Speak No Evil (2022)
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Speak No Evil Movie Review
Speak No Evil is a 2022 Dutch-Danish horror thriller film directed by Christian Tafdrup. It is the best horror movie in what was an amazing year for the genre.
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“Why are you doing this?
Because you let me“
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On a vacation in Toscana, a Danish family instantly becomes friends with a Dutch family. Months later, the Danish couple receives an unexpected invitation. It doesn’t take long before the joy of reunion is replaced with misunderstandings. This is a terrific case of a long build-up that leads into a terrifying conclusion. In its first half, the movie can be classified as a social satire drama with some thriller overtones, but it is not until the third act that it morphs into full-on horror and this is what lingers in your mind afterward.
That build-up was so incredible and the ending was particularly effective because of that. Without spoiling anything, it involves some of the most graphic and most disturbing violence depicted in a recent horror movie while still not going overboard with it. It was filmed in such a horrific yet extremely realistic way with an emphasis on psychological trauma and utter despair that that hopelessness seeps into the viewer themselves, resulting in one of the best movie endings of the year.
No matter how effective Speak No Evil is as a horror flick in the most visceral sense, there is no denying that it is at its best when dealing with social commentary. It was surprising and refreshing witnessing a film from a Western country (and Scandinavia no less) have such a conservative viewpoint and messaging. It definitely felt reactionary from this director, but you can hardly argue with anything that he is stating here.
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Depicting the importance of personal agency and assertiveness, the film makes a point that sometimes it is okay to just say no to a proposition, especially if you deem it to be odd. The movie is essentially speaking against the ideas of excessive politeness, tolerance and political correctness in favor of a more honest approach to social interactions. Above all else, the message here is one against the very dumb concept of “toxic masculinity” in favor or a more traditional role of parents in parenthood, in particular males. Men should protect their family no matter what and sometimes aggressiveness and dominance are the only way to go.
You can argue that the plot holes abound in Speak No Evil, but you would be missing the point of the film. This is a common mistake that moviegoers make. By focusing on these minor mistakes that are present in every genre movie, you are failing to appreciate the true purpose of the movie, and here it is to warn, thus effectively making it a cautionary tale against submissiveness. With a certain mindset, you can find this film to be exceedingly stupid, but when you really think about it on psychological terms, it is quite the opposite. Flight or fight is the famous psychological response to danger and/or trauma, but many fail to bring up freeze when talking about this issue, and that was disturbingly and so truthfully depicted in this movie.
While we never get to see the motifs of the villains exposed, that isn’t the focus of the film, so ultimately it’s not a major flaw. And this is one of those movies that if it were explained more in-depth, it would begin to sound utterly ludicrous. The only true flaw that I personally had with the script is that one revelation about the boy that was unfortunately misplaced in the context of the first half that otherwise was quite ambiguous up until that point. They revealed their hand with that moment way too quickly, largely diminishing the extent of the mystery in the process.
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Wonderfully acted by its talented cast, this is also a superbly directed movie that is confidently edited, paced and shot as well. The dialogue is consistently engaging and thought-provoking. Juxtaposing these wildly different parenting methods against one another was fascinating to observe. The score was particularly strong and very disturbing in certain stretches. It’s an atmospheric delight that in its best moments brings to mind the greatness of ‘The Vanishing’, and that is a huge accomplishment in and of itself.
2022 was an amazing year for horror movies and Speak No Evil takes the cake as the best of the bunch. This film starts off as a social drama with a terrific commentary, but in its third act it morphs into full-blown horror. That ending was the most disturbing sequence I’ve seen in quite a while and it’s bound to leave everybody watching it shaken. It’s a technically effective genre piece with particularly outstanding score, but its highlight is the exploration of social and familial responsibilities. In a surprisingly conservative viewpoint for a Scandinavian film, Speak No Evil proposes assertiveness and dominance instead of submissiveness and political correctness in social interactions, which was refreshing to witness.
My Rating – 4.5
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