James McAvoy & Speak No Evil Director Explain Major Change in Their Remake

Prepare to experience a vacation from hell in Speak No Evil. The upcoming psychological thriller is an English-language remake of the 2022 Danish film by director Christian Tafdrup. James McAvoy, one of the stars in the remake, stressed that the film did its best to respect the original, albeit with one major change.

“Christian [Tafdrup] was really pushing the idea of how far people would comply, like an allegory almost,” McAvoy said in an interview with Total Film. “Our film is 100% a remake and it honors the original, but it also does something a little bit different.”

What is the biggest change from the original? According to director James Watkins, the remake pulled back on some of the violence toward children in the original and instead, emphasized the psychological components.

“Our film is a lot less explicit,” Watkins explained. “It’s a psychological thriller with a horrific concept embedded in it, rather than a straight horror film. It’s easy to get scares or shocks out of horrific actions. Since I’ve become a parent I guess I am more mindful of not just having clockwork horror.”

What to Expect in Speak No Evil?

Universal Pictures’ official synopsis reads: “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”

Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy as the American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, with Alix West Lefler playing their 11-year-old daughter. The British couple consists of McAvoy as Paddy, Aisling Franciosi as Ciara, and Dan Hough as their mute son Ant.

Watkins writes and directs Speak No Evil, which is based on the Danish script by Christian and Mads Tafdrup. Producers include Jason Blum and Paul Ritchie.

Speak No Evil hits theaters on September 13, 2024.

(Source: Total Film)