James McAvoy leads the cast in the upcoming remake of the Danish psychological horror Speak No Evil, due for release later this year.
In cinemas, horror in 2024 has taken a little time to grind into gear. The first couple of the months didn’t offer too much for fans of the genre, with Imaginary and Night Swim failing to set the box office alight (even if the latter possessed a certain charm and had Stephen King happily cheerleading it).
Still, the last month saw a double dose of fun nun horror in the form of Immaculate and The First Omen and now it finally feels like we’re up and running, even if in the US, audience numbers for the usually reliable genre are said to be down. This year still has the likes of Abigail, Smile 2 and MaXXXine to come, not to mention the release of Speak No Evil in September.
Speak No Evil is an American remake of the Danish film, Gaesterne. It comes to us courtesy of Blumhouse and Universal and has been adapted and directed by James Watkins, who previously directed The Woman In Black and Eden Lake.
While fans of the original Danish film may be sceptical about a Hollywood remake, there’s no denying that Watkins has the chops to pull it off: Eden Lake can be a tormenting watch, while The Woman In Black is infamous for being the film that the BBFC regrets rating a 12A, given how well-crafted its psychological tension is.
Like the original, ‘the story follows a family who are invited by a couple and their mute son to their country house for a weekend holiday. The hosts soon begin to test the limits of their guests as the situation escalates – initially from passive-aggressive behaviours to a dark secret related to the hosts and this cabin.’
James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi play the hosting couple while Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy are play the invited family. The original film is notorious for its drawn-out tension and uncompromising conclusion so we’re curious to see just how committed Watkins and Blumhouse are to honouring these elements in the upcoming film, which will release on September 13th. In the meantime, you can catch the trailer below.
