December Movie Pick: 'Speak No Evil'

Are you up for a disturbing night and screaming at the TV? 'Speak No Evil' is the perfect pick for that. Even Hollywood has noticed that this movie is good, and they are making a remake set to release later this year, starring James McAvoy and some other actors. Before they release it in September (Friday 13th), you should watch the original. Just because I liked the original so much, I can't wait to see this swing from director James Watkins, who is responsible for 'Eden Lake', 'The Descent 2', and 'The Woman in Black'. That should give you some clarity on what to expect from this upcoming remake. I am excited for it.

This one is a tough watch. Right before we pressed play, we checked some reviews to be sure that we were going to see a good horror film. The reviews mentioned that we would be destroyed by this movie, and every horror fan would be scared. Well, the whole thing was really meta because, like in the movie, the characters also didn’t listen to their intuition, and that is what got them in trouble in the first place. Usually, I am reluctant to press play on EU productions because I am often disappointed by them, but this one delivers.

What made me so interested in the beginning was getting to know a little more about these two families – the main characters. One of the main reasons I live in Germany is that it is so international, but even here, I haven’t had the chance to talk with Danish and Dutch people very often. I am starting to realize that people have many more similarities than differences. It was interesting to see the acting. There were incredible performances across the board. These actors should get a lot more work because of the good job they are doing here. To create such a realistic horror movie is not an easy task, and because of them, the story flows naturally.

I guess the lesson here is to listen to your intuition. There are other themes, of course, but what I took from it was always to listen to your inner voice. Most of the time, this gut feeling, that alarm that goes off, the red flags, they give you a chance to escape before the situation becomes a real threat, and you are caught like a deer in headlights. But of course, without people doing stupid stuff, there won't be a movie.

I believe that most of our decisions are provoked by a fear so deep that we cannot think of it as the beginning of something else. Fear of dying alone, fear of starving, fear of being shamed. That’s how we become addicts, liars, human beings. Without fear, we are going to be something else, and like lies and skimming, fear has its own cultural meaning. Fear is the alert system that has its fingers on our pulse. The benefits from it that the Danish Family in the movie seem to forget gave birth to an incredibly realistic horror that will destroy you, as the Google review promised me. I guess the ending is questionable, but it is hard to stick the landing on these things. And how anyone thinks they will react doesn't necessarily mean that they will react that way if they were put in the same situation. 

European cinema is evolving, and it is alive. Christian Tafdrup is going places where Hollywood is often scared to go because of monetary reasons. I would love to see the director teaming up with A24 studios. Maybe that is the only studio that could give him the freedom and possibilities that he deserves. I must mention that the movie is co-written with his brother Mads Tafdrup. Both of them did an outstanding job by switching between different languages, making it seem so much more real. If you've moved to live in an international country, you know that speaking at least three languages a day is the norm.

Iliya Badev