Was reading the Vulture review too now that your piece made me curious about the film and saw this comparison with the original (which the author clearly
Preferred):
“In the original Speak No Evil, the passivity is the point: One of its darkest moments is Bjørn quietly crying in the car en route to the quarry, seemingly resigned to his fate. In the remake, it’s clear the American family isn’t going down without a fight, and there’s never any real suspense about whether they’ll all make it out alive. The softening of the ending — Paddy even explains that he’s going to sedate Agnes before removing her tongue — undercuts the social satire that made its predecessor so effective. Speak No Evil is meant to be a sick joke, and it doesn’t work without the punch line.”
I absolutely prefer the original - I agree with the author of this piece that the themes are much stronger in the original. But if you're not tied to the original, I think there is a lot that is effective about this one.
When I saw the trailer I thought this was a “Halt and Catch Fire” spinoff. Both McNairy and Davis were main cast members in that show. I was so confused! 😕
Spoilers!!!
Was reading the Vulture review too now that your piece made me curious about the film and saw this comparison with the original (which the author clearly
Preferred):
“In the original Speak No Evil, the passivity is the point: One of its darkest moments is Bjørn quietly crying in the car en route to the quarry, seemingly resigned to his fate. In the remake, it’s clear the American family isn’t going down without a fight, and there’s never any real suspense about whether they’ll all make it out alive. The softening of the ending — Paddy even explains that he’s going to sedate Agnes before removing her tongue — undercuts the social satire that made its predecessor so effective. Speak No Evil is meant to be a sick joke, and it doesn’t work without the punch line.”
I absolutely prefer the original - I agree with the author of this piece that the themes are much stronger in the original. But if you're not tied to the original, I think there is a lot that is effective about this one.
When I saw the trailer I thought this was a “Halt and Catch Fire” spinoff. Both McNairy and Davis were main cast members in that show. I was so confused! 😕