Speak No Evil's James McAvoy is "glad" he didn't watch the original before signing up to the horror remake: "I don't know if I'd have taken the role"

James McAvoy hadn't seen the original Speak No Evil before he was cast in James Watkins' new take – and he's happy he hadn't, too, or else he might not have signed up to the horror movie at all. "I'd heard of the original, but I hadn't seen the trailer and I certainly hadn't seen the film," the X-Men actor tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film . "Which I'm glad about because I don't know if I'd have taken the role if I had – [I] just don’t really want to be comparing myself to what somebody else [has] done.

So I watched it the day after we finished." Based on Christian Tafdrup's Danish film of the same name, which was released in 2022, Speak No Evil centers on Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), an American couple who have grown distant since uprooting their life to London. While holidaying in Italy, the pair and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) strike up a fast friendship with a gregarious Englishman named Patrick (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and mute son Ant (Dan Gough).

Back in the city, they receive an invitation from Paddy and his family to come visit their remote farm in the West Country for a weekend, which they accept after a little deliberation. Soon after they arrive, though, they realize that their new hosts aren't quite as friendly as they first appeared..

. "I really liked that there was this good couple, with a kind of relationship and love that was so gray and depressing, and not anything you'd wish on your worst enem.