The film was shot in Istria in May 2023, at locations in Grožnjan, Motovun and the surrounding area (Kaldir), for a total of four days. Altogether 144 crew members participated on the project, of which 99 were Croatian film professionals. Three interns and 114 extras were also involved.

Speak No Evil was filmed in Croatia, with MP Film Production acting as the service producer. Filming was realised using the incentives programme of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre – Filming in Croatia.

On Tuesday, 3rd September, the film’s Croatian film distributor Editus and MP Film Production organised a special pre-premiere screening, attended by the film crew who worked on the project, including producer Igor A. Nola, costume designer Ana Toto, production coordinator Kristina Lovrić, makeup artist Ivana Haligonja, gaffer Ivica Anđelović, key grip Josip Siladi, unit manager Dubravko Scherr, and many other crew members.

“We shot the film’s opening sequences in Croatia, and the first day of filming of the entire project was done here, with all the actors present. The adrenaline is always high on the first day of shooting, but my team made sure the entire shoot in Motovun, Grožnjan and the villa was done on a really high professional level. Thanks to quality preparation and organisation, we were able to relax and be efficient at the same time”, explained producer Igor A. Nola.

“This is my third project collaborating with director James Watkins, as well as with the director of photography, Tim Maurice-Jones, and my fifth time collaborating with producer Paul Ritchie, following ‘Diana’, ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard 2’, and the series ‘McMafia’ and ‘The Ipcress File’, and this is the second time I’ve worked with producer Jason Blum. They wanted to see locations in Italy, but they were also planning on visiting Istria, which they have known for a long time. Apart from the locations, what tipped the scales was our professional attitude and ability to organise the shoot in a short window of time”, added Nola.

Speak No Evil is a remake of the 2022 Danish feature of the same name (dir. Christian Tafdrup), and follows an American family who accept an invitation from a charming British family they befriended on vacation, to spend a weekend together at an idyllic country estate. But what starts as a dream vacation soon turns into a psychological nightmare.

Along with BAFTA-awarded James McAvoy, the rest of the cast is headed up by Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough and Scoot McNairy.

“We expect a very good response from cinema audiences, especially from fans of the genre, that is, psychological thrillers. The big bait is, of course, James McAvoy, who has proven himself many times over in thematically similar films, he is very convincing, authentic and an excellent actor. The fact that the film was partly shot in Croatia, in beautiful Istria, is another big draw, and the scenes of the beautiful Istrian landscape complete the whole picture”, said an Editus representative, the company acting as the film’s Croatian distributor.

Speak No Evil is produced by Jason Blum (Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN) for Blumhouse and Paul Ritchie (Diana, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, McMafia, The Ipcress File), with executive producers Beatriz Sequeira for Blumhouse, Jacob Jarek and Christian Tafdrup.