I have gone on record time and time again about how scarily satisfying many of the horror movies that came out in 2022 were, yet none of those great horror movies managed to haunt me in such a disturbing and profoundly upsetting way more than Speak No Evil – a Danish thriller with an American update coming soon.
Being an international import, this recent freaky flick may have flown under the radar for some people – who may now be wondering about what exactly is this “evil” that is going unspoken. While it would be ill-advised to give away too many details in fear of spoiling the new Speak No Evil, I will happily provide answers about who is behind the new upcoming horror movie, when it's coming out, and more.
What Is The Speak No Evil Release Date?
There are many intriguing horror flicks to look forward to on our upcoming 2024 movies schedule and Speak No Evil is among them. The movie is currently set to release in theaters on Friday, September 13, 2024.
The Trailer Teases A Weekend Retreat From Hell
The first trailer for Speak No Evil made its official debut during the Universal panel at CinemaCon 2024. The footage must have had many attendees of the event in Las Vegas feeling very cautious about who they may befriend during their trip. See what I mean by checking out the clip for yourself below:
To anyone who has ever seen the Danish version of this thriller, much of the teaser likely feels very familiar, as it includes many moments that resemble key scenes from the original very closely. However, that does not take away from its thoroughly unsettling tone, and the trailer suggests that the remake is going in a different direction with the final act. Not to mention, James McAvoy looks more unhinged than ever, which is worth the price of admission alone.
Speak No Evil Is A Remake Of A Shocking Danish Thriller
Speak No Evil tells the story of American married couple Ben and Louise Dalton and their young daughter, Agnes, who cross paths with British married couple Patrick and Ciara and a young son, Ant, while on vacation. After accepting an invitation to spend a weekend at their house, Ben and Louise soon find their hosts' methods of hospitality to be very inconsiderate and are discomforted by other questionable behaviors. However, the couple eventually comes to the horrifying discovery that awkward disagreements and misunderstandings are the least of their worries.
As previously established, the Blumhouse release is an American update of a Danish film of the same name, which focuses on a Danish family’s bizarre visit with a Dutch family they met in Tuscany. Directed by Christian Tafdrup, who also wrote the screenplay with his brother, Mads, 2022’s Speak No Evil is considered by many (myself included) to be of the scariest movies on Shudder for its relatable depiction of passive-aggressive responses to social upheaval and effective slow-burn structure.
James McAvoy And Mackenzie Davis Star In The Speak No Evil Cast
James McAvoy is just one of the biggest names – if not the biggest – from this upcoming thriller. He is where we will begin our breakdown of who plays who in the new Speak No Evil cast.
James McAvoy (Patrick)
Starring in Speak No Evil as Patrick (or “Paddy”) is James McAvoy, who is already a horror veteran. He played the title role of Victor Frankenstein, took on multiple roles living inside the mind of DID patient Kevin Wendell Crumb in the M. Night Shyamalan movies, Split and Glass, and played an adult Bill Denbrough in Andy Muschietti’s It Chapter Two in 2019. The Scottish X-Men star is also known for his Golden Globe-nominated role in 2007’s Atonement, action movies like Wanted and Atomic Blonde, and his more recent performance as Pontius Pilate in The Book of Clarence.
Mackenzie Davis (Louise Dalton)
As American wife and mother, Louise Dalton, we have Mackenzie Davis, who is also no stranger to horror – having played a vampire in the 2015 horror-comedy movie Freaks of Nature and led 2020’s The Turning, to name a couple. She is also in one of the best episodes of Black Mirror (let alone most positive), "San Junipero," has played two artificial humans (in Blade Runner 2049 and Terminator: Dark Fate), and led Max’s post-apocalyptic limited series, Station Eleven. Some of her lighter credits include Jason Reitman’s Tully and Hulu’s Happiest Season cast as Harper.
Scoot McNairy (Ben Dalton)
Louise’s husband, Ben, is played by Mackenzie Davis’ Halt and Catch Fire co-star, Scoot McNairy, whose own eclectic career also includes horror flicks – namely modern alien invasion movie classics, 2010’s Monsters and A Quiet Place Part II from 2018. He also has two Best Picture Oscar winners under his belt (12 Years a Slave and Argo), had a small, but pivotal, role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and also played a character on How I Met Your Mother you may have forgotten (a cashier at the fast foot restaurant Marshall and Lily visit after their wedding).
Aisling Franciosi (Ciara)
Playing Patrick’s wife, Ciara, is Aisling Franciosi, who will have starred in her third horror movie in a row when Speak No Evil comes out, following 2023’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Stopmotion. Before then, the Irish-Italian actor’s best-known credits were Jennifer Kent’s brutal revenge movie, 2018’s The Nightingale, and two episodes of Game of Thrones as Lyanna Stark.
Alix West Lefler (Agnes Dalton)
Ben and Louise’s daughter, Agnes, is played by Alix West Lefler, whose previous major movie releases include in Netflix’s The Good Nurse and 2023’s The King Tide. She has been seen on the small screen in series like Riverdale, SyFy’s Resident Alien, and CBS’s Fire Country, to name a few.
Dan Hough (Ant)
Starring as Patrick and Ciara’s son, Ant, is Dan Hough. Speak No Evil will mark the young man’s acting debut.
Speak No Evil Is Rated R
In December 2023, with the thriller still months away, the MPA announced its official rating. According to Bloody-Disgusting, Speak No Evil is rated R for violence and sexual content.
James Watkins Writes And Directs
Penning the screenplay for this new reinterpretation of Speak No Evil is James Watkins, who is also helming the project, according to Deadline. The English filmmaker previously wrote thrillers like 2002’s My Little Eye and Gone from 2006 before making his directorial debut in 2008 with the unsettling drama Eden Lake, starring Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly from the cast of Yellowstone. He followed that up by directing Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe in 2012’s The Woman in Black – which, technically, also counts as a remake of a 1989 TV movie also based on Susan Hill’s novel – and he went on to helm one of the most intense Black Mirror episodes: “Shut Up and Dance.”
Universal Pictures will distribute the film that will also mark a reunion for James McAvoy and Jason Blum, who produced Split and Glass and is producing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse. The production company behind many freaky modern favorites has previously remade thrillers like the underrated slasher The Town That Dreaded Sundown, the harrowing French Extremist drama Martyrs, and the holiday horror movie classic Black Christmas. Those serving as an executive producer on the film include Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek, Bea Sequeira, and the story’s original creator, Christian Tafdrup.
Speak No Evil Halted Production In July 2023, But Resumed In November
Due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, production for Speak No Evil went on hiatus in mid-July 2023. However, according to ScreenDaily, it resumed filming in November.
An earlier report by Screen Daily stated that Speak No Evil was actually just days away from wrapping up principal photography in Gloucestershire, England when the production was shut down. The report went on to say that, while its three top stars are from different countries — with McAvoy being Scottish, Davis hailing from Canada, and McNairy being American — all three are under contract with SAG for the film.
I personally regard the original Speak No Evil as an Oscar-worthy horror film worth recommending to anyone with a Shudder subscription (as long as they brace themselves for the brutal climax). I am curious to see how the story will be handled under Watkins’ guidance and how McAvoy and company will portray the characters. Of course, until the remake finally hits theaters, I’ll be sure to hold my tongue.
