James McAvoy of “Speak No Evil” says he has “never seen a problem” with remakes: “Great stories can be told again and again”

It is no secret that when James Watkins' new version of Speak No Evil was first announced, just a year after the release of the Danish original, Thoughts. Horror fans flocked to social media to ponder the merits of a Hollywood version, pointing out that much of Christian Tafrdup's film is in English anyway.

James McAvoy, on the other hand, has “never seen a problem” with remaking certain films, especially if it could remind audiences of the titles on which the films are based.

“When I did Macbeth, I wasn't remaking Macbeth,” the actor, who plays antagonist Paddy Feld in the new film, tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film. “Yes, it's been done a thousand times before, but great stories can be told again and again, especially if audiences didn't see them the first time. Did the larger cinema community go to see the original film? No. Will they go to see the original film? Maybe they will now, having seen this film, and saying, 'I'd love to see this other version.' So I think there's no problem, and I've never seen the problem.”

The script and direction are by Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black. Speak No Evil focuses on Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), an American couple who have drifted apart since moving to London. During a 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…

(Image credit: Sundance)

“There's no point in remaking a film unless you bring something a little bit different to it. Because Christian's film is, you know, not very old, and it exists and it's really good. If you want to see that film, you can. I saw his film, thought it was fantastic, and thought, 'Okay, I can do that. I can move in a slightly different direction,'” Watkins says in a subsequent conversation. “There's a lot of noise, and you can get caught up in that noise. You can always get defensive, but at the same time you have to remember that these people haven't seen my film.

“So it's like, 'You know what, watch the movie and then write a review, and if you hate it, that's fine. That's your right.' Everyone has the right to not like something, especially if you're paying for it. But if it's just an abstract thought? That's nonsense. But hey, listen, it's easy to be cynical, and frankly, I do it. 'They're remaking this? Oh…' I do it. So, I don't know, I just thought it was a brilliant story. This is a different take on a brilliant story. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. It doesn't deny the existence of Christian's film, which is brilliant.”

Spoiler-laden details aside, it will probably come as no surprise to those who have seen Tafdrup's spine-chilling 2022 film that Watkins' Speak No Evil has a very different ending. That's not the only way the film shakes things up, though. McAvoy's Paddy is much warmer, more unpredictable, and more openly emotional than Fedja van Huêt's harder-to-read Patrick, to name just one example. The film delves much more deeply into Paddy and his wife's past, and is also darkly comic in places, which is not how genre fans would describe its predecessor.

“They're different. They actually say different things, and I'm not making this movie for the people who saw the first one,” McAvoy continues. “We made this movie for people who never saw the first one. So really, I don't know. I don't know if that's really a problem for me.”

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.

James McAvoy of “Speak No Evil” says he has “never seen a problem” with remakes: “Great stories can be told again and again”

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