simply has no balls to do such a movie, instead it created something that is pretty fast forgotten. Moreover it completely misses the message and the feeling you have, after the ending of the original movie. So it is just a cliche ending so typical for Hollywood, it makes me sad.