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Speak No Evilis the latest psychological horror thriller byBlumhouse.It’s a remake of a Danish horror from 2022,and the story sees an American family spend the weekend in the English countryside, with a family they met on holiday. However, things soon take a dark turn. James McAvoy takes the lead as the charming but troubled Paddy, and it also stars Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy.
Speak No Evilwas released worldwide byUniversal Pictureson July 28, 2025. Early reviews have been very positive, with a critics' score of 89% onRotten Tomatoes, as well as an 87% rating by audiences.It is projected to earn between $10-13 million in its opening weekend,so it looks like it’ll be another hit for Blumhouse.
Speak No Evil
Starring
James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen and Motaz Malhees
James Watkins, Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup
Directed By
James Watkins
Speak No Evilbegins with Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis) on their summer holiday with their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), when they strike up a friendship with a British family, led by the enigmatic Paddy (James McAvoy). When the holiday ends, the families go their separate ways, but Paddy invites the Dalton’s to come and stay with them in their cottage in the English countryside. Ben and Louise decide to accept the offer to get away from their dreary life in London, and they join Paddy, his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their mute son, Ant (Dan Hough), who apparently has a genetic condition.
The Dalton’s struggle to adapt to Paddy and Ciara’s eccentric lifestyle inBlumhouse’s new horror movie, and things clearly aren’t what they seem, with Ant seemingly trying to communicate a problem in a non-verbal way. Things get stranger when Paddy and Ciara invite Ben and Louise out for a meal, and invite their Syrian refugee friend, Muhjid (Motaz Malhees) to look after Agnes and Ant, without consulting Ben and Louise. During the meal, it transpires that Paddy and Ciara’s relationship had potentially sinister beginnings, and their public displays of affection make Ben and Louise feel very uncomfortable.
Later on, Ant shows Agnes his many scars, and while Paddy is asleep, he steals his keys and takes Agnes to the barn where there’s a trap door that leads to a room full of stolen goods and a photo album that features other families Paddy and Ciara met on holiday. One photo includes Ant, with his tongue intact, with his real family, who, it turns out, Paddy murdered and has been keeping Ant captive ever since, and plans to do the same with Agnes.
How does Speak No Evil End?
Agnes figures she needs to alert her parents of Paddy and Ciara’s true intentions, and fakes a period, by cutting herself elsewhere on her body. This gets the attention of her mother, Louise, and she is able to tell her about what Ant showed her. The family hatch a plan to leave, along with Ant. The family attempt to flee, but Paddy has deflated one of their tires and chucked Agnes' beloved stuffed rabbit onto the roof. The Dalton’s eventually get in their car and drive off, and plan to get Ant to open the gate for them so they can take him too, but Paddy opens it automatically, and as they are just about to leave, Paddy throws Ant into a nearby pond, which forces Ben to get out of the car and rescue him. He saves Ant, but Paddy is holding Louise and Agnes at gunpoint. Paddy takes the Dalton’s back to the barn, and forces Louise to transfer him all their money, and she asks him ‘Why us?’
Because you let us.
Louise manages to fight back, and badly injures Paddy’s face, and escapes with Ben, Agnes and Ant. Paddy and Ciara’s local friend, Mike (Kris Hitchen), turns up with his shotgun to help them, and begins shooting at the Dalton family. Ben and Mike get into a fight, but Louise turns up and hits Mike over the head with a claw hammer, and attacks Paddy with chemicals, which burn him, putting him out of action, while the family try to escape. However, Ciara is on the hunt for them, but they are able to throw her off the roof, killing her.
Paddy has showered the chemicals off him, and is back on the hunt, as Ben jumps off the roof to retrieve the ladder to get his family out of the house. As they try to escape, Paddy gets hold of Agnes, forcing Ben to drop his gun. However, Agnes is smart and managed to swipe the sedative Paddy was going to use on her, and jabs him with it, and he collapses. One of2024’s best horror moviesends with The Dalton family preparing to leave, with Ant, but the boy stops, and picks up a brick and smashes Paddy’s head in a fit of rage. With Paddy, Ciara and Mike all dead, Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant flee in the car.
