A slow burn and a bit predictable, but a good thriller nonetheless.

       In Speak No Evil, an American couple (Mackenzie Davis and John “Scoot” McNairy) and their daughter are invited to stay at the secluded country home of a charming British couple they met while on vacation in Italy. As one would expect, there’s much more than meets the eye to the idyllic country setting and seemingly perfect, handsome couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi), who are gradually revealed to be not just eccentric and a bit odd, but downright crazy. The movie, which starts as a very slow burn, gradually unravels the backstory of the American couple and the oddity of the Brits, then quickly jumps into high-gear thriller mode for the inevitable, predictable climax, still managing to be fun and featuring some good performances from the four leads and the child actors who play their children.

            Louise and Ben (Davis and McNairy), recent transplants to London, meet the enigmatic Paddy and Ciara, who invite them and their daughter to their quaint country farm, where they live with a son, presumably a special needs child who does not talk and struggles to articulate himself. At first, the trip seems to be just the balm Louise and Ben need for their struggling marriage, which has been rocked by quasi-infidelity on the part of Louise. The British couple seems perfect counterpoint to Ben and Louise’s dry, boring marriage – Paddy is a manly but compassionate example for Ben (who frankly, is kind of a wiener) and Ciara, a devoted mother and wife – but the longer they stay together, the odder they seem, from their heavy-handed parenting style, quirky habits, and increasing air of menace that hangs over the trip.

            McAvoy, who’s great in just about everything he’s in, looks a little more like Wolverine than Professor X in this film – hairy, muscles bulging, smiling wickedly, oozing mystery and malice with his lines.  Both kids, Alix West Lefler as Agnes, Louise and Ben’s daughter, and Dan Hough, who plays Paddy and Ciara’s “son” Any, turn in good performances as well. The movie is a “quiet film,” the isolated country setting and lack of constant musical score add to the building tension. When music does play, it is usually an odd pop song, such as “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles, Paddy rocking along with it with the enthusiasm that might be more appropriate for Metallica’s “Fuel,” adding to the increasing idea that something is off with this “perfect couple.”

            The film is an effective psychological thriller, thanks to the pacing and performances by McAvoy and Franciosi, who, even though we as the audience – at least if we so much as watched a single trailer – know are up to something – still appear compassionate and caring, almost as if we’re struggling to figure them out along with the characters. When the inevitable and largely predicable conflict comes, the movie becomes a fairly typical thriller of two regular people trying to fight off two psychos. For a film that was largely cerebral and atmospheric, the action sequences are bloody and reminiscent of a slasher picture, some of it even making this lifelong horror fan chuckle out loud. I suppose it was effective though, for  I found myself yelling at the screen and condemning the stupidity of Louise and Ben, so I guess the movie did its job.