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Speak No Evil
2022 98 min Denmark, Netherlands 18+
★6.7
Horror, Thriller
Director: Christian Tafdrup
Trailers
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Description
A Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.
Budget:
$3.2M
Worldwide:
$631,249
Starring
Morten Burian
Actor
Sidsel Siem Koch
Actor
Fedja van Huêt
Actor
Awards
Saturn Awards 2024
— Best International Feature Film
Key opinion
Speak No Evil is a polarizing psychological thriller that uses the premise of social politeness to explore themes of boundary-setting and human vulnerability. While many praise its ability to build dread through awkwardness and its deeply disturbing finale, critics are divided over the protagonists' illogical decision-making and the film's overall consistency.
| Emotion | The film succeeds in crafting a profoundly disturbing, lingering emotional impact by focusing on psychological dread rather than traditional jump scares. | |
| Theme | The narrative centers effectively on the tension between societal expectations of politeness and the essential need for self-preservation. | |
| Acting | The central performances anchor the unsettling atmosphere, effectively capturing the strained dynamic between the two couples. | |
| Pacing | The film's slow-burn tempo creates a palpable sense of mounting unease for some, while others find the pace tedious and dragging. | |
| Screenplay | The protagonists' refusal to flee or confront their captors is seen by many as a provocative critique of human passivity, yet others condemn the behavior as unrealistic and narratively incoherent. |