Speak No Evil (2022)
Speak No Evil
Starring Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Fedja van Huet, Karina Smulders
Directed by Christian Tafdrup
While vacationing in Italy, Danish couple Bjorn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch) - along with their young daughter Agnes (Liva Forsberg) - meet Dutch couple Patrick (Fedja van Huet), Karin (Karina Smulders), and their son Abel (Marius Damsley) who was born without a tongue. The couples hit it off, and after returning home Bjorn gets an invite from Patrick for his family to visit theirs in the Dutch countryside. They agree, but almost immediately they regret their decision as Patrick and Karin act very strangely, and things only get worse as the days progress. While they plan their escape, they might already be too late, as Patrick and Karin have very nefarious plans for the family.
Instead of relying on jump scares and cheap tricks, "Speak No Evil" relishes in making you feel totally uncomfortable for the length of the movie, as stunted silences, glaring looks, and uncomfortable moments litter the movie so often you can't help but wonder why Bjorn and Louise don't just pack up and leave the first night. But while that could be seen as a plothole, it's also something that touches the human psyche: Bjorn is infatuated with Patrick in a platonic sense, as Bjorn is a subdued, quiet individual who is controlled by Louise's temper, and Patrick is confident, self-assured, and speaks his mind. Bjorn looks up to him in a way, and as such is willing to overlook his many infractions on him and his family.
To add to that, there's the human condition of wanting to be accepted, and to be genuinely good people. Would you leave a party early if the hosts were acting a bit out of character, or would you stick it out because it'd be rude to leave? If you're invited to a friends' place for the weekend and they do things that come off as slightly strange - but not downright threatening - would you pack up in the middle of the night and leave, risking them finding out and being upset? It's not a cut-and-dry thing, even though we as audience members are literally screaming at the screen for them to duck out and run - but would we do the same in their predicament?
While I just said that's not necessarily a plothole, in the confines of the movie it kind of is. All they had to do was pack up and leave and then the movie would end, but they don't. They tough it out as the movie instructs them to, right to the very end. The major plothole, in my mind, is with Patrick and Karin's kid Abel, who knows something is obviously wrong. While he can't speak, he could at least write, or do sign language, or something to tell the family the potential danger they're in, but he doesn't. Again, it could be some deep psychological hold they have over him, but coming from an observing audience member I was expecting something else to happen.
Those are minor nitpicks in all honesty, as director Christian Tafdrup combines everything a psychological thriller movie has into a cohesive whole. The script is tight and filled with tension. The performances are top notch. The music by composer Sune Kolster is jarring and leaves a sense of foreboding dread with every note. The cinematography by Erik Molberg Hansen makes the house look menacing and terrifying even in the daylight, but once night falls it's downright chilling. The ending - as mentioned before - is shocking and intense, and had my hand over my mouth in gasped shock. Hopefully the American version will do it justice, but it's got a high bar to cross.
The Score: A
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