Speak No Evil remake currently has a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than the original

Speak No Evil
(Image credit: Universal)

It's often rare for a remake to speak to audiences more than its original, but new horror movie Speak No Evil may have done just that after debuting to an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score. 

The original Danish-language movie, which was released in 2022, has a score of 84% (based on 101 reviews), while the new Hollywood remake is currently sitting at 87% (based on 45 reviews). 

Our own four-star Speak No Evil review praises the movie for "walking a thin line between honoring the original, treading its own path to justify its existence, and offering some choicely brutal surprises."

The Independent praises leading man James McAvoy for "delivering one of the most impressively repugnant performances of the year," while Time Out says the remake is "seriously unnerving in its own way."

However, not everyone is a fan. Slant Magazine writes that "this hollow attempt to turn a provocative showpiece into a crowd-pleaser makes you wonder if the filmmakers are actively disdainful of the original."

In the original movie, a Danish family meets a Dutch family while on holiday in Tuscany, Italy, who invites them to reunite at their home for a weekend sometime later. In the remake, the two families are American and English. In both movies, a weekend away in the countryside with new friends soon takes a sinister turn, but the two films differ most broadly in the final act. But no spoilers from us here… 

Speak No Evil arrives in theaters on September 13. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best upcoming horror movies still to come in 2024.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Scoot McNairy as Ben and James McAvoy as Paddy in Speak No Evil
One of my favorite horror movies of 2024 is a remake I disregarded months ago based on its lackluster trailer - I won't make that mistake again
Audition movie 1999
The goriest Japanese horror movie I’ve ever seen is getting a modern remake from original Speak No Evil director
Theo James in The Monkey
First reactions to new horror movie from Longlegs director are calling it "outlandishly demented" and "cartoonishly bloody"
Ethan Hawke as The Grabber in The Black Phone
The Black Phone 2 director reveals the one "main difference" between the original horror movie and its upcoming "more graphic" sequel
Bring Her Back
First teaser for follow-up horror from Talk to Me directors is just as unsettling as I thought it would be
The Monkey
The Monkey review: Longlegs director Osgood Perkins embraces his silly side in gory, surprisingly existential horror comedy
Latest in Horror Movies
Lea Myren as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister
Cinderella body horror movie that made viewers sick gets release date, and it’s coming very soon
Indy in Ben Leonberg's haunted house horror Good Boy
Good Boy, a new scary movie told from a dog's POV, is being called "one of the best horror films of the year"
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
Clown in a Cornfield
First reactions to new clown horror movie say the slasher is giving Terrifier a run for its money
The House of the Dead first look 'Test Subjects'
Resident Evil director offers update on his horror movie adaptation of Until Dawn-sounding video game from over 20 years ago: "It's going to be very, very scary"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"