Baker Smith of harvest introduces us to kids who envision how their first day of the school year will play out. In “Cafeteria” we meet a youngster who’s grown over the summer and is looking to stake his claim. He walks through an empty cafeteria, setting the stage for what will be his first day back at noon lunchtime–all the while accompanied by another lad who’s beating a drum. Our original boy will order a double helping of hamburger if it’s on the menu but won’t sit at the table that had been his roost last year with a couple of buddies.
The 10th grade lad shares with us his plan of how he will instead upgrade to the most desirable table where his ultimate gal crush sits–at which point the drummer changes his musical accompaniment to the sound of a heartbeat.
The youngster feels comfortable and confident that his seat at a new table will come to fruition–after all, he’s dressed for the occasion, having connected with JCPenney’s #FirstDayLook to ensure he makes a good impression from day one at school.
Agency is Y&R New York.
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More