‘Speak No Evil’ review: James McAvoy is back in nightmare mode

A home invasion tale in reverse, Speak No Evil is one of the most chilling and effective horror-thrillers you’ll see this year. Ignore the generic-sounding title, because there’s nothing cookie-cutter about James Watkins’ remake of the Danish 2022 film Gaesterne, largely thanks to a gloriously unhinged performance from James McAvoy. The Scottish actor from Shameless and the X-Men franchise hasn’t had this much fun on screen in years.

The film begins in tranquil settings as couple Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) encounter another family on holiday. The boisterous Paddy (James McAvoy), a doctor, is soon encouraging them to join her, his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their withdrawn son Ant (Dan Hough) for lunch. By the end of the week, they’ve exchanged details and Paddy leaves an open invitation for Ben and the others to visit them at their country pile in deepest, darkest Somerset.

After some initial hesitancy, Ben and Louise decide a restorative week away from the city might be just what they need. But no sooner do they arrive than red flags start popping up all over the place. Initially, it’s small things, like the stained bed sheets that they’re made to sleep on, but these guests are far too polite to say anything. Paddy and Ciara also cook meat for their first night’s meal, forcing a morsel of this tasty bird upon Louise, who is vegetarian but doesn’t want to cause a scene (how very British).

Tensions build at a dinner in a local restaurant where Paddy goads Louise about her ethical food choices, proving that rural folk don’t all share the same fancy ideas as those from London. But things get increasingly bizarre when the near-mute Ant takes Agnes into his father’s bedroom and shows her a drawer full of expensive watches. Where do these come from? Why is Ant seemingly traumatised? And what on earth are Paddy and Ciara’s real intentions?

James Watkins, who delivered the supremely effective film version of The Woman In Black with Daniel Radcliffe in 2012, has been here before. His 2008 breakout movie Eden Lake saw Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly’s couple fight for survival against a band of feral kids. Speak No Evil feels like a spiritual cousin to that movie, while also borrowing from Sam Peckinpah’s classic Cornish thriller Straw Dogs, when Dustin Hoffman was forced to defend his turf against local aggressors.

The twist here is that Ben, Louise and Agnes aren’t on home terrain, but in the residence of those who will soon turn on them. The gruelling, violent final act really gets the blood pumping, as it dawns on Ben, Louise and Agnes that they’re in serious danger. All the cast play their parts, but an off-the-leash McAvoy is a joy to behold, channeling the same twisted energy he mined for his addict-cop in Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth. Touching on issues of class and the rich-poor divide, the result is a top-notch British thriller that’ll scare the bejesus out of you.