Speak No Evil

I am a huge fan of James McAvoy so I was really excited to finally have a chance to see Speak No Evil last night.  I am not familiar with the 2022 Danish movie upon which it is based so I can't compare the two but I really liked this remake.  Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) and his wife Louise (Mackenzie Davis), an American couple based in London with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler), befriend the free-spirited Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their son Ant (Dan Hough) while on holiday in Italy.  Paddy invites them for a weekend at their remote farmhouse in the English countryside and, at first, Louise does not want to go but she eventually capitulates.  She is immediately put off by Paddy's creepy lack of boundaries, his passive-aggressive behavior towards her (him forcing her to eat meat knowing that she is a vegetarian was very triggering because that has happened to me), and his unusually cruel treatment of Ant (who has a congenital defect to his tongue which limits his ability to speak).  When Louise tells Ben that they should leave, it turns into an argument about her recent infidelity so she ignores her concerns and once again defers to his wishes.  However, by the time they realize that they are actually in danger it might be too late for them to get away.  McAvoy gives a thoroughly entertaining and completely unhinged performance (I don't think I will ever listen to the song "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles in the same way again) that is a lot of fun to watch because he is so charismatic that you start to question if there really is a malevolent intent to his actions or if you are imagining it.  Davis and McNairy are also compelling, particularly when their characters try to justify staying in a situation that is so clearly wrong (I often felt the urge to scream at them to get out of there) because he is afraid of looking weak and she is afraid of being perceived as judgmental.  The action sequences in the third act are thrilling but I was more impressed with the way the tension slowly escalates in the second act because, even though it seems like the Daltons are going to be able to get away, Paddy keeps finding ways to keep them there and it is unsettling but absolutely riveting.  This is one of my favorite horror movies of the year and I recommend it to fans of the genre (and fans of McAvoy).