Everything We Know About The Speak No Evil Remake From Blumhouse
There's no denying that Christian Tafdrup's "Speak No Evil" was one of the most — if not the most — horrific films to come out of 2022. The Danish movie took the horror world by storm when it debuted on the festival circuit last year, and its quietly sinister satirical commentary was the talk of the genre when it premiered on Shudder. Now, like all good foreign things that catch the eyes of American capitalist businessmen, "Speak No Evil" is getting an English remake.
Personally, the original is just too smart and evil on its own and an attempt to capture that pitch-perfect tone is going to be like trying to get lightning into a bottle — even with great casting. A lot of the best tensions in the film stem from the very subtle yet deeply resonate and important rivalry between the Danish and the Dutch; It's the main wrench that ends up driving the Danish couple to their own ruin ... and it's not exactly the easiest thing to replicate for American or even English audiences. The closest concepts would be a clash of American political views (to be honest, typical Blumhouse route at this point, so hopefully they don't do this) or an English and Irish rivalry. But neither choice fully lends to the demented, cruel, and original spirit of Tafdrup's film.
Either way, a remake is on the way, and you can keep reading to find out all the details we know so far about Blumhouse's version of this bone-chilling satire.
When and where to watch Blumhouse's Speak No Evil
The film is set to release with Universal Pictures on August 9, 2024. There's no information just yet on future streaming information, but with the pushback to theaters in full force, it stands to reason that this film will definitely screen in theaters. It may even have an exclusive theatrical run, only showing up on streaming once that window is over. Blumhouse's strategy tends to differ from film to film, so it's anyone's guess ... but casting may end up being a major sway on how they handle the release.
What Blumhouse's Speak No Evil will be about
It looks as though Blumhouse's "Speak No Evil" remake will follow an ultimately similar plotline as the original, with some obvious choice tweaks in there for an English-speaking audience. According to Shudder, the synopsis reads, "One family accepts an invitation to the rural home of another they met on holiday, only to find their lives altered in unexpected, deeply horrifying ways."
It seems as though the new film will keep this overall structure, but as of this writing, we don't have further details about how the English version will (or won't) do things differently. Either way, it will be interesting to see what choices they make here, hopefully ones that don't stray from what makes the original great.
Blumhouse's Speak No Evil cast and crew
As of this writing, James McAvoy and "Black Mirror" alum Mackenzie Davis have been cast in leading roles on the project, but there have yet to be any other casting announcements. Judging by these castings, it appears McAvoy and Davis will be playing the equivalent of the Danish couple — so it will be interesting to see who Blumhouse puts into play for the offending Dutch couple, because the casting has to be on point for the movie to work as a whole. Plus, there have been some really incredible child actors coming out of the woodwork to build major careers over the last few years, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a few of them show up in the pivotal child roles of the film.