‘Speak No Evil’ movie review: James McAvoy lights up this host-from-hell shocker

‘Speak No Evil’ is a rare psychological horror film that quietly chills to the bone without too much gore or creep chords while cleverly relying on the implied and imagination to effectively do the heavy lifting

Trailers are really the wickedest things, especially in Speak No Evil, where having watched the trailer every Friday from forever, you know James McAvoy’s character is superbly dodgy. Though that twist is killed thanks to the trailer, Speak No Evil is so cleverly written that one is permanently on the edge of one’s seat, watching as the unsuspecting family get pulled into a cesspit of dreadful terror.

Adapted from Christian Tafdrup’s eponymous 2022 Danish film (the bleak ending has been changed), Speak No Evil starts with an American couple, Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) vacationing in Tuscany with their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler). They meet a charismatic English couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough), who has a speech impediment.

The two families get on well, and once they return to England, Paddy invites Ben and Louise to spend a weekend with them at their country house in the North Country. Though Louise has some reservations (we, who have seen the trailer, silently urge her to listen to her gut), they go anyway.

Louise is uncomfortable, on many levels, from being forced to eat Libby the goose (especially killed for the occasion, despite Paddy knowing she is vegetarian) to the mysterious stain on the bed covers; Ben tries to explain it away as cultural differences.

Paddy reveals himself to be unpredictable with a possible cruel streak. Paddy forcing Ben to pick up the tab after inviting them out to dinner to his friend Mike’s (Kris Hichen) restaurant, and leaving the children with a unknown babysitter Muhjid (Motaz Mulhees) unsettles Ben and Louise.

Ant is desperate to communicate with Agnes, who at first does not understand... and when she finally does, is so shocked that her parents almost do not believe her. Will they be able to get away from their aggressively charming hosts?

McAvoy is mesmeric as the charismatic and sinister Paddy, conveying swathes of disquiet with a mere glint of his eye. Director Watkins, who has also written the screenplay, drops hints of the horrors to come and those that have already taken place. There is mention of the obsession with showing one’s fake best versions for social media and the importance of honesty.