All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. As an added bonus, I’ll be adding a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

#19 – SPEAK NO EVIL (2024)
Released on September 13, 2024, and is available On Demand and digital download from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse!
Directed by James Watkins.
Written by James Watkins, adapted from the original screenplay by Christian Tafdrup, Mads Tafdrup.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/FjzxI6uf8H8
An American family (Louise Dalton played by Mackenzie Davis, Ben Dalton played by Scoot-Scoot-Scoot McNairy, and their daughter Agnes played by Alix West Lefler) meet an English family (comprised of Paddy played by James McAvoy, Ciara played by Aisling Franciosi, and their mute son Ant played by Dan Hough) while vacationing. After the two families hit it off, Paddy and Ciara invite the Daltons to come visit them at their farmhouse in the English countryside. While they are reluctant to visit this family they hardly know, Ben and Louise feel as if it would be good for them to take some risks and have some fun. Upon arriving on the farm and finding more about their hosts, the Daltons soon grow uncomfortable with the different way this family parents their child and imposes themselves upon their lives. But when the Daltons attempt to leave, it proves to be harder to get away from this bizarre family than they could ever imagine.

Kind of like the groundhog, once a year, Blumhouse takes a break from releasing absolute shit in cinematic form and puts out a decent film. Last year it was TALK TO ME, and this year’s is SPEAK NO EVIL, which for the most part, follows the original story beat for beat until the final act. If you’ve seen the original, and I still recommend you do so, even if it is in Dutch, because it is a far superior film than this bigger budgeted remake. I’ll get into some of the differences later, but first the good.

SPEAK NO EVIL would be nothing without the over the top and bombastically animal performance of James McAvoy. The actor has proven to have a broad range in the characters he plays on screen. From the multiple personalities he displayed in SPLIT, to the eloquent poise of Charles Xavier in the X-films, to the memorable roles he put forth in ATOMIC BLONDE, WANTED, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, ATONEMENT, TRANCE…the list goes on and on and on. He is one of the most versatile and interesting actors working today. So, seeing McAvoy gnawing up the scenery as the vicious Paddy was extremely fun to watch as he worms his way into this naïve family and destroys it from within. McAvoy switches from night to day, caring to savage in seconds. He conveys a character who has a rage that is just below the surface clawing to get out. McAvoy is one of the main reasons this movie is as good as it is. Aisling Franciosi, as amazing as she was in THE NIGHTENGALE, THE LAST VOWAGE OF THE DEMETER, and especially this year’s STOPMOTION, tries to keep up with McAvoy as his wife and does a decent job, but is nevertheless overshadowed by McAvoy’s ferocity.

The rest of the cast is good as well. Mackenzie Davis is wonderful as Louise, a stiff and repressed woman who is overprotective of her mentally fragile daughter and giving to her husband. She looks like a woman who has given up much to make her family work and be happy and that struggle seems to be ever going. On the opposite end of this strong woman is Scoot-Scoot-Scoot McNairy, who seems to be making a profession of playing an ineffectual man. He was a shell of a man in TRUE DETECTIVE, and his wiry frame makes him reek of beta-male vibes. There’s a very real, but very off-putting moment in SPEAK NO EVIL where Scoot breaks down and cries just as the real shit goes down. It’s a moment that will make the audience hate him, but the film and the actor isn’t afraid to play this type of character, despite how deplorable it is.

And at its core, SPEAK NO EVIL is so effective because it is unafraid to go to those uncomfortable places that is often difficult to talk about. Paddy mentions modern society’s tendency to hide behind masks and refusal to tell the truth to people’s faces. This film again, as it did with the original, spits in the face of those who repress themselves when everything to your core tells you to keep your mouth shut. It addresses modern society’s reluctance and downright fear of real conflict that has proven to be contagious the more and more people scheme, scold, sulk, and waste their lives behind the cowardly mask of a social media account. If you feel wormy from watching this movie, then it is doing the job is set out to do. Moreso with the original, but both of these films will make you feel uneasy a time or two.

Not only is this film about crossing the boundaries into uncomfortable areas, but it also has a lot to say about manhood in the modern age. Paddy and Ben are on opposite sides of the male spectrum with McAvoy representing the virile, alpha male that has often been demonized in today’s society and Ben being the timid, flaccid, and ineffectual doormat who folds under the slightest bit of pressure. While many might account this dichotomy as a recent trend in the depiction of males, especially manly males in a toxic light in modern cinema, SPEAK NO EVIL feels more like a film asking questions about these roles, highlighting the positive and negative aspects of alpha and beta male types more akin to the themes from STRAW DOGS than any kind of feminist agenda.

The new ending is more bombastic and, in your face, than the subtle and more impactful terror of the original. I won’t reveal either ending here, but watching it side by side, even if it wasn’t in English, this new release has Hollywood written all over it with the horror justifiably overcome and a status quo returned to. I was surprised how tightly this remake was wrapped up in the end and preferred the more cryptic, nightmarish, and nihilistic ending of the original.

A few little things: I am extremely happy SPEAK NO EVIL was finally released as it was in front of every film I’ve seen in the theater all spring and summer. Though I did have fun watching the trailer every time as I scoffed at the number of times the trailer referred to Art’s lack of a tongue and signal for scissors by chanting Dave Coulier’s catch phrase Cut.It.Out. every time the kid did it. And while this film has one big laugh centering on a particular Bangles song that is a favorite of mine, the real laugh is that the Daltons were able to drive from London to the English countryside in a Tesla and that it still had a charge after all of that time despite the farm not having any modern amenities. Now that’s the real knee slapper.
SPEAK NO EVIL does have a few Hollywood tropes and it definitely feels like a watered-down version compared to the original. That said, McAvoy elevates the film as he gives a memorably maniacal performance. Director James Watkins knows how to cross lines and make you shiver with discomfort since he was the mastermind behind another foreign film that shattered social comforts, EDEN LAKE. Here, Watkins brings forth quite a bit of violence and a lot of the squirmy uncomfortable boundary crossing that was carried over from the original. It’s a fun and creepy film. But if you really want to see this idea, uncut, raw, and fully realized, watch the original.

