Speak No Evil, Directed by James Watkins, is Blumhouses latest horror movie that shows us once again just how good of an actor James Macavoy truly is. Speak No Evil focuses on a family (a mother, a father, and a daughter) as they vacation with a group of people who are pretty much strangers to them. But as things get weirder and weirder they start to suspect they might be in danger. I was originally concerned about this movie because of its studio, Blumhouse. With pretty much all of their recent movies being duds, I was worried the strong plot and star power wouldn’t be able to carry this movie through. But after watching it, I can safely say not only did it carry the movie, but it was actually a really good time.
As a horror/thriller movie one of the most key components here is suspense, and I can say this movie does it pretty well. A lot of the suspense of this movie is built with James Macavoys character, Patty. Throughout the film, Macavoy gets progressively more frightening, and odd. Everything in this movie is built up to make us as viewers feel uncomfortable and stretch out the tension until it snaps in the third act. The only issue in this movie is that it occasionally fails to build up enough tension. There are a few instances when, rather than letting it sit and making us feel the danger of the situation, they release the tension with a joke. This causes some scenes to not feel as impactful at times, but for a majority, they are able to make up for it with the third act.
The overall plot of this movie is pretty basic. We’ve seen thriller movies of this kind before, and it doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table, but it is done better than most I’ve seen. However, this movie is a remake of a movie that came out about two years ago (also called Speak No Evil). The original is actually a Dutch film and only has one major difference. In the original, the two families don’t speak the same language. This language barrier is a really interesting concept and I can only imagine how much more tension it could build. I definitely think this was an awesome inclusion and I’m kind of upset they didn’t include it in the remake.
The performances in this movie are great. James Macavoy once again shows us his fantastic acting chops and demands attention whenever he’s on screen. Just to see his diversity of roles, from playing characters who are calm, cool, and collected like Charles Xavier, to now playing a character as terrifying and unhinged as Patty, is absolutely incredible. He is genuinely terrifying every time he’s on screen, and I think this role really highlights a lot of his strengths as an actor.
Finally, one thing I didn’t think I would cover in a review for a horror movie, is the humor. This movie is shockingly very funny, especially in the first two acts. Part of the plot of this movie is Patty trying to persuade the other family to trust him, and in turn, he has to be charming. This leads to a lot of jokes and one-liners that actually hit really well. I found that me and the rest of my theater were laughing frequently. The humor was used sparingly enough to not get old, but it did occasionally interrupt some tension as I mentioned previously.
Overall, Id give this movie a 4 out of 5. It wasn’t the best Blumhouse had to offer, but it was nowhere near the worst. With a stellar cast and engaging story, Speak No Evil is a really fun watch that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good thriller!
