James McAvoy hadn’t seen the original version of Speak No Evil before he was cast in James Watkins’ new version – and he’s glad he didn’t, otherwise he might not have signed on to the horror film at all.
“I had heard of the original, but I hadn’t seen the trailer and I certainly hadn’t seen the movie,” the X-Men actor tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film. “I’m glad about that because I don’t know if I would have taken the role if I had – (I) just don’t want to compare myself to what someone else has done. So I watched it the day after it was finished.”
“Speak No Evil” is based on Christian Tafdrup’s Danish film of the same name, which was released in 2022. It focuses on Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), an American couple who have grown apart since moving to London. While on vacation in Italy, the two and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) quickly make friends with a sociable Englishman named Patrick (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and his mute son Ant (Dan Gough).
Back in town, they receive an invitation from Paddy and his family to visit their remote farm in the west of the country for a weekend, which they accept after a short consideration. Soon after their arrival, however, they discover that their new hosts are not quite as friendly as they first appeared…
“I really liked that there was this good couple, with a kind of relationship and love that was so grey and depressing and not something you would wish on your worst enemy,” McAvoy adds when we ask him what attracted him to the script. “Then you have this bad A couple who get the kind of love that you can only dream about and that you desperately want, who seem so capable of happiness and joy in their lives. Sitting them down at a dinner table and having a couples’ conversation was just so incredibly suspenseful. That’s kind of what made me think, ‘This could be really fun.'”
“The genius of James is that he knows how to walk that line without coming across as boorish and just… a bit of an idiot right from the start,” laughs writer-director Watkins. “He had to have as much charm and wit as, you know, mischief and danger.”
Although Watkins is no newcomer to dark, claustrophobic films – he made the bloodcurdling 2008 film Eden Lake – Speak No Evil is less grim than its predecessor, thanks in part to Paddy’s undeniable charm and willingness to find joy in everything he does.
“He was pretty mature on paper; James did a great job,” McAvoy says of the character. “When we first met, we talked about diving a little deeper into that projection of masculinity and sometimes maybe the accepted, civilized face of modern alpha maleness. When does that border on toxic masculinity? The other thing we talked about was really rooting her in the farmland, in agriculture, in a way of life that is pretty hard to live these days.
“It’s really hard to make it as a farmer, and he’s kind of given it up because it’s just impossible to make a penny, you know? So he takes something else instead, and the idea that someone has gone back to nature – what does that mean? It sounds lovely and idyllic and like a good life, but going back to nature also means becoming more animalistic, and animalistic means being subject to your instincts. So yes, you’re capable of great happiness, but you’re also capable of great violence.”
Speak No Evil hits theaters on September 12. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time or our guide to the most exciting horror movies coming our way soon.
Listen to our chat with McAvoy in an upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify and other platforms.
