Speak No Evil: James McAvoy stars in Blumhouse remake of Danish thriller

James McAvoy is set to reteam with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed. Universal Pictures has already scheduled the film for an August 9, 2024 theatrical release.

James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film. It’s said that Speak No Evil will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.

We need more information than that, because that sounds like a whole bunch of movies we’ve seen before. Luckily, there is more information to be found, because this is actually a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup – and must have brought their story to the screen incredibly well, because Gæsterne was nominated for eleven Danish Film Awards. Those are the equivalent to what the Oscars are in the United States. That film had the following synopsis: A Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness. And if you’re interested in checking it out, it’s on the Shudder streaming service under the title Speak No Evil.

Blumhouse founder Jason Blum is producing the Speak No Evil remake. Christian Tafdrup serves as executive producer alongside Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira.

Have you watched Gæsterne / the original Speak No Evil, and are you interested in seeing an English-language version of the story that stars James McAvoy and comes from Blumhouse? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

I haven’t gotten around to watch the original film yet, but the casting of James McAvoy in the lead is a good way to get me interested in seeing the Blumhouse remake. I look forward to hearing who will be in the supporting cast.