Released in cinemas from 12 September, psychological thriller Speak No Evil is a re-imagined mastermind of the original Danish horror film Gaesterne, directed by James Watkins and starring James McAvoy. It is set predominantly on a farm location in England.
Is the Speak No Evil farm in Devon?
The film follows the consequences of an American family on meeting British couple Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their mute son on holiday, then accepting McAvoy’s invitation to join them for a stay on their farm “in the West country”.
The storyline might be fictionally Devon based, but in fact Watkins chose a working farm in Gloucestershire as the location for the filming.
Three Ways Farm is an untouched, preserved farmstead in a backwater of Gloucester. Farmed by the same family for generations, the organic livestock farm is home to sheep and cattle, and until last year, it was undiscovered by the film industry. It had never hosted a film crew before in its history.
Speak No Evil’s farm scenes were almost entirely set on this single farm, with the main house and barns, pond, fields, gardens and even its ancient “rhubarb growing cellar” being used as film sets.
When did the filming take place on the farm?
Location scouts, Duncan Laing followed by Ted Ladlow, scouted the length and breadth of the UK for an ideal farm location, seeking a farm that could mimic a Devon farm look. Here at Farm Locations we arranged many recces across the country, before the decision was finally made on Three Ways Farm, a 60-acre working farm with the farmers normally focussed on rearing cattle and sheep there. The farmstead’s buildings at Three Ways Farm have been sensitively restored and largely untouched for generations. Their raw beauty, traditional and original features, ancient history and courtyard setting were unmatched elsewhere. Pair that with owners who embraced the opportunity and were highly collaborative, production Company, Blumhouse, landed on Three Ways Farm as their lead film set and the farm was taken over from May 2023 for several weeks, with final filming finishing in November last year.
Owners Robin, Josie and Jasmine, although first-time hosts, were supported by Farm Locations throughout the whole journey from hosting recces to accepting car explosions, and embraced the scale and excitement with ease. They were involved heavily in the preparations, and many of the family’s props were used, including an old redundant tractor that had been mothballed for years.
Says owner Josie: “We still can’t believe our luck, we keep having to pinch ourselves!”
How did Three Ways Farm get started in filming?
Initially the owners of Three Ways Farm approached Filming in England for advice on how to set up and market themselves as a film location. They needed a partner who would understand their needs and allow them to continue with the main enterprise of organic livestock farming. One Sunday morning in 2022, Jasmine was listening to BBC Radio 4′ “On Your Farm” and Jo from Farm Locations was hosting BBC’s Charlotte Smith on a Kent farm whilst a film crew was in situ. This sparked a call to discuss their own farm being represented by Jo. The owners have chosen us to represent them exclusively, and it is through our growing reputation as the only experts in all things farm and rural, that we’ve been able to give farmers the boost in making a success from their farm diversification goals.
See the Speak No Evil farm and James McAvoy’s descent into darkness at a cinema near you.
Speak No Evil is out in cinemas from 12 September 2024.
Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins. Produced by James Blum. Designed by James Price.
Filmed largely at Three Ways Farm, Gloucestershire
