Speak No Evil director defends remaking a two-year-old movie and changing one of its best scenes: "I wanted to make a film that is tense"

Aug. 30, 2024

Exclusive: James Watkins stands up for his Speak No Evil remake and explains why he chose to change certain “bleak” scenes

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Although the original Speak No Evil movie only came out less than two years ago, writer-director James Watkins feels like his remake is different enough to stand out as he defends some of the changes he made to the original story.

“There’ll be people that see the original movie and go, ‘Why hasn’t he remade that movie? Why hasn’t he made this incredibly punchy, unrelenting ending?'” Watkins tellsSFX magazinein the new issue, which features Agatha All Along on the cover and hits newsstands on September 4.

“But I would argue, with my characters and their journey, I’m following through their journey in terms of agency and how they would react. What I’ve taken from Christian’s film is the satire, the exploration of the social rules, and how we react.”

Watkins’ take, also titled Speak No Evil, seems to follow the same premise at face value, swapping the Danish and Dutch families for American and English ones. But the director suggests that audiences will get a surprise upon its release as he has changed some of the movie’s most poignant scenes. “I’ve made an incredibly bleak movie before, so I didn’t feel I needed to make another one,” he says.

“You can give people an incredibly tense roller coaster ride that has thematic nourishment and things to take away and talk about in the pub, but it can be fun.” One of horror fans' biggest concerns when the remake was announced was how some of the original Shudder movie’s more raw themes would translate to a mainstream audience on the big screen. Watkins says this is all down to adding a bit of “fun” as he calls it.

“People need fun… Fun in inverted commas. I’ve sat with audiences and people come out of this absolutely rinsed, like you would on a great roller coaster ride,” explains Watkins. “I wanted to make a film that is tense and has people screaming at the screen.”

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Speak No Evil releases on September 13. The original is available to stream on Shudder. Read more inthe latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Agatha All Along on the cover and will be available from Wednesday, September 4.

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