Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for Speak No Evil (2024).
While Speak no evilThe 2024 remake isn’t perfect, the psychological horror movie boasts something that too many of the year’s biggest horror movies are missing. Horror and comedy go hand in hand. Both genres attempt to evoke primal reactions from their audiences and, as long as there have been horror movies and comedy movies, there have been horror comedies that blend the two genres. Even straightforward horror movies often have moments of dark humor to temporarily ease, and thus heighten, the tension of the story. 2024s Speak no evil Remake knows this, as evidenced by its deeply unpredictable tone.
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Although 2022’s original Speak no evil Laying the groundwork for the 2024 remake, director James Watkins’ reimagining of the Danish horror movie remains surprising. This is largely due to the movie’s charismatic villains, James McAvoy’s Paddy and Aisling Franciosi’s Ciara. Before the true extent of Paddy and Ciara’s villainy is revealed, the two outspoken free spirits seem like they’re simply at war with social norms. This results in some completely unpredictable sequences viz Speak no evil It changes the story of the original movie and doubles down on one ingredient, many recent 2024 horror movies have been missing.
Speak No Evil’s 2024 remake is surprisingly hilarious
Speak No Evil 2024 features a lot of funny moments
As unlikely as this may sound, Speak no evilThe 2024 remake is unexpectedly funny at times. There are plenty of scenes that are played for awkward laughs, from Paddy with the Danish holidaymakers early on to the villainous couple’s last dinner with the protagonists. Speak no evil Starts strong, with a frankly painful dinner scene in which Paddy pushes vegetarian heroine Louise to sample duck, a family pet that has been butchered and cooked for the occasion. It’s an early signal of how much the villain will push the characters, but also a classic cringe comedy sequence.
The Cotton Eye Joe dance routine is a dizzying blend of truly uncomfortable psychological horror and pure absurdity.
While Speak no evil Fixes plot holes from the original movie, the remake also broadens its humor. in 2022 Speak no evilThe misunderstandings and microaggressions are fraught with anxiety and fear. in contrast, Speak no evil 2024 has two scenes from Paddy, soulfully belting out the Bangles’ 80s hit Eternal Flame apropos of nothing. Even the Cotton Eye Joe dance routine, which ends with a moment of reprehensible child abuse, is a dizzying blend of genuinely uncomfortable psychological horror and pure absurdity thanks to the soundtrack. Tension mounts, but the weird eurodance/country song makes the scene feel surreal.
Speak no evil 2024 brings back an ingredient 2024 horror movies miss
Many of the year’s biggest horror movies are painfully humorless
Although 2024 was another big year for horror at the box office, the year’s biggest hits were atypically humorless. of Alien: Romulus to A Quiet Place: Day One,The Strangers: Chapter One, ImmaculateAnd The first manAlmost all of 2024’s major horror releases were far more self-serious than 2023’s biggest hits in the genre. Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN, Shout VIAnd Thanksgiving Everyone held their tongues. Although Long legs has some stray moments of deadpan humor, Speak no evil2024’s remake is one of 2024’s first truly weird horror hits.