Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

From Blumhouse, the producers of such films as 'The Black Phone', 'Get Out', and 'M3gan'. 'Speak No Evil' arrives on 4K UHD courtesy of Universal. Making its way to the format just under a year after the initial Blu-ray release, the film stars James McAvoy ('X-Men: First Class', 'Split'), Mackenzie Davis ('Terminator: Dark Fate', 'Black Mirror'), and Aisling Franciosi ('The Fall (2013-2016), 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter') in a tale of a family that spends a weekend at the country home of a family they met on vacation that doesn't turn out quite the way they had expected. 'Speak No Evil' boasts very strong technical merits and a modest assortment of extras. This 4K UHD release comes with a slipcover, a Blu-ray disc, and a Digital Code redeemable through Movies Anywhere.

Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I was very pleased with 1080p presentation of Speak No Evil when it arrived on Blu-ray just under twelve months ago. Shot digitally with Arri Alexa cameras and employing a mix of anamorphic and spherical lenses, the transfer was highlighted by high levels of fine detail, solid color saturation, and great depth. Given a Dolby Vision grade, the film looks even better here. Blacks are deeper and inkier, making exterior nighttime shots more ominous. Even the opening shot generates more uncertainty and unease as the car trundles through the remote countryside, with the outside world no larger than what the headlights will illuminate. It's not until it enters a dimly lit parking lot populated with a handful of other cars that there is any sense of relief. The same is true when McNairy and Davis's Ben and Louise, along with their daughter, drive warily through the oppressively dark countryside on their way to visit Paddy and his family at their isolated rural home. With its scattered buildings, walls, and insufficient exterior lighting, Paddy's property is claustrophobically small once the sun goes down. Colors also see some slightly better saturation here. Primaries, though not as common as one would expect, pop more satisfactorily, especially reds. Skin tones seem truer here as well. Fine detail levels are exceedingly high, with virtually every shot yielding pinpoint precision. Every environment, costume, set, and face is available for close examination and scrutiny. It's an excellent transfer.

The screenshots that accompany this review are sourced from the included 1080p disc.

Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Curiously, the original Blu-ray release from 2024 did not include a Dolby Atmos track, opting instead for a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. I enjoyed that track, but was very happy to see that the 4K UHD presentation joined by a Dolby Atmos track. The soundstage opens up a bit here. Voices are realistic and well-prioritized. They are typically front and center focused, and are free from any distortion or defect. Music is handled very well and is allowed to dominate in a few rare moments. As the four adults drive to dinner, Def Leppard blares from the car stereo and is reproduced to authentically recreate that level of audio quality and volume. The same is true for Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet", which plays from a small speaker after the foursome is done dining. Surrounds are used to great effect to handle ambient and environmental noises such as creaking doors and a startling blast from a truck's horn. Directionality is precise, and objects move through the stage with great fluidity. The track is not asked to do anything overly complex, but but the track springs to life once Daltons realize what they're up against and fight for their lives. Highlights from the back-half of the film include the sound of the exploding car, which is backed by an impressive bass presence, and the resulting fire crackles with excellent realism. Glass shatters and twinkles to the floor, and all forms of bodily damage are inflicted accompanied by an impressive array of thumps, screams, and other appropriate sounds.

Please note that the French, Spanish, and English Descriptive Audio tracks only appear on the Blu-ray disc.

Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Speak No Evil 4K is outfitted an identical assortment of on-disc supplemental features to that of the Blu-ray disc that preceded it, and include the following:

• Nuclear Families (8.53) - Director James Watkins, McAvoy, Davis, and others from the cast discuss the film, their characters, and several other topics. Each displays an obvious enthusiasm for the project as the piece weaves clips from the film in with their comments. This feature contains spoilers, so viewers are advised to proceed with caution.

• A Horrifying Crescendo (5.21) - McAvoy, Davis, and Watkins comment on the awkward, uncomfortable, and cringeworthy scenes that populate and drive the set-up of the film's climax, and the horror that always lingers just below the surface. Again, this piece contains spoilers.

• The Farmhouse of Horrors (4.00) - This brief piece puts the location of much of the film's action in the spotlight. Watkins explains that as the structure had been empty for decades, both interiors and exteriors were shot here. This piece also contains spoilers.

• Feature Commentary with Writer and Director James Watkins - In this calm and obviously extemporaneous commentary Watkins lets the on-screen action drive what he chooses to discuss. He covers a wide range of topics including shooting locations, cinematography, musical choices, and audio cues as he and his team worked to document the horror of contemporary everyday life and a situation that is grounded in real life. He falls silent from time to time to watch with the audience and while that does happen with some frequency, such moments of silence do not last for long. He spends a fair amount of time discussing the clues or warnings that lace McAvoy's performance and the English farmhouse location. It's an enjoyable, informative, and relaxed listen. It should go without saying that the commentary is riddled with spoilers.

Speak No Evil 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Universal's current business model of releasing a film on Blu-ray and following up a year or so later with a 4K release is puzzling. Many customers would much prefer to have the option both formats on the original release date. Less than a year after the Blu-ray release hit shelves, the 4K UHD disc arrives, and while the audio and video upgrades may be small, they are most certainly noticeable. The underlying film is still the same, and while most of the choices Dalton family makes are sound, one still chafes a bit. But it remains the case that one "poor" decision isn't enough to significantly undermine the work done by McAvoy, Davis, and Franciosi. And let's not forget that Director James Watkins builds a delightfully unsettling and creepy atmosphere in a film that will add another layer to The Bangles's classic "Eternal Flame'. Speak No Evil 4K comes Recommended.