Speak No Evil ends significantly different than the original Danish film

The 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil received significant acclaim when it debuted and became popular enough to warrant an American remake by Blumhouse, which was recently released in theaters. Starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, and Scoot McNairy, the American Speak No Evil takes things in a much different direction than the bleak original ending.

Major spoilers ahead for the end of both Speak No Evil films

I won't go into too much detail about what happens in the 2022 film, but needless to say, the ending is a lot darker and more bleak than what we got in the new one. But I understand the desire to take a big risk in the final act, especially when the first two acts are so similar to the original script.

Speak No Evil ends with a big showdown

Like the 2022 film, the 2024 movie culminates in a climactic showdown between Paddy/Ciara and Louise/Ben as they try to fend off the murderous couple and protect both their daughter, Agnes, and Ant, who they learn is not really Paddy and Ciara's son but a child they kidnapped from a previous couple they lured to their country home.

Before the showdown, Ant convinces Agnes to go into a hidden cellar with him so he can show her proof that his "parents" are serial killers who target couples on vacation and then bring them to their house to torment them before ultimately killing them, taking all of their money and valuables, and kidnapping their child. The disturbing implication is that they're not only killing the adults, but the children too, murdering each kidnapped kid and replacing it with whoever comes next.

Agnes uses her phone to take photographic evidence of the items and images Ant shows her and then takes it to her mom as proof. Once the secret is out, Louise and Ben prepare to leave immediately with Agnes and find a way to rescue Ant, too.

But their plan doesn't work because Paddy catches onto the fact that they're trying to escape. He uses Ant as bait, shoving him into the lake knowing he can't swim, causing Ben to stop the car to save him. In that quick moment, Paddy shuts the gate so they're unable to leave in their car.

From there, the movie really devolves into a cat-and-mouse game as Louise and Ben try to protect themselves from Paddy and Ciara. Initially, they get Louise and Ben restrained as they force Louise to transfer their entire savings account to them. But then she uses a hidden x-acto knife to slash Paddy in the face and escape.

They take refuge inside the house as Paddy and Ciara call in their friend, the chef, Mike, for assistance. The fighting gets ugly with Louise even spraying Paddy in the face with sulfuric acid at one point and then bludgeoning Mike in the back of the head with a hammer. Everything climaxes when Ciara falls out from the window and plummets to her death.

Paddy manages to take Agnes hostage, suggesting he plans to take her as a new wife (and there is some implication that he might have done the same thing to Ciara, especially knowing they met over 17 years prior), but Agnes injects him with a syringe of ketamine that she'd stolen when he was going to inject her with it to cut her tongue off.

With Paddy finally out of commission, Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant can escape, but Ant takes the time to bludgeon Paddy to death with a brick in revenge for cutting out his tongue, killing his family, and abusing him all this time.

So yeah, it's still a dark and violent ending, but more uplifting than the original in the sense that the "good guys" do triumph and escape in the end, even if they are left horribly traumatized by the entire incident.

To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!