James McAvoy and Speak No Evil director say their upcoming remake is “a lot less explicit” than the original horror movie

When Blumhouse announced that they would be remaking the critically acclaimed 2022 Danish horror movie Speak No Evil, some fans raised concerns online that it was too soon to be retelling that story. There were also questions about why the world needed an English language retelling, especially when much of the original film is already in English.

The team behind the upcoming remake want to ease those fears, promising that it will partly take this tale of a family holiday gone wrong in a new direction. Speaking to Total Film in our new issue out on Thursday, July 19, which features Alien: Romulus on the cover, star James McAvoy emphasizes that the same themes are explored, crucially class and how far we go to satisfy others, whilst also putting their own stamp on it: “Christian [Tafdrup, director of the original] was really pushing the idea of how far people would comply, like an allegory almost. Our film is 100% a remake and it honors the original, but it also does something a little bit different.”

Check out an exclusive image of McAvoy in Speak No Evil below: 

(Image credit: Jay Maidment, Susie Allnut/Universal Pictures)

As to where those differences lie, the director of the remake, James Watkins, says that a lot has to do with the violence in his movie. No spoilers here, but the original holds a no compromises attitude, especially when it comes to the shocking ending and violence against children. 

The latter was something the filmmaker particularly wanted to tone down, as he tells Total Film: “Our film is a lot less explicit. It’s a psychological thriller with a horrific concept embedded in it, rather than a straight horror film. It’s easy to get scares or shocks out of horrific actions. Since I’ve become a parent I guess I am more mindful of not just having clockwork horror.”

Pre-order the Alien: Romulus issue of Total Film

Speak No Evil is released on September 12. And you can read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, July 19.

Check out the covers below:

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Disney)

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. You’ll get every issue before it’s in stores and you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers. 

(Image credit: Total Film/20th Century Studios/Disney/Marvel Studios/Warner Bros/Prime Video/Universal)