Speak No Evilwas originally a Danish film that was released in 2022, from Profile Pictures and Oak Motion Pictures. Despite the movie being almost entirely in English,Blumhouse picked up the rightsto distribute a remake in North America. While the two differ in some small ways, the ending is where things truly go off the rails. Otherwise, they both follow a family of three who get roped into another trio and then things go badly.
What horror fans may be most curious about is whether or not they should see both. In terms of pure ratings, the 2022 version is around 84% on RottenTomatoes, while the 2024 is a hair ahead at 85%. Is one better than the other thus making the existence of twoSpeak No Evilmovies in two years seem frivolous? It’s a good question with a clear answer. So, let’s go through these movies with spoilers on.
6The Ending: Remake
Do You Like Brutal Or Happy Endings?
Let’s jump right into the ending as that’s where the two movies differ the most. In the original, Bjorn and his family seemingly escape Patrick’s place after he discovers the garage full of photos and Abel dead in a pool. Unfortunately, their car gets stuck in the mud leading to Patrick’s team catching up to them. They manage to kidnap Agnes after cutting out her tongue and then they stone Bjork and Louise to death, while they are nude, in a big mine pit.
It’s a dark ending but the remake has a happier one whicha lot of horror remakesoften do. Not only does Ben and his entire family survive, but they also save Ant. All the villains die and the most satisfying part is when Ant bricks his kidnapper, Paddy, in the head until he is a wet pile of goo. That’s dark too but it’s not without reason.
5Getting To Know Our Heroes: Original
There’s More Time At Home
The two movies open mostly the same with the two herofamilies on vacationbefore meeting up with their later antagonists. What the original does do well is fill out the lives of Bjorn and Louise at home. They seem fairly happy between grabbing dinner with friends, going to a school function, and relaxing at home. In the remake, everything feels more stressful and a bit rushed.
That’s odd considering the remake is longer and overall does a better job at building tension. But between the two hero couples overall, it’s easier to back Bjorn and Louise in the original as they seem more on the same page. Bjorn later reveals he is holding feelings back to Patrick which is easy to sympathize with without going into the explicit cheating angle that Ben and Louise struggle with in the remake.
4The Children: Remake
Giving Them Something To Do
Agnes and Ant have a lot more to do in the remake than Agnes and Abel get to do in the original movie. While Agnes does have her stuffed rabbit, she doesn’t have as many explicit breakdowns because of it. Also, Abel gets to do nothing as he has no agency other than to bea tortured kid in a horror moviewho dies at the end.
Agnes gets more of an arc in the remake with her troubled breathing. Also, she follows Ant in uncovering the secret behind Patrick and Karin via their barn. Also to reiterate, Ant gets to deal the killing blow to Paddy. Agnes doesn’t quite get to have this climactic moment but the scene wherein she lures her mom away because of her womanly awakenings was a smart move.
3The Themes: Original
Humiliation vs. The Hunt
While both movies follow the same beats besides the endings, two different themes are going on. The remake is all aboutenjoying the hunt. Paddy could easily kill Ben and Louise a thousand times over but he feeds on their fear. He explicitly tells Ben he loves hunting although this is about a fox.
The theme of the original is dominance and it is never explicitly stated which is why it is brilliant. In nature, animals typically urinate to establish dominance and that’s what Patrick does. In a shower scene, he walks in on Louise taking a shower, pees and then does it again later when Bjorn is brushing his teeth. Also, Patrick stops over on the side of the road to pee before eventually disrobing the hero couple. Humiliation and dominance are such cold-hearted tactics, even more so than a person hunting another person down.
2Fedja van Huet Vs James McAvoy: Remake
McAvoy Looks Ready To Hulk Out At Any Second
Fedja van Huet plays Patrick in the original and James McAvoy plays Paddy. Van Huet does a good job at making things awkward, especially in the bathroom mentioned above scenes, but he lacks structure as a human. He looks like a normal guy whereas McAvoy looks like he works out half of his waking hours.
The dude is ripped from head to toe, making the idea of guns useless to him. When he loses it, the remake gets really intense like when he is unsatisfied by Ant’s dancing or when Ben and Louise attempt to leave the first time. It’san unhinged performancethat makes the movie 100% which is not to say the other actors don’t do a good job as they do. The original actors create a believable performance too but movie fans will surely go intoSpeak No Evil2024 to see McAvoy and not be disappointed.
1Final Verdict: Remake
Two Intense Thrillers For The Halloween Season
In many ways, the original film feels like a prototype. A scene may be brief in the original and more filled out in the sequel. A great example is how Paddy is obsessed with people telling the truth like over the dinner conversation about vegetarianism and fish. It helps build the tension and fills out his character.
It’s a bit hard to parse what Patrick believes in comparatively. Also, the ending in the remake is just more satisfying. Ben, for having been a weak-minded individual throughout the movie, finally steps up to save his family and Bjorn just doesn’t. The same can be said for Ant who doesn’t exist just to be a victim like Abel is in the original. If viewers want brutality then they should watch the original but for those that like tosee horror villainsget their comeuppance, the remake is the one to choose.