Plus – EIGHT EYES (2023)
Released on September 24, 2024, and is streaming on Shudder and Vinegar Syndrome!
Directed by Austin Jennings.
Written by Matthew Fink, Austin Jennings.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/NIGQyB2smFo
Cass (Emily Sweet) and Gav (Bradford Thomas) are spending their long-delayed honeymoon hiking across the country formerly known as Yugoslavia and meet a mysterious local named Saint Peter (Bruno Veljanovski). Though at first it seems Saint Peter is hospitable and looking for friendship, as his journey seems to coincide with theirs, it becomes apparent that his intentions for the couple are anything but altruistic. But Cass and Gav realize this too late as they seem to be caught up in Saint Peter’s web of perversity, depravity, and even worse horrors.

EIGHT EYES is one twisted bit of cinema. It is slow to start and those without patience might zone out in the earlier, creepier moments as the pace is slow. But the film methodically lures the couple as well as the viewer in with promises, good intentions, and a charming smile, until you let your guard down and then pounces. The film can be broken into two parts: the seduction and the ordeal. And both parts are worth looking at in a little more detail.

When Saint Peter first meets Cass and Gav, both are leery, but Gav, looking to spice up their vacation, is more open to be lured in by Saint Peter. Cass, is creeped out by Saint Peter from the get go, but is convinced by Gav to go along with this redirection of their vacation. This is the first time we see the rift between Cass and Gav, which Saint Peter takes advantage of. As this wedge gets wider and wider, the likability of Gav dissipates, culminating in a non-fight that ends up splitting the two up in the middle of a foreign country. This is a wound made so slowly and delicately by Peter that the two don’t even realize he is the one behind it.

And at the halfway point of EIGHT EYES is where I nearly cussed out the screen. Gav is presented as rather spineless. He is unfazed when Saint Peter says offensive things around Cass and is for the most part, a pushover, so unlikable, that you wonder what Cass ever saw in him. Sure, you can say he might be sick of being in a relationship with someone who is clearly not happy with him and that most of the time, Gav appears to be drunk and inconsiderate of anyone but himself, but man, did Bradford Thomas do a fantastic job of making me loathe his character for leaving a woman, who has already been felt threatened and unprotected, in even a more fragile state. Now, Cass is no frail gal. She takes care of herself. But still, it’s a dick move to leave her alone like that. It was at this point where I realized how invested I was in these characters, especially Cass—menaing that filmmaker Austin Jennings and his co-writer Matthew Fink had done a great job of reeling me in.

The second half of the film is pure psychedelic nightmare. I won’t get too much into it, but once separated, the couple are in real trouble. I guess there’s a metaphor there, but the important part is that because this film is made on both 16mm and Super8 cameras, there is a grainy and gritty look to the entire thing, but once in the clutches of Saint Peter and his demented family, it gets even more intense. Yes, it is derivative of TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, as Cass is forced to witness a ritual of sorts involving opening mystical eyes closed to the common man. The story goes from a travel terror piece to a trippy and tie-dyed nightmare and if you’re into intense horror, you’re bound to see something you haven’t before, despite the similarities to Hooper’s classic film. Straddling the 70’s grindhouse vibe with the grungy family and the 60’s psychedelic era with the opening of the third eye, and EIGHT EYES also adds loads of giallo aspects such as pairing the glamorous with the grotesque, elaborate death sequences, and the travelogue-like tone of showing off the sights and sounds of a foreign country. It’s a grab bag of goodness to those who are in love with classic horror of the 60’s and 70’s.

Things get very trippy and I think that’s where EIGHT EYES might lose others who didn’t fall off during the slow lead in to the real terror. The film throughout is laced with paranoia as we can see the strange looks Saint Peter is giving the couple and understand his ill intent, so it’s not a film without horror evenly spread. But by the end, the ritz has definitely slid off the cracker and while this may just be a representation of Cass’ mind slipping away, it also speaks to some kind of greater awareness one achieves through trauma. Still, this is a film that can be appreciated on a simple brutal level rarely achieved in safer, mainstream horror. EIGHT EYES is anything but safe and mainstream, and if that’s the kind of sickness you like to see in your films—the kind if sickness I love to see, then EIGHT EYES is going to be a must see for you.

The Best in Horror Countdown 2023-2024
#31 – HERE FOR BLOOD (DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS)
#30 – THANKSGIVING (THE SACRIFICE GAME)
#29 – MILK & SERIAL (LOWLIFES)
#28 – PROJECT SILENCE (FROGMAN)
#27 – THE SEEDING (DARK HARVEST)
#26 – BEEZEL (THE FRESH HELL TRILOGY)
#25 – ABERRANCE (COLD MEAT)
#24 – OUT OF DARKNESS (ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH)
#23 – ARCADIAN (A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE)
#22 – YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME (GHOSTS OF THE VOID)
#21 – NEVER LET GO (LOVELY, DARK, & DEEP)
#20 – ABIGAIL (BLACKOUT)
#19 – SPEAK NO EVIL (EIGHT EYES)

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