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SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away the entire plot of 2022’s original Speak No Evil, so don’t we didn’t speak up to warn you before you read on.
I will never forget the first time I watched the original Speak No Evil, which depicts a Danish family’s troubling visit with a Dutch family they met on holiday. A social media post describing the thriller as one of the most shocking and upsetting films in a while sparked my morbid curiosity, so I used my Shudder subscription to give it a try. While it is certainly a slow-burn horror movie, the payoff it leads to is, indeed, a distressing and scarring experience that cements it as one of the best horror movies of 2022, in my opinion.
With an upcoming Blumhouse movie based on director Christian Tafdrup’s masterpiece coming soon, I figured I would be brave, face my trauma and revisit the film that inspired the new horror movie about an American family’s troubling experience with an English family. I must say that even with what I know now, it is still every bit as maddening and stomach-churningly bleak as I remembered. Prepare yourself for the American version of Speak No Evil — coming to theaters September 13 — by reliving (or discovering) the Danish shocker that started it all through my own experience below.
An Early Dinner Sets Up The Film’s Thesis
I felt that Speak No Evil was a horror movie worthy of an Oscar nomination for the ingenious ways the screenplay by Tafdrup and his brother Mads sets up the story early on. For instance, the thriller’s main theme is established in a simple and even forgettable scene between the main Danish couple, Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), and a couple of unnamed friends that I realized upon rewatch was one of the film’s most important moments.
They discuss the unusual invitation they received from Patrick (Fedja van Huêt), Karin (Karina Smulders) and their son, Abel (Marius Damslev), to bring their daughter, Agnes (Lisa Forsberg), for a weekend at their Holland home. They are hesitant because they only met them once in Tuscany, but the friends tell them that it would be “impolite” to decline such an invitation. Jumping through hoops to not seem impolite and avoid conflict, even to one’s detriment, is the main idea of the film, as Tafdrup reflected in an interview for RogerEbert.com.
The Ominous Score Is Very Telling
Another detail I especially admire about the early dinner scene occurs when one of the unnamed friends asks, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Right then, Sune Kølster’s score, which had been relatively subtle up to that point, hits a particularly eerie note that gradually intensifies as we cut to a shot of Bjørn, Louise and Agnes on a ferry heading for Holland.
From then on, the score remains quite infrequent until it reaches its absolute peak of intensity during the equally intense climax. However, if not for the early appearance of Kølster’s music, you might not have been able to anticipate the film’s bleak turns.
I Would Never Leave My Child With A Strange Man I Met Seconds Earlier
Other than the score, the first blatant sign that something is off with Patrick and Karin occurs when they blindside Bjørn and Louise with plans to leave the children home while they go out to eat. They are informed of this only after the arrival of a man named Muhajid (Hichem Yacoubi), whom Karin talks up as a trusted babysitter for the neighborhood. Louise is clearly uncomfortable with this, but says nothing.
I am currently not a parent, but I cannot imagine myself staying silent in this situation. If I was Louise, I would tell this Muhajid that I mean absolutely no disrespect, but his services will not be needed because either our children go to the restaurant with us or we are not leaving. It is actually difficult not to be mad at Louise for not speaking up but, luckily, her redemption comes soon enough.
Even Before Patrick’s True Intentions Are Revealed, He Is Revolting
I must give Louise credit for calling out Patrick for his rude behavior, which is unbelievably frustrating to watch even without knowing what sort of cold-blooded psychopath he really is. To be frank, calling him “rude” is generous and more accurate words would be smarmy, belligerent, manipulative, appallingly invasive and abusive.
He ignores Louise’s vegetarianism (or, “pescetarianism,” as he corrects her) and belittles her for it, uses the restroom while she is in the shower, coerces Bjørn into paying for the entire meal at the restaurant, and carelessly drives them home drunk. The worst is when he and Karin invite Agnes to sleep in their bed whilst naked and, later, when he berates young Abel for not dancing in rhythm, going as far as throwing a ceramic mug at him in protest. It is then that Bjørn finally stands up to Patrick, too.
Bjørn Almost Idolizes Patrick
Until Patrick abuses Abel in front of him, no matter how discomforting their situation becomes and how many times his wife voices her concerns, Bjørn remains quiet and seemingly unfazed by his guest’s behavior. At face value, it seems ridiculous that he would tolerate these sorts of actions, but when you take a deeper look at what kind of person Bjørn is, it makes perfect sense.
The scene when Bjørn reveals to Patrick that he feels some dissatisfaction in his day-to-day lifestyle as a husband and father coincides with his implied aspiration to be the kind of freewheeling alpha male that he sees Patrick as. It is a fascinating commentary on modern perceptions of masculinity vs. the more old-fashioned perception and how actually living the life of a family man might affect that opinion.
If It Were Not For That Damn Bunny…
Being a family man obviously requires putting aside your own interests, which is also symbolized in Speak No Evil in the two times Bjørn drops everything to retrieve Agnes’ precious stuffed rabbit, Ninus, when she cries over its absence. The second time this happens, however, is when the he and Louise are attempting to quietly leave Patrick and Karin’s house early in the morning, and the girl believes it is still there.
Knowing how things later end up for the family makes Agnes’ discovery that Ninus is under her seat unspeakably infuriating. Of course, I am not blaming her for their fate, but it is so sad to think of how close they were to freedom, only to be lured back into Patrick and Karin’s trap all because of a mistake involving a toy.
The Most Upsetting Final Act I Have Ever Seen
Having seen many horror movies, I am, admittedly, a bit desensitized to certain kinds of graphic subject matter, especially if I am watching a film for the second time. And yet, watching the last 30 minutes of Speak No Evil was still hard to stomach, and I imagine it will be no matter how many times I see it.
Seeing Bjørn find evidence that Abel is one of many children Patrick and Karin have stolen from other vacationing families before finding the boy lying dead in a pool is shocking enough, but watching them cut out Agnes’ tongue in front of her parents before stoning them to death in the middle of a quarry is devastating beyond words. Patrick’s chilling response to Bjørn asking why he is doing this (“Because you let me”) will stay with me forever. Even if you could pick up on the clues and predict the twist, nothing can prepare you for the sheer brutality of the film’s final moments.
The trailer for the new Speak No Evil suggests that writer and director James Watkins is going in a new direction with the ending, and a part of me actually hopes it does have a not-so-hopeless conclusion, especially because the best horror movie remakes tend to avoid copying their predecessors too closely. What I do hope more than anything from the American update, though, is that James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and Aisling Franciosi honor the original characters with strong performances that keep us speaking about it long after.