WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
This is actually the first time in recent history that I will be covering a remake of a film where the original was only made two years ago prior! I had been meaning to watch the Danish original for a while but the remake gave me that push (Thank you 2024!). Now we all know and are probably expecting this to end that I prefer the original, especially as it’s a foreign film but the fact that the remake stars James McAvoy I’m not too sure my reaction will be as predictable…
Van Huêt vs McAvoy
Look, I pointed him out at the very beginning of this article so how can I not talk specifically about McAvoy’s role as Paddy in comparison to Van Huêt’s of Patrick? There’s actually something deep down disturbing about Van Huêt’s portrayal – ESPECIALLY when he’s shown watching Bjørn and Louise having sex! There’s very little aggression to his character as compared to Paddy, even when he tells his son, Abel, off for sitting at the bottom of the slide or during the dance scene. Instead his violence and anger seems casual, almost second nature. McAvoy on the other hand is so exuberant at first that his bouts of anger are much more intense.
Obsession
This seems to be more of a factor in the original film, and part of it for me is that it seemed to hint at a homosexual attraction on Bjørn’s part towards Patrick. Prior to arriving at their home in the Netherlands, Bjørn seems to be obsessed with them even telling friends unprompted about their invite. He also seemed to be the only one excited about going to visit Patrick and Karin. Paddy and Ben don’t seem to develop that same relationship at all let alone as quickly, which is shown in his comparable lack of excitement about spending the weekend with Paddy and Ciara.
Safe and Sound, Till He Turns Around
It’s funny to think that things could have gone so differently, and it would have been a shorter film, if they had just carried on driving. To think that in both films, something as simple as their daughter losing her rabbit brings the couple back to what turns into a dangerous situation. The funny thing is though, it doesn’t seem that dark, until around 15 minutes from the end of the original film whereas during the remake there are moments that have the audience thinking something it’s about to happen…
History Repeating
A disturbing truth is revealed in the original film, that Bjørn and Louise clearly aren’t the first family that have been invited to Patrick and Karin’s humble home. I thought at first that the pictures we are shown lent themselves to my theory of a dearly departed daughter like Karin’s behaviour towards Agnes did, along with the fact that I thought I heard her call her Winifried. Funnily enough, Ciara mentions in the remake that they had lost a daughter but it’s not clear how true that statement is as it could just be a ploy to keep Ben and Louise at the house for longer. Strangely they don’t seem to elaborate on this in the original film, especially as Bjørn never seems to tell anyone about his discovery – however in the remake, Agnes automatically draws this to her parents’ attention.
An Unhappy Ending
You know how I said the original didn’t get dark until about 15 minutes from the end? Well, there’s nothing darker than stealing a child whose tongue you have just cut out and then stoning her parents to death! I went into the remake thinking that there’s no way they would end it the same way and unfortunately I was right. I know, that probably makes me sound sick that I would prefer an unhappy ending but there was just something about the heartless cruelty.
The original is only made darker still by the unanswered questions like, who the hell are Patrick and Karin and what did they want with Agnes! Truthfully I didn’t mind that because not knowing is just as dark but in the remake they answer said question but it’s as dark as The Strangers – just Paddy says Because you let us instead of Because you’re here.
The Trouble with Children
This is more key to the remake than the original as they actually seem to develop a relationship between Agnes and Ant where one is only hinted at between her and Abel in the original film. I guess you can put that down to the language barrier between the families. It is because of this relationship that there is more of a hint of something not being quite right in the West Country household. I mentioned the photos before in the original film? Instead of Ben stumbling across them like Bjørn does in the original – Ant shows Agnes, creating the trigger for the final showdown.
A Nod to the Original
Now normally I would say homage but for me that means it’s a positive acknowledgement or reasonably direct reference. However for me there’s a really odd moment that I can’t tell if it should be positive or negative. The original film is Danish and in the remake they decided to make the couple that our lead characters find utterly boring Danish. Now this could just be a simple nod to the film’s origin but it’s a little awkward.
Now for the interesting one! As I mentioned, the original film ends with the stoning of Bjørn and Louise, well I wonder if the fact that Ant finishes Paddy off with a brick at the end is a reference to this.
In Conclusion
I’ll be honest, until the end of the original I started to feel like the film wasn’t really going anywhere but the shock factor of the ending definitely won me over. With the remake however, the shock factor was slightly lost and I was a little let down by the happy ending but the overall intensity of the film and McAvoy’s portrayal of Paddy just could not be faulted. All in all I think you can see I enjoyed them both for different reasons.
