‘Speak No Evil’ movie review: James McAvoy lights up this host-from-hell shocker

A still from ‘Speak No Evil’

Trailers are really the wickedest things, especially in Speak No Evil, where having watched the trailer every Friday from forever, you know James McAvoy’s character is superbly dodgy. Though that twist is killed thanks to the trailer, Speak No Evil is so cleverly written that one is permanently on the edge of one’s seat, watching as the unsuspecting family get pulled into a cesspit of dreadful terror.

Adapted from Christian Tafdrup’s eponymous 2022 Danish film (the bleak ending has been changed), Speak No Evil starts with an American couple, Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) vacationing in Tuscany with their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler). They meet a charismatic English couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough), who has a speech impediment.

The two families get on well, and once they return to England, Paddy invites Ben and Louise to spend a weekend with them at their country house in the North Country. Though Louise has some reservations (we, who have seen the trailer, silently urge her to listen to her gut), they go anyway.

Louise is uncomfortable, on many levels, from being forced to eat Libby the goose (especially killed for the occasion, despite Paddy knowing she is vegetarian) to the mysterious stain on the bed covers; Ben tries to explain it away as cultural differences.

A still from ‘Speak No Evil’

Paddy reveals himself to be unpredictable with a possible cruel streak. Paddy forcing Ben to pick up the tab after inviting them out to dinner to his friend Mike’s (Kris Hichen) restaurant, and leaving the children with a unknown babysitter Muhjid (Motaz Mulhees) unsettles Ben and Louise.

Ant is desperate to communicate with Agnes, who at first does not understand… and when she finally does, is so shocked that her parents almost do not believe her. Will they be able to get away from their aggressively charming hosts?

McAvoy is mesmeric as the charismatic and sinister Paddy, conveying swathes of disquiet with a mere glint of his eye. Director Watkins, who has also written the screenplay, drops hints of the horrors to come and those that have already taken place. There is mention of the obsession with showing one’s fake best versions for social media and the importance of honesty.

There is not a scene, frame, sequence or snatch of dialogue that is extraneous. Everything in the film is there for a reason. Ben and Louise’ back-story is also implied — they are not just nameless screaming victims.   

Cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones has created a visual stunner right from the opening scene where his handling of the many sources of light, from the headlights of the car, the dashboard light and the reflection of the boy’s face in the rearview mirror, to the porch light of the farmhouse, is masterful.

Speak No Evil is that rare horror film that chills to the bone without too much gore, echoing what Paddy says in another context — what we imagine is a thousand fold more than what we can do. Truer words have not been said, mate!

Speak no Evil is currently running in theatres