Originals and Remakes week comes to a close with the American version of Speak No Evil. Coming from the original Danish film to this version, I knew there would have to be some significant changes. Not least of which because they cast James McAvoy in the role of the guy that secretly turns out to be creepy which is difficult because McAvoy absolutely exudes menacing creep at all times. It’s why he made such a perfect Professor X.

The beginning of the film plays out much the same but now it’s an American family living in London on holiday in Italy and they meet a British family. Once they return home and get the invite; Ben, Louise and Agnes agree to go spend a weekend with Paddy, Ciara, and Ant in the countryside. Where the plot begins to change is that this version of the film puts much more initiative in young Ant to try to warn the new family that everything isn’t as it seems. Polite society still manages to keep them there longer than they should have but the American nature of it all means that the way everything plays out in the end is much different than the Danish one.

The runtime on this one is about 20 minutes more than the original and most of that is adding in a much more elaborate ending to the film as well as a more nuanced backstory for the American couple and some hero moments for the young boy. I think all of it ends up being necessary to both create something that isn’t just a strict recreation of the original and also to flesh out some of the moments that felt like they needed it. So often in the first one you do end up thinking about why the boy doesn’t at least attempt to warn the family at all and why is it that the father is so willing to be such a pushover for this other family. Having Ben be unemployed, living in another country, and having discovered his wife was sexting another man makes it so his desperation to be accepted by this “cool guy” he looks up to makes so much more sense.

SPOILERS for the end of both films here. The biggest difference here is that the original movie ends with the couple’s sad acceptance of their fate and literally just lying down and dying rather than fighting to save their lives or their daughter. This movie ends with a standard good ol’ American showdown with improvised weapons, intense struggle, and good winning over evil. The original is obviously much more depressing and more of a commentary on how we are willing to debase ourselves in the name of not making a fuss. While perhaps more feel good at the end to see the bad guys die, you lose a lot of the impact that the original ending has. This version feels so American because it is both much more entertaining in its spectacle but also hollow in the way that it placates the audience that everything is going to be fine.

Much like Dark Water, I think this is a case where remaking it for Americans made it more interesting to watch but not necessarily better.

Score: 3.5 out of 5