Summary
The stunt coordinator forSpeak No Evilteases the film’s action. A remake of the Danish film of the same name,Speak No Eviltells the story of two couples who spend time together in the countryside, only for one of them to discover that something more sinister is afoot. The horror film features a leadingcast including James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, and Dan Hough. It is directed by James Watkins and is set for release on September 13.
This Upcoming Horror Movie Remake Is An Exciting Comeback For One Of The Last Decade’s Most Underrated Actors
One of 2024’s upcoming horror remakes marks the comeback of one of the most underrated actors of the last decade, giving them another chance to shine.
In an interview withScreen RantforBorderlands,Speak No Evilstunt coordinator Jimmy O’Dee speaks on the film’s action. The stunt coordinator details how exciting it was to get to work on the film, which has “a great script.” When looking at the project, O’Dee and the team felt the need to “mix it up.” The director wanted thefilm’s action to feel “absolutely realistic"and the audience to “feel the fear of the family being chased.” He also teased that Watkins “does horror really well.” Check out the full quote from O’Dee below:
James Watkins is an old friend. I’ve done a few films with James, and I love him to bits. He’s a lovely person, and Tim Morris Jones is the DP. So, it felt really familiar. It just so happened, Tim was like, “You’re not available, are ya?” and I literally was. It was a great script, and it’s James McAvoy who I’d worked four or five times before, and I love him. James is one of these actors, who, with James it’s just so effortless, but this role is literally made for him. For me, when I read it, it was like, this is what we’re going to do. And it was based on the Danish version, but we’re going to change it. We’re going to mix it up.
James wanted to make it feel absolutely realistic. Absolutely nothing is not something that couldn’t happen in a physical world. We really wanted to feel the fear of the family being chased. I don’t want to give too much away, but yeah, it was just a joy. I mean, we shot that in Gloucestershire. We were a nice little self contained unit in the middle of Gloucestershire. And it was just a beautiful shoot, wonderful production crew, great cast and crew. James Watkins at his best. James does horror really well, as well.
What Does This Mean For How Speak No Evil Compares To The Danish Original?
Audiences Have Feared The Comparison
In his description of the action inSpeak No Evil, O’Dee describes a kind of rawness to the feel of the film. It is interesting to hear him characterize the horror film in this way, as previous reports on the movie have noted that the film is"less explicit” than the Danish original. Watkins chalked this down to his desire to make “a psychological thriller with a horrific concept embedded in it” instead of “a straight horror film.” This toning down of the violence worried some fans of the original, with concerns the Blumhouse version would be too diluted.
From what O’Dee describes, however, it sounds likeSpeak No Evilis not oversimplified in the slightest. While there may be less gore, the team behind the film sought to evoke the same emotions of terror as did the original Danish movie throughpsychological horror. If O’Dee is accurate in saying that thefilm is “James Watkins at his best,“then viewers are in for a treat.
Despite concerns thatSpeak No Evilcould not live up to the original’s shocks and biting cultural satire, theinitial reception ofSpeak No Evilhas been positive. After a screening at San Diego Comic-Con, the film was praised as"nail-biting” and “as tense and uncomfortable as the original"without directly mimicking the Danish movie. With these promising early reviews and interesting tease aboutSpeak No Evil’s action, hopefully the horror film can live up to these high expectations.
Speak No Evil
Cast
Speak No Evil is a 2024 horror-thriller film by writer-director James Watkins. A remake of the 2022 movie Speak No Evil follows a family who head to the country for a much-needed vacation - but the situation quickly deteriorates, thrusting them into a horrific nightmare.
