The Danish director of the original Speak No Evil has hit out at the new remake for rewriting the “entire ending”, saying: “I don’t know what it is about Americans”.
Speak No Evil – which is an American remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name – was released in cinemas on September 13. Written and directed by James Watkins (The Woman In Black, Eden Lake), the film stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi and Scoot McNairy.
Now, the director of the original, Christian Tafdrup, has criticised the film’s remake for a number of significant changes.
The remake changes the nationalities of the families to British and American and Watkins has divided fans by completely changing the ending to the film.
Tafdrup told the Danish radio show Kulturen that he was unimpressed with the film and went on to criticise several elements of the movie.
He said: “I don’t know what it is about Americans, but they are brought up for a heroic tale, where the good must win over the bad, and this version of the film cultivates that” (as per dr.dk).
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He went on to say that the changes to the story also make it “less dangerous”, making it a safer version than his original.
*Spoilers ahead*
He added: “I found that they have made a wildly entertaining, effective, well-acted version of my original film. But it might not be that dangerous either.
“When I saw the film yesterday, I could see that they would never succeed with a film where the characters are stoned to death, as they do in our film. These people must fight for their family and defeat the bad guys.
“It is a kind of happy ending, and it is so deep in their culture that America must be able to handle it all.”
He also reflected on the different audience reactions to the film. He said of the more recent reaction to the new movie: “People were completely over-enthusiastic and clapped, laughed and whooped. It was like being at a rock concert” while when leaving, he recalled how “people…left my film traumatised.”
Meanwhile, McAvoy has revealed the extreme lengths he went to in preparation for his menacing role in the horror remake.
In the film, McAvoy plays Paddy, the patriarch of a British family that hides a dark secret. The actor has spoken previously about the basis of the character’s toxic masculinity, revealing that he was inspired in part by Andrew Tate.
In order to reflect the imposing nature of the character, McAvoy told The Guardian what he did to prepare: “30 push-ups, five seconds before the take, just to pump my shoulders out, make my neck thicker, get the veins going”.
He continued, explaining the tactic was to make him look “more animalistic, to look like I could really do some damage.”
“Because I’m a 5ft 7 guy,” he added, “you’ve got to project a lot.”
In a four star review of the new film, NME said: “The gruelling, violent final act really gets the blood pumping, as it dawns on Ben, Louise and Agnes that they’re in serious danger. All the cast play their parts, but an off-the-leash McAvoy is a joy to behold, channelling the same twisted energy he mined for his addict-cop in Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth.
“Touching on issues of class and the rich-poor divide, the result is a top-notch British thriller that’ll scare the bejesus out of you.”