Speak No Evil director James Watkins has defended changing the original film’s incredibly bleak ending.
The upcoming movie, which stars James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis, is actually a remake of a Danish film of the same name that only came out two years ago. Without going into spoilers, both versions of the film follow a dream holiday in a beautiful country house that soon becomes a living nightmare.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, Watkins explained why he decided to go for a different conclusion to Christian Tafdrup’s version.
Related: Best movie box sets to buy
“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?'” he said.
“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.
“I’ve made an incredibly bleak movie before, so I didn’t feel I needed to make another one,” he added, without naming the movie, though we suspect it’s Eden Lake.
Related: The best and most anticipated horror movies of 2024
He concluded: “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.
“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. I wanted to make a film that is tense and has people screaming at the screen.”
Speak No Evil is released in cinemas in the UK on September 12, and in the US on September 13.
You Might Also Like