Speak No Evil (2024) Review

 "What is wrong with you?"
-Louise Dalton

While on vacation in Italy, the Dalton family befriends Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their son, Ant (Dan Hough).  Paddy invites the Daltons to visit their farm in the British countryside.  The Daltons agree to go, but the weekend getaway slowly becomes more and more uncomfortable and escaping the farm threatens to turn deadly.

What Works:

All of the actors give really great performances.  Both McAvoy and Franciosi have great chemistry and, especially in the early parts of the film, they do come across as a really likable and loving couple.  They're both very charming until they're not.  As the film goes on, both of their performances become more unhinged and they absolutely kill it.  I also really like Dan Hough's performance, especially since the character can't speak.  Hough still manages to give a memorable performance.

Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy also do a great job, especially dealing with the past conflict between these two characters.  I like that they are very rarely on the same page and their arguments are some of the best acting in the movie.  

The first half of the movie is really interesting.  It's fun to put yourself in the place of the Dalton family.  They are staying at the house of virtual strangers and things get more and more uncomfortable.  It was fun watching for the moment where I would want to leave this vacation.  Lots of moments could easily be a simple misunderstanding or a culture clash, but where is the line where it becomes too much?  That made the first half really fun to watch.

Finally, I really enjoyed the 3rd act.  It was basically a reverse home-invasion movie at that point.  The characters do some awesome stuff to defend themselves and the conflict resolution is very satisfying.

What Sucks:

Obviously, the thing everyone is talking about with this movie is the trailer and how much it gives away.  Speak No Evil has some of the worst marketing I've seen in awhile.  The trailer gives away the most horrifying twist of the movie and removes a lot of the suspense.  It's one thing to know Paddy and Ciara are up to something, but to know exactly what they've done to Ant ruins a lot of the suspense.  There's a little bit more to it that's revealed in the movie, but not much.  I know that the director, James Watkins, probably had nothing to do with the marketing.  That's usually a completely different department, but it's still an unforgivable mistake from the marketing team that made the movie worse.  It's unfair, but reality.

Finally, the Douglas family makes some incredibly stupid decisions that make the movie occasionally frustrating.  McNairy's character, Ben, is the worst offender, but all three members of the Douglas family makes some very boneheaded movies that make you want to yell at them through the theater screen.

Verdict:

Speak No Evil is a well-acted and exciting thriller that I would have liked more if the marketing hadn't been so terrible.  The characters also make some very dumb decisions, but the acting is superb, the 1st half is really fun, and the 3rd act gives us an exciting and satisfying ending.  Even with the marketing, this movie has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good