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Speak No Evil (2024)

 

Speak No Evil is a thriller about a family terrorized by another family that invited them over for the weekend.

James Watkins' take on a thriller with political undertones has an odd balance. I would have put the film back in the editorial oven for another fifteen minutes. Regarding shots, they were 'interesting' and could have been a lot worse. He has learned more since The Woman in Black, but not too much. 

The writing makes you hate the villain played by the stellar James McAvoy but even more so the unheroic father. Scoot McNairy nails the weak, pathetic, and unsympathetic husband. He's even more beta having a wife played by the beautiful and former Terminator heroine, Mackenzie Davis. She's also a full two inches taller than him so it even further cements that she wears the pants in the relationship, but the dialogue has her playing the supportive wife.

Despite its writing flaws, Davis and McAvoy really put in work to make the film worthwhile to watch. Result: B+

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