Speak No Evil on Rai 4

May 1, 2024 3:33 pm

Speak No Evilon Rai 4 the acclaimed Danish-produced psychological horror thriller directed by Christian Tafdrup, a film that recently received an American remake starring James McAvoy.

Speak No Evil – Cast and characters

Morten Burian: Bjørn
Sidsel Siem Koch: Louise
Fedja van Huêt: Patrick
Karina Smulders: Karin
Liva Forsberg: Agnes
Marius Damslev: Abel
Hichem Yacoubi: Muhajid
Jesper Dupont: Jonas

Speak No Evil – Plot and trailer

During a holiday in Tuscany, a Danish family quickly becomes friends with a Dutch family. Months later, the Danish couple receives an unexpected invitation from the Dutch to visit their home and decide to go there for the weekend. However, it isn’t long before the joy of the reunion is replaced by misunderstandings. Things gradually get out of hand, as the Dutch reveal themselves to be something very different from what they pretended to be. The small Danish family now finds themselves trapped in a house they wish they had never entered.

Curiosities about the film

• Christian Tafdrup directs “Speak No Evil” from his screenplay written with Mads Tafdrup.
• The Dutch couple, Karin (Karina Smulders) and Patrick (Fedja van Huêt), are married in real life.
• Director Christian Tafdrup got the idea for the film from his experience while on holiday in Tuscany, where his family met a friendly but somewhat socially awkward couple from the Netherlands. They got along very well and the two families spent a lot of time together. When Tafdrup returned home, he received an invitation from the Dutch family to stay with them in the Netherlands. Tafdrup briefly considered the offer, but decided not to accept it, as he felt it would be strange to be with people he didn’t really know. He never met them again, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened if he had accepted, and some of his darkest ideas became the basis for his screenplay. Tafdrup points out that the film is nothing more than a dark fantasy and that the Dutch couple who vacationed there were undoubtedly good people.
• An American remake of the film directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black) will be released in the United States by Universal Pictures in September 2024. The cast includes James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy.
• The film took seven weeks to shoot, spread over 12 months. Filming was halted four times as it was filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The house where the film was filmed has been demolished.
• The Italian sequences at the beginning of the film were actually shot last.
• Finding actors to play the Dutch couple proved to be a challenge. About twelve Dutch actors auditioned, but director Christian Tafdrup felt that some of them were not enthusiastic due to the film’s dark subject matter. Some even canceled auditions at the last minute, saying they loved the script until the finale or felt extremely uncomfortable with some of the characters’ actions. Fedja van Huêt and Karina Smulders were also hesitant to audition until the last moment, but after meeting with Tafdrup they felt comfortable enough to sign.
• The film is produced by Jacob Jarek, Simone Banchini, Johnny Anderson and Simone Lund-Jensen.

Speak No Evil – The soundtrack

• The film’s original music is by the composer Sune “Køter” Kølster (Ludo, Asfalt, Dark Blossom).

1. Overture (1:40)
2. Call of the Siren (1:01)
3. Garden of Love – Lament of the Nymph (1:37)
4. Dance of Bacchus (2:23)
5. Unbearable Heat of Vesta (1:16)
6. Crossing the River Styx (2:04)
7. Abel’s Secret (0:59)
8. The Fields of Elysium (1:08)
9. Hubris of Cupid (1:26)
10. The Gates to Hades (3:05)
11. The Predator (2:00)
12. Crying Wolf (0:55)
13. Sacrificium (4:15)
14. Tears of Gaea (1:36)
15. Sword of Justica (3:04)
16. Amor of Death – Lament of the Nymph (4:21)
17. Requiem (4:18)

The “Speak No Evil” soundtrack is available on Amazon.