Would you call your version ofSpeak No Evila remake?
I feel it exists in its own realm.
When were you approached to make it?
L to R: Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) in Speak No EvilBlumhouse x Universal
So, they casually called me up and said, Look, check this out.
And it was Christian Tafdrups filmSpeak No Evil.
I hadnt seen it nor heard of it.
L to R: Agnes Dalton (Alix West Lefler), Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy), and Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis) inSpeak No EvilBlumhouse x Universal
And I watched it, and it was a very strong brew.
If it was beer, it would be like an 8% beer or something [laughs].
Its so relentless.Eden Lakealso has that kind of really dark ending.
But for this film, I loved all the themes and the characters.
Because his film already exists, I recommend you go and see it.
Hopefully, in that specificity, itll have some sort of universality and speak to other people.
Because I think the humor, that cringe humor, is the flip side to the horror.
So, I wanted to explore that.
In the third act, I wanted to take it in a different direction from the beginning.
But then I also wanted them to not be superhuman.
In the third act, theyre just normal people trying to respond to this intense situation.
And theyre very deliberately a bit rubbish in some ways, or fumbly and scared.
For example, when they have a go at throw the Molotov cocktail, it messes up.
Or Ben jumps off the roof and hurts his leg.
WATKINS:That scene is really interesting.
But there were quite a few of them that alluded to his character being like, hes a wimp.
DEADLINE: Thats funny.
Some people asked, Well, cant Scoots character be stronger?
Its like, No, hes not [built like that].
Louise is the stronger one.
Thats just the way it is.
DEADLINE: Can you talk about building this cast?
WATKINS:It all started with McAvoy.
We were both like, [the lead role] has to be McAvoy, right?
And so, he was my first port of call.
This is going to be fun.
And so, I think I got Scoot [McNairy] next.
Im just a big admirer of Scoot.
I love how he underplays everything.
They were so good at creating that tension for the audience.
So that was great because theyve got familiarity.
But Mackenzie has great intelligence in terms of playing someone whos always self-censoring and ultimately isnt.
Mackenzie was so brilliant in the physical comedy of it all.
She would always be like, Ive got this.
Shes very tall, so she was always jokingly saying, Ive got this long body.
DEADLINE: Going back to humor, why did you decide to weaponize Eternal Flame?
How did that come about?
And how did you get James McAvoy on board to sing it?
WATKINS:James was such a good sport about it.
I had the song in mind very early.
So, when we shot it, I dont think wed even cleared the rights.
I hope that something interesting happens.
I wonder if it will change people [laughs].
It might have a moment like whenStranger Thingsrevived Kate Bushs Running Up That Hill.
That song gives Ben and Paddy this weird energy while going against the moment on screen.
Theres a kind of friction between the song and the moment that creates this humor.
It just felt right to use the song.
DEADLINE: Another piece of pop culture in the film is Philip Larkins This Be the Verse.
Why was that the perfect piece for Paddys character?
WATKINS:It felt like such an express.
Im a huge Philip Larkin fan of his poetry.
Its the notion of man hands on misery to man and deepens like a coastal shelf.
Its the theme of Paddy and Ant (Dan Hough).
At the end, Paddy has this thing with Ant where he says, Thats my boy.
Paddy also refers to his parents pretty unsparingly.
And its this notion of cycles of violence and trauma.
But at the end of the film, its not a glib thing.
Hes carrying [what he did] with him.
DEADLINE: Lets talk about the women.
Because I feel Louise, her daughter, and Ciara have a lot of agency in this film.
WATKINS:Im really pleased that you said that because it was very important to me.
It was one of those things that I latched onto regarding what could be additive to the film.
Youve got Mackenzies character, Louise, whos at one level, shes a slightly anxious helicopter parent.
Shes going along with everything and really trying to overcompensate and over-accommodate.
Then, shes the one with the most agency in the third act.
The alpha is actually Louise and Paddy.
So, I really wanted to lean into that [dynamic].
Whats weird is Paddy and Ciaras relationship is not [perfect], its deeply toxic.
James and Aisling [Franciosi] were really great at building and leaning into this relationship style.
There is real love there, but its twisted.
Its free and fun, and theyre probably having amazing sex and all kinds of things.
But its a complication.
And I think two things can be true when it comes to Ciaras character.
So, all of that just makes their relationship more complicated and nuanced.
WATKINS:Yeah, its a play.
Whatever happened to her in the past, the current situation is still a play.
Its that slightly nervous feeling of, Oh my God, what would I do in that situation?
DEADLINE: What was the challenge of creating a film like this?
WATKINS:It was holding our nerve in terms of the slow burn for an American audience.
Jon and I played slightly different music when we first showed the rough cut to Blumhouse.
And I was like, Well, it was for you guys.
And he was mock offended, going, Come on, yo, give me more credit.
There were some scenes we chucked away that I love, but they were just sort of there.
Its a powerful moment, but we didnt need that moment.
Thats whats great about having an editor with whom Ive had such a good relationship over time.
We can be very honest, and weve gotten really good at going, Yes, we love that.
But you know what, lets just throw that away.
DEADLINE: That ending shot of the film is interesting to me.
Can you talk about why you ended the movie on a close-up of Ant?
What Ant has just done is survive.
I wanted it to be true to the sadness of that final image.
Heres a boy who has lost his parents and gone through a horrific situation.
Hes been physically and mentally abused and has had to commit an act of violence.
So, theres an emotional release in there that I find quite moving.
But I also didnt want people to have any doubt.
They have survived and will continue down this road, but it will not be easy.
