Speak No Evil

Plot

While vacationing in Italy, American couple Ben and Louise Dalton and their preteen daughter Agnes (who live in London) meet and befriend British couple Paddy and Ciara and their son Ant, who is unable to communicate verbally; Ciara tells them he was born with a genetic condition that manifested as a smaller tongue and aphasia. Once back home, Paddy and Ciara invite the Daltons to stay at their remote farmhouse in Devon for the weekend, and they accept.

Ben, Louise and Agnes are warmly welcomed, but as they spend more time there, they begin to grow unnerved by Paddy and Ciara's strange behaviour that often crosses social boundaries, as well as their aggressive treatment of Ant. One evening when the adults go out to dinner, Paddy rudely challenges Louise's vegetarianism and jokingly simulates a sex act with Ciara, shocking their guests. Later on during the night, Louise finds Agnes and Ant sharing a bed with a drunken Paddy and Ciara. Horrified, they flee from the house but they are forced to return when Agnes discovers she has forgotten her favourite stuffed animal, Hoppy.

Paddy and Ciara apologise for their behaviour and the Daltons decide to stay to keep the peace. However, their unsettling behaviour continues. Ant steals Paddy's keys and takes Agnes to a locked shed. Inside, there is a huge collection of luggage and personal possessions, as well as a photo album of Paddy and Ciara with multiple other families, revealing they are serial killers who lure families to their farmhouse, rob and kill them, then cut out the tongues of their children. Agnes fakes getting her first period and manages to get Louise and Ben alone to explain the situation. Horrified, the Daltons decide to leave calmly with the intention of coming back with the police later to save Ant.

Discovering their secret has been learnt, Paddy and Ciara, with the help of their accomplice Mike, sabotage their getaway and capture the family, forcing them to transfer their life savings before preparing to kill them and cut out Agnes's tongue. Louise attacks and injures Paddy, allowing the Daltons to flee into the house with Ant. In the ensuing chase and struggle, Louise kills Mike with a hammer and saves Ben before the Daltons escape to the roof, while Ciara attempts to shoot them with a shotgun. Louise hits her, causing Ciara to fall off the roof to her death.

As the Daltons attempt to leave, Paddy appears, holding Agnes at gunpoint. As Paddy declares his intention to replace Ciara with Agnes as his companion, Agnes manages to inject Paddy with a syringe of ketamine originally intended for her, incapacitating him. As the Daltons depart, Ant approaches Paddy, and after he accepts his fate by saying to Ant, "That's my boy", an enraged Ant bludgeons him to death with a brick while screaming, letting out all his pain and anger as the Daltons watch in horror. The traumatized family and Ant finally leave the farmhouse; on the drive home, Agnes gives Hoppy to Ant, who sobs quietly in relief.

Cast

James McAvoy as Paddy

Mackenzie Davis as Louise Dalton

Scoot McNairy as Ben Dalton

Aisling Franciosi as Ciara

Alix West Lefler as Agnes Dalton

Dan Hough as Ant

Kris Hitchen as Mike

Motaz Malhees as Muhjid

Production

James Watkins wrote and directed the film for Blumhouse Productions. It is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name. In April 2023, James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis were reported to be in the cast. The following month, Scoot McNairy joined the cast.

Principal photography took place in Croatian settlements of Grožnjan, Motovun and Kaldir, and in Gloucester, England, in May and was expected to end in July, before filming was suspended five days before it was to wrap up due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. In mid-November, production resumed in the United Kingdom, filming at Saxon's Lode Manor House near Malvern Hills, Worcestershire. The manor's architecture provided the desired English backdrop for the movie's tense scenes.

Release

Speak No Evil premiered at the DGA Theater in New York City on September 9, 2024, and was released in theaters by Universal Pictures on September 13, 2024.

Reception

Box office

Speak No Evil grossed $36.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $40.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $77.2 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film made a net profit of $50 million.

In the United States and Canada, Speak No Evil was released alongside The Killer's Game and Am I Racist?, and was projected to gross $10–13 million from 3,375 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $1.3 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $11.5 million, finishing second behind holdover Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. In its second weekend the film made $5.9 million (a drop of 48%), finishing in third.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 213 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Harnessing sick suspense from the glimmer in James McAvoy's eye, Speak No Evil is the remake that hushes up concerns of 'been there, done that.'" Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades

Dan Hough was nominated for the "Young British/Irish Performer of the Year" at the 45th annual London Film Critics Circle Awards 2024.