Last week the first trailer for the English language remake of Speak No Evil was released. The trailer immediately came under fire for a variety of reasons. Many couldn’t understand why the remake was being made so close after the original film, whereas others were in uproar that the trailer spoiled key moments from the film. It seems, however, that neither should be a cause for concern with Speak No Evil star Scoot McNairy sharing James Watkins’ film will be very different.
THN sat down earlier this week to speak with McNairy for his forthcoming crime thriller Blood for Dust. During the interview we asked what his take on the remake was for which he shared that he initially had his reservations about the project, “The original version was so well done. It was so good. I was a bit taken aback as to why they were going to remake it, until I read James Watkins’ script and everything that he was going to do with it and how it was going to be different.”
He went on to share that he had already seen the new film and loved its deviations from the source material, “The original is a chilling film and I had the opportunity to see the remake and it’s different. It’s very different with similar things to it, but it’s really good. I was really really happy with it, and I’m really excited for everyone to see it…I think that James Watkins does a good job at tying up this remake with a different bow.”
Throughout the conversation McNairy had nothing but good things to say about Speak No Evil and the work that James Watkins has done, and we for one are now even more intrigued to see the finished project. For those that missed the trailer it can be viewed below, just be warned that there are spoilers, just not necessarily any as ruinous as you might think.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Halt and Catch Fire) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (Argo, A Quiet Place Part II) as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler; The Good Nurse, Riverdale), accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi; Game of Thrones, The Fall) and their furtive, mute son Ant (newcomer Dan Hough).
Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake and the award-winning gothic ghost story The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil is based on the screenplay of the 2022 Danish horror sensation Gæsterne, written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That film earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations, the Danish equivalent of the Oscars.
Universal Pictures will release Speak No Evil in UK cinemas on 16th September.
