Speak No Evil review – James McAvoy gives roaring life to red-blooded holiday horror

McAvoy is the most compelling reason to see this one. The original may be darker, but it didn’t have McAvoy. He’s able to project the kind of careless bonhomie that initially seems to indicate fundamental decency lying beneath the edgy jokes – but by the time Ben and Louise start to realise that he is also missing a few fundamental components of humanity they are in too deep. In fact McAvoy’s performance is a neat nod to everything you’ve ever heard about the geniality and easy charm of Ted Bundy and his ilk; it’s true that manners don’t cost anything, but they also guarantee nothing.