The just-released remake of the Danish original has a very different conclusion than its 2022 predecessor.
Warning: This article contains spoilers fromSpeak No Evil.
In both films, two couples, each with a young child, meet and become friendly on vacation.
James McAvoy in ‘Speak No Evil’.Universal Pictures
At first, their different personalities lead to awkward but seemingly harmless social situations.
But McNairy and Davis American expats dont goquiteso quietly into the night when McAvoy finally reveals his true nature.
Partly because I had American characters, I didn’t want them to be completely compliant, Watkins explains.
Alix West Lefler, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy in ‘Speak No Evil’.Universal Studios
I didn’t believe they would be.
I’m from Texas.
I think that’s a difference in my movie.
And I deliberately wanted to explore how people behave when confronted with that violence.
So then when you are confronted with it, how do you behave?
All people react to trauma completely differently, he says.
So I don’t know if that’s a cultural difference or just a personal difference.
I loved the original film.
I mean, I really love it, he says.
We were able to go back and explore that.
I like how ours gives a little catharsis.
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Ours is better, McAvoy jokes when asked which version he prefers.
No, actually, I really enjoyed my experience watching the two movies.
I love that the film doesnt have a Hollywood heroic ending with an unreluctant hero, says McNairy.
There’s strength in being a good father.
There’s strength in being a good husband.
There’s strength in fighting for your family.
And through that strength, he can find resistance.
Speak No Evilis now in theaters.
