Speak No Evil: A Remake That Dares to Fight Back

The 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil was a brutal exercise in audience endurance—a horror movie whose power came from watching characters refuse to fight back against obvious evil due to social conditioning. Many Americans found its nihilistic ending unwatchable. So how does a Hollywood remake address this?

Director James Watkins threads the needle carefully. For much of its runtime, this Speak No Evil recreates the original's queasy tension—the micro-aggressions, the boundary violations, the slow realization that something is deeply wrong with hosts Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi). The discomfort of social politeness weaponized against guests who know they should leave but can't bring themselves to be rude.

McAvoy is extraordinary as Paddy—charismatic, volatile, and genuinely menacing. He plays the role with maximum intensity, creating a villain who's terrifying precisely because he seems to genuinely enjoy the game. The American leads, Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy, are excellent as a couple whose politeness nearly destroys them.

The key difference comes in the final act, where the remake diverges significantly from the original. Without spoiling, the American version gives its characters agency—a decision that will please audiences who found the original unbearable while potentially disappointing those who valued its uncompromising nihilism.

Both versions work for different reasons. This Speak No Evil is perhaps less intellectually pure but more emotionally satisfying—a crowd-pleasing horror movie that still delivers genuine tension and a magnificent villain.