Movies News Talk
The remake of Speak No Evil, starring James McAvoy, is risky due to a key feature from the Danish original. The film marks James McAvoy's comeback to horror and is released just a few years after the 2022 horror film of the same name. The well-received original Speak No Evil was a foreign language picture, but its English remake removes some of the original's most horrifying and effective aspects.
The original Speak No Evil follows a Danish and Dutch family that meet on vacation. The Dutch family asks the Danish family to visit, and they communicate privately in their own languages. As a result, the language barrier plays a significant role in the film's plot. An English-language remake can offer new insights, but removing the portion that relied on private conversation may result in the loss of much of what made the original so effective.
Although Danish and Dutch are spoken, the original Speak No Evil is primarily in English. This is because the two European families do not understand each other's languages. The film also does not include subtitles for the Dutch family, immersing the audience in the agony of being away from home and unable to communicate with your hosts. These are successful and significant elements of Speak No Evil that cannot be duplicated in a remake centered on an American and British family.
Given that the original picture is also very fresh, it's unclear what a Speak No Evil remake could bring. The plot is mostly unchanged from the original, albeit the director has stated that the new Speak No Evil would be more psychological. However, major names like James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis may be enough to get people to at least watch the story that Speak No Evil's original film sought to tell. The film could still succeed because spectators, particularly those unfamiliar with the original, may find the film's marketing and casting enticing.
Even though language is less of an impediment this time, the new film may take use of the opportunity to explore cultural differences and relationships between Americans and Brits. It will also be intriguing to watch how the remake's new setting, a British country estate instead of a Dutch country house, will affect the film's ambiance and cultural references. Speak No Evil is about cultural differences between Danish and Dutch people, and not speaking the same language further divides those families.
Despite the fact that the Speak No Evil remake does not appear to be essential, it has the potential to attract a new audience to the cinema. The attractiveness of well-known performers, as well as the possibility of setting it in a completely new locale, could help to modernize the original picture. However, just because the original Speak No Evil has some foreign language does not exclude it from being enjoyed.