Speak No Evil
Short description
A Danish couple, Bjørn and Louise, meet a Dutch family while on holiday in Italy, and the two households get along well enough that the Danes accept an invitation months later to spend a weekend at their new friends' home in the Dutch countryside. What begins as a pleasant visit gradually turns uncomfortable, as small misunderstandings and odd behavior accumulate and the guests' efforts to remain courteous give way to a sense of unease. The weekend becomes something far different from the friendly reunion it was meant to be.
Christian Tafdrup directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Mads Tafdrup, with Jacob Jarek producing for Profile Pictures and OAK Motion Pictures. The cast includes Morten Burian and Sidsel Siem Koch as Bjørn and Louise, Fedja van Huêt and Karina Smulders as Patrick and Karin, and Liva Forsberg and Marius Damslev as the children, Agnes and Abel. The film runs 98 minutes and belongs to the drama, horror and thriller genres.
Released in March 2022, the film was made for about 3 million USD. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.7/10 from roughly 63,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6/10 from about 1,172 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1/10 across 53 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores. For a modestly budgeted European production, the vote counts on IMDb indicate a wide international audience.
What's left behind the scenes
- The idea for the film came to director and screenwriter Christian Tafdrup after a vacation in Italy, when the Tafdrups met a couple from the Netherlands. They became friends and spent a lot of time together. When Tafdrup returned home, he received an invitation from the Danes to come and visit. He thought about it and decided to decline, as he didn’t know these people at all.
- The original title of the film translates as "The Guests."
- Some actors refused to audition, stating that they generally liked the script – but not the ending, or that they were uncomfortable with the scene involving a child. Fedya van Heet and Karine Smolders also doubted their participation until the last moment, and were finally convinced to join the filming only after meeting the director in person.
- 12 actors from the Netherlands auditioned for the film, but Christian Tafdrup felt that many of them weren't enthusiastic about appearing in such a dark film. Some actors called right before the auditions and refused to participate, saying that they generally liked the script – but not the ending, or that they were uncomfortable with the scene involving the child. Fedja van Huêt and Karina Smulders also doubted it until the last moment, and were finally convinced to take part in the filming only after meeting Tafdrup in person.
- The original ending of the film involved the violent deaths of many characters. It was planned that 30 people from other families, who had also come as guests, would be executed in various ways. A week before filming, the ending was changed due to difficulties with filming the extras and a desire to simplify the conclusion.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
