EntertainmentMoviesHorror MoviesSpeak No EvilSpeak No Evil’s writer-director and star James McAvoy break down the horror remake’s surprise ending: “Everyone comes out scarred"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesHorror MoviesSpeak No EvilSpeak No Evil’s writer-director and star James McAvoy break down the horror remake’s surprise ending: “Everyone comes out scarred"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Speak No Evil (obviously). If you’ve yet to see the film, or the 2022 original, and don’t want to know anything that happens, turn back now!
Christian Tafdrup’s chilling horrorSpeak No Evilis a fantastic film in its own right, but there’s no denying that it was its bleak, brutal conclusion that cemented it as a stone-cold classic. James Watkins' reboot, which switches the Netherlands for the West Country, wraps things up differently – but the writer/director is adamant that it’s still far from a Hollywood happy ending.
In the 2022 original, things don’t end well for Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch) after they fail to escape the increasingly violent Patrick and Karin. Having discovered that their hosts have been befriending couples around the world, inviting them to their home, killing them, and then stealing their children for years, the protagonists flee in the middle of the night with their daughter Agnes. Their car breaks down, though, and Patrick and his pal Muhajid intercept the frightened family. Patrick beats Bjørn, as Karin cuts out Agnes tongue. Later, Muhajid leaves with the girl as her parents – almost catatonic with shock, at this point – are taken to an abandoned quarry, where they are forced to undress before being stoned to death.
In the new movie, it’s Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara’s “son” Ant (Dan Hough) who alerts Agnes to the truth, prompting Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) to try and leave for a second time. In an attempt to rescue Ant, they ask him to run on ahead and open the farm’s gate for them, but a suspicious Paddy assures them there’s no need: he’s got a remote. As they drive off slowly, they see Paddy push Ant, who can’t swim, into a pond outside the house, which leads to Ben stopping the car and wading in to save the boy. With that, Paddy and Ciara manage to subdue Ben, Louise, and Agnes, and take them to the former’s workshop.
Fortunately, before things take a real bad turn, the Daltons briefly manage to overpower the Felds, and they make a run for it, locking Ciara and Paddy in the workshop. Then, they hide out in the main house, barricading the windows and doors, as the movie deftly shifts into more of a home invasion thriller.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
Soon, the Felds' friend Mike shows up, and makes his way inside, too, causing Ben and Louise to get inventive with their hiding places. Before long, Paddy and Ciara break free, and the latter weasels her way into the house with a shotgun as a raging Paddy paces the perimeter outside and aggressively pounds on the windows and walls.
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Eventually, he forces his way in, too, but Louise pops out on him in the bathroom and douses him with some sort of corrosive cleaning fluid. Out of action, Paddy insists Ciara finishes the job, which leads to her chasing Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant onto the roof. After a bit of a kerfuffle, Ciara falls, fatally hitting her head.
Ben volunteers to jump down and prop the ladder up against the house so the others can climb down safely. But just as the quartet think they’re getting away, Paddy shows up, and sees Ciara’s dead body. Fuming, he lunges at the family, but they manage to sedate him using the numbing agent Agnes hid in her pocket back in the workshop. After Paddy stumbles to the ground, Ant climbs on top of him and shrieks as he crushes the former’s head with a large rock. The film cuts to black on a shot of young Ant’s face in the back of Ben and Louise’s car, as tears start streaming down his expressionless face.
“I felt like, ‘Well, actually, there’s a dramatic resolution here.’ Sure, they get away but it’s not like they’re not suddenly all at the Christmas table, pulling crackers and eating turkey and smiling and joking, right?” explains Watkins. “I didn’t want it to be glib. You know, if they’d have driven away, and I don’t know, ‘Eternal Flame’ had been playing on the radio, and they’d all been laughing? Yeah, that would be stupid.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
“I know people that have different readings on it; it’s very deliberate. Paddy “loses”, so to speak, but at the same time, is Ant taking on the mantle? What he’s just done is [going to] remain. Hopefully in the final shot, you see it’s not a wholly happy ending. It’s not a Hollywood ending in that regard,” says Watkins. “Ant, his tears at the end, sure, there might be an element of release, but it’s kind of tragic, you know?
“You’re not looking at this boy and going, ‘It’s fucking great. He’s got away. His life’s gonna be sweet and rosy.’ You’re looking at trauma that’s gonna be intergenerational. I mean, yeah for Paddy and Ciara, it doesn’t end well for them, but I’m not sure it does for anyone. Everyone comes out scarred.”
For McAvoy, the new movie’s alternate ending was crucial to his signing onto the project, even though he didn’t technically know it at the time. “I think that the film ending differently was not something I was aware of because I’d never seen the original, and I didn’t watch it until the day after we finished,” he recalls. “But this ending felt like the right one for our film. I feel that Paddy’s rhetoric and doctrine is so toxic and so abusive and of the worst possible kind that the filmhasto judge him; otherwise, the film validates him. And I wouldn’t want to be in a film that validates them.”
Speak No Evil is in theaters now. For more, check out our list of thebest horror moviesof all time,or our guide to the most excitingupcoming horror moviesheading our way.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”