Speak No Evil
Gæsterne
A holiday friendship slowly becomes uncomfortable in Christian Tafdrup’s wicked horror of manners, starring Fedja van Huêt and Karina Smulders
If manners maketh the man, then Speak No Evil is the ultimate insult – a horror film where societal norms and accepted politeness can cause the very end of you.
Whilst on holiday in Tuscany, Danish couple Björn and Louise, along with their young daughter Agnes, make the acquaintance of a Dutch family: Patrick (a brilliant Fedja van Huêt), Karin (Karina Smulders) and their silent son Abel. Their holiday friendship is incredibly pleasant and so, a short while after their return home, Björn and Louise are delighted when they receive a message from the Dutch couple inviting them to the countryside for a small weekend getaway. However, what begins as a pleasant time away, through a series of misunderstandings and the weird behaviour of their hosts slowly becomes an uncomfortable and unpleasant time – soon Björn and Louise are desperate for a way out of this weekend from hell, but it may just be too late…
Director Christian Tafdrup follows his brilliant A Horrible Woman with a horror film of manners (good and bad) so sharp, frightening and funny in equal measure that it’s impossible to endure and equally hard to turn away from. Using a holiday friendship as a basis, he slowly explores the differences in manners between different nations, whilst building a narrative reliant on tension both sharp and uncomfortable. Blessed with a stellar cast, Tafdrup explores the idea of compliance as the ultimate evil, mining the subtle petty clashes of cultures for moments of true horror, building up to a finale worthy of the best of the genre.
Speak No Evil works its wonders in a way that is hard to ignore, resonating deeply within the consciousness of the audience exposed to it. So join us on a small getaway to the Netherlands and see if your manners can save you from what awaits.
Director Christian Tafdrup
Denmark 2022
97m
With Fedja van Huêt, Karina Smulders, Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch
