Speak No Evil (2024)

Plot of Speak No Evil: Louise and Ben Dalton are on holiday with their daughter Agnes in Italy. They re trying to get together after Louise’s infidelity and Ben has lost his job. Out there they meet a couple Paddy and Ciara with their son Ant, who is unable to speak. Back in UK they are invited by letter to visit Paddy and Ciara in their remote Devon farmhouse, and decide to go, thinking it might improve things between them. Once there things seem to go well, but gradually they become uncomfortable as off key events take place, and finally when Louise finds Agnes in their host’s bed they decide to leave, and in the dark sneak off. But Agnes has left her soft toy, and refused to go on without it. Returning they are discovered by Paddy and Ciara and are persuaded to stay. Later Ant takes Agnes to  shed on the farm and shows her shelves full of people’s possessions, and a photo album where it becomes clear that the hosts are serial killers, who cut the tongues out of the child of the victims and use them in future plots. Back in the farmhouse Agnes alerts her parents, but can they escape?

Content: There is no nudity, but Ciara pretends to give Paddy a blow job at the dinner table. Almost constant drinking mostly of wine and cider, with occasional smoking of pot. In Italy the British couple are very charming and attractive, but once in the isolated farmhouse they are occasionally threatening and often unpleasant to Ant. Paddy gets drunk at times and is just a bit threatening to the Americans, often telling them to tell the truth. In the end Louise tells him that because of her infidelity they are not getting on and probably the marriage is at an end. Finally there is tension and violence as all is revealed.

A View: This outing was well thought of by the critics and has made quite a bit of money, when related to the suggested $15 million budget. The early part of the film, in Italy and the parts of the film in Devon are still interesting even though nothing much is happening, although I never quite got to like any of the characters. Once things ramp up it is pretty engrossing, although we were left thinking that the British police service can’t be much good. Billed correctly as a psychological thriller, so worth going to the cinema to see if you like that sort of thing.

Fun Fact: The finale of this film differs in a way I can’t reveal from the Danish original.