The director of the original Speak No Evil film has spoken out against the remake, slamming the decision to change his ending.
The psychological thriller, starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy, was released last week and is a remake of the Danish movie of the same name, which premiered in 2022.
In the chilling flick, two families meet and grow close on holiday and reunite in the UK shortly after – however, things take a turn when their reunion becomes the trip from hell.
Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scoot McNairy) find themselves trapped in a house of horrors and in danger at the hands of their seemingly charming hosts, Paddy (James) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi).
When the project was initially announced, many questioned why director James Watkins and Blumhouse had decided to remake the Danish horror at all, and original filmmaker Christian Tafdrup has now called out the way his ending was made ‘less dangerous’ in the new version.
‘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,’ he said in a new interview, via NME.
‘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.’
Christian explained that, after seeing the finished product, that ‘they would never succeed with a film’ that ended as brutally as his did.
‘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 said, while also reflecting on the way audiences reacted to the remake.
‘People were completely over-enthusiastic and clapped, laughed and whooped. It was like being at a rock concert,’ he added. ‘People…left my film traumatized.’
James took on the role of Paddy in Speak No Evil, and his portrayal of the depraved dad was highly praised by viewers, who branded the character ‘unhinged’ and ‘unsettling’.
The Split actor said that he had heard of the original movie but hadn’t watched any part of it before taking on the role, and only took it in properly once he’d wrapped.
Speaking to Mashable, he shared that he is ‘happy’ that his director changed the ending in the final cut, as it was more believable for the story they were telling.
‘I’m happy that we have a different ending because I think the ending for their film works really, really well,’ he told the outlet.
‘But I think the dynamic between the American characters and the English characters in this film is so different from that particular film, that I don’t think we would believe that ending in our film.’
Speak No Evil is in cinemas now.
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