James McAvoy steals the show as Paddy in Speak No Evil. Photo / supplied
James McAvoy steals the show as Paddy in Speak No Evil. Photo / supplied
James McAvoy, a one-time Mister Nice Guy with terrific range, is superb as the complex, multidimensional psychopath in this excellent thriller about the perils of making new friends on holiday.
Speak No Evil, the English-language remake of a 2022 Danish psychological horror of the same name, begins in a gloriousItalian hill town where a holidaying American couple (played by Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis) meets-not-so-cute with boorish British holidaymakers Paddy (McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their taciturn young son.
As the parents hit it off over glasses of Chianti and confessions of middle-aged angst, the wild-eyed, fun-loving Paddy invites the London-dwelling Americans to come and spend a bucolic week in his West Country farmhouse.
A very black comedy of manners ensues at first, with clever and painfully realistic dialogue that skewers everything from vegetarianism and environmentalism to differing parenting styles.
But it’s soon clear there’s more at stake here than just drunken arguments over plates of home-killed goose. Tensions are slowly and deliciously ratcheted up as out-of-towners Ben and Louise realise their idyllic weekend in the country is turning sour.
British director James Watkins already has a couple of creepy movies under his belt, which feel like stepping stones to this extremely accomplished nailbiter. Eden Lake in 2008 told the tale of a young couple on holiday who encounter a band of threatening youths, and his rendition of The Woman in Black demonstrated a knack for gothic horror.
Here, Watkins capitalises on McAvoy’s recent acuity playing the “crazy criminal”, following his multiple-personality serial killer in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. The Scottish actor has a stunning ability to subvert expectations mid-sentence with a sudden twitch of his jaw and hardening of his eyes.
McAvoy totally steals the show here, but Davis’s tight-jawed Louise and emasculated husband Ben (a brilliantly feeble McNairy) make the perfect foil, particularly as Paddy recites the famous Philip Larkin poem This Be the Verse during a nerve-racking dinner party.
As the story ploughs towards its brilliant and bloody climax, it’s a helpful reminder that sometimes hell really is other people.
Rating out of five: ★★★★½
Speak No Evil, directed by James Watkins, is in cinemas now.
