(Updated 05/13/2024)
It's difficult to make friends as an adult. All the trust that comes from a new friendship is a lot harder to extend when you've got a lot of life experience, and when you've got a family to think about in addition to yourself. SPEAK NO EVIL suggests that it might be a good idea to try to extend that trust anyway… and then shows what happens when that is exactly the wrong thing to do.
We're not going to tell you everything we know about SPEAK NO EVIL, because we've seen the intense movie it is based on. We will, however, show you the first trailer for the English-language version, and tell you exactly why we're excited to see it.
What's the Speak No Evil Release Date?
Universal Pictures will release SPEAK NO EVIL in movie theaters on September 13, 2024.
Watch the First Speak No Evil Trailer
We don't say this very often, but most viewers should only watch the first minute of this trailer. That will give you a sense of the setup and the characters without giving away some of the points revealed later on in the trailer. Having seen the movie on which this is based, the trailer seems to give a lot away!
Who's in the Cast of Speak No Evil?
SPEAK NO EVIL features a very contained cast. There are really just two families at play for the most part. Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis play Ben and Louise Dalton, who take their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), to visit the country home of a British family they met while on vacation.
James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi play the parents in that family, Paddy and Ciara, while Dan Hough plays their son, Ant.
The cast is a huge part of why we're eager to see SPEAK NO EVIL. The original movie was similarly well-cast, and the simple setup is almost like a play in the way it offers actors a chance to do some really good work. The four stars of this movie are all terrific, and we can't wait to see them interact in this thriller.
Will Speak No Evil Keep the Original Ending?
OK, here we go. The Danish original has one of the more memorable endings we've seen in a recent horror movie. Not going to spoil it here! But that ending is one that… well, it might not play as well in the multiplex as it did in art houses and the horror-centric streaming platforms where many people saw the movie.
We don't know if this version will replicate the ending of the original, or if it will seize the opportunity to forge a new path. Changing the ending would also mean making significant alterations to the overall paths of the characters. That would set this remake apart from the original, and give audiences for both movies something to argue about.
Who Directed Speak No Evil?
The new SPEAK NO EVIL is directed by James Watkins, who has directed for "Black Mirror" and did the gothic horror film THE WOMAN IN BLACK, among other efforts. Watkins made his horror bones with a 2008 movie called EDEN LAKE. In fact, there's a pretty direct line from the story of that movie, in which a vacationing couple… let's say "does not have a great time while on holiday," to the story of this movie.
Watkins scripted EDEN LAKE, and he also wrote his iteration of SPEAK NO EVIL, based on the original script by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.
SPEAK NO EVIL opens on September 13.
All images courtesy of Universal Pictures.