Speak No Evil First Reviews Say New Film Is “A Refreshing and Bold Retelling”

Speak No Evil's first reactions have been floating around since July, and now the film is finally heading to theaters this weekend we have our first full reviews of the English-language remake of Christian Tafdrup's 2022 film of the same name.

James Watkins jumps into the director's chair on this one, co-writing the screenplay with original screenwriters Christian and Mads Tafdrup.

The cast includes James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen, and Motaz Malhees, and follows a family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house where their dream vacation quickly becomes a psychological nightmare.

In 2022, Speak No Evil landed a fresh score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes from 101 reviews, and 2024's rendition has now debuted on the site with a score of 89% from 44 reviews.

With the possibility of more reviews being added in the coming days, the score may rise or fall, but with a 5% boost from the original, it suggests the McAvoy-led film holds the same potential as the first.

"The critical changes to the original Danish film aren't a detriment to this Hollywood remake. Quite the contrary," says Ernesto Valenzuela at Discussing Film, "2024's Speak No Evil is a refreshing and bold retelling that is more than a worthy companion to the original film."

Many reviews also compared this film to its predecessor, with Cody Dericks at Next Best Picture saying, "Whether it lives up to the infamously upsetting original is a different matter, but on its own, Watkins' remake is a delightfully uncomfortable time at the movies."

Other praise included that of Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent (UK), who had praise for James McAvoy, saying he "[delivers] one of the most impressively repugnant performances of the year."

McAvoy also got his flowers from Alistair Harkness at The Scotsman. Harkness said, "McAvoy's ability to play someone who can plausibly charm or harm from one second to the next gives it an edge all its own."

Mostly, throughout the reviews, people pay compliments to this spin on Tafdrup's tale, but a running theme appears to be that it's not offering much more than the 2022 film.

Speak No Evil Review Roundup

• Time Out: The story's grimmest edges have been shorn off, despite Watkins teaming up with the Tafdrups on a retooled screenplay. Still, this alternative path is seriously unnerving in its own way.
• NME: An off-the-leash James McAvoy is a joy to behold, channeling the same twisted energy he mined for his addict-cop in Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth
• The Hollywood Reporter: Speak No Evil works best when it focuses on the Americans' escalating fears, and collapses near the end... But for a good three-quarters of the way, this Blumhouse production is an entertainingly elevated genre piece.
• Variety: McAvoy carries scenes through to some memorable ends, but Speak No Evil can't spin much lingering tension from his performance as it heads to an obvious destination. Instead, the driving performance of the film ends up coming from McNairy.
• Mama's Geeky: Reimagines the Danish film to be slightly more stomachable, but it is still intense and terrifying. James McAvoy was very clearly born for this role.