Speak No Evil - Non parlare con gli sconosciuti

Topic says it all. I really was curious how Hollywood would adapt the original, as it was one of the best real-horror flicks i have seen in years and one with a message. I still rate this remake with 6 stars, because everything was good: especially the actors, the screenplay etc., but the end is awfully bad compared to the original. If the original movie (crew) had the money and the actors from the remake, then it would have been something, you would not forget in years.

Hollywood simply has no balls to do such a movie, instead it created something that is pretty fast forgotten. Moreover it completely misses the message and the feeling you have, after the ending of the original movie. So it is just a cliche ending so typical for Hollywood, it makes me sad.

I just watched the new version of Speak No Evil and in typical fashion the Americanized version just had to change the ending that made the original absolutely incredible to watch as a horrorholic.

I didn't hate the 2024 version but it didn't have nearly the tension of the first. It didn't make you as angry as the first. It didn't make you wanna strangle all the actors like the first. And it didn't make you feel anything for the characters like the first.

As much as you can hate stupid naivety or pure evil in characters you still felt something for all of them in the first. The first 10/10 the second 6/10. And that's generous because it wasn't as awful as it could have been but really watch the original if you really want a good movie experience that will leave you reeling instead of oh well that happened.

The Wicker Man (1973), The Vanishing (1988), Speak No Evil (2022) - three exceptionally good European horror movies with chillingly dark endings. All of them have been remade by American film studios and this is the latest. I'm trying to imagine the thinking behind the process: 1. This movie has been really successful but it's foreign. 2. Americans don't watch foreign films. 3. If we remake it as an American film Americans will watch it. 4. The ending though! It's really dark. We need to rewrite that and give it an ending people will enjoy more! - Wrong, wrong, wrong! I like James McAvoy and he's excellent in this movie, easily switching between charismatically charming and unsettlingly sinister. All the actors are good. The film is coherent. The plot holds. It's suitably tense with an undeniably exciting finale. On balance it's a fine film but it's been stripped of many of the elements that made the original a success. There was a time, notably the '70s, when America made genuinely outstanding original horror films - The Exorcist, Halloween, The Omen, Carrie - but those days seem long gone. I honestly can't fault this film and I enjoyed it but I'd urge anyone to seek out the originals and enjoy what made them different.

While this version had scenes of good suspense and tension like the original, it seriously fell down in the last quarter and turned into a teen horror film with drawn out and boring cat and mouse scenes that culminated in a lot of nothing. A very predictable and uninspiring ending in the rewrite, collapsing the same way every American horror movie does. Ultimately this movie had very little to say and won't linger in your memory the way the original does. All it has to offer is the promise of a family secret, which once revealed, and in such a desperate way, has no idea where to go and falls flat.

No I'm not talking about McAvoy, but we'll get to that.

First act: The setup is masterful. Nothing big happens this entire act, yet I found myself smiling and intrigued. It's a perfect example of how you can still create intrigue without needing action, or even worse, without having an opening scene that spoils what happens later in the movie.

Second act: Okay, now the lack of anything big happening is becoming a detriment. We should be seeing some escalation, but it just feels like a lot more setup.

Third act: Escalation finally arrives, but not enough. The potential doesn't reach the heights to make it memorable. And there are a couple of idiotic character decision. One almost made me facepalm in the theater.

As for the husband played by Scoot McNairy, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a lamer husband in my life. I know it was intentional and it didn't hurt my enjoyment, but all I kept thinking is, "Man up, you little...."

Overall, this was a mildly enjoyable, single-viewing type of movie. The reason I feel disappointed is because it could have been awesome if they "went for it" more. But McAvoy is a beast.

(1 viewing, opening night 9/12/2024)