Speak No Evil

Speak No Evil ★★★

Some of the best kinds of movies (but in the worst way) are the ones that make you feel unsettled and, more often than not, give you the urge to want to leave the room. Not because something horrific is unfolding; rather, it's when a situation you're witnessing feels uncomfortable and awkward, even though you're not actually in the room with these people.
It could be a conversation that's turning weird or sour, or an altercation that leaves half the party on edge.
I went through a series of these feelings while watching a family of three struggling to enjoy a getaway weekend with another family. A family they barely knew, after having met them abroad while on holiday a few months prior, before being invited to their cottage house in a secluded area.

Our main family is witness to one red flag after another during their short stay.
I really don't know how many more red flags they needed before getting the message that things seemed very off.
Sure, they knew, but their unbearable passiveness and reluctance in confrontation was a pain to watch. I understand one part of a couple being so passive, but both? And to this extent? Unbelievable.

What the film has going for it is how frighteningly real these people come across. Which makes it all the more believable, despite their actions. (Or lack thereof, for better or for worse.)
Come the end, I was utterly dumbfounded with how far this couple's level of compliance had reached.

*Little Spoiler*
When they asked the million dollar question of why are you doing this to us, the answer they received was perhaps unsatisfying, but so very honest regardless.
"Because you let me," was their answer.
As fucked up as that is, how easily this family accepts their fate is even more shocking. There's no fight-or-flight response. There is only numb submission. Which is pathetic under the circumstances, because when a child is in imminent danger, being attacked even, their child in this case, the natural human response is to meet such a threat with the kind of rage and power you never knew you had, but which is always dormant.

To say that this couple is a disappointment to parents everywhere is an understatement.

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