Speak No Evil’s ending makes an important change from the original’s disturbing twist

Speak No Evil is a reboot of the 2022 Danish movie, and its ending features the same big twist that turns everything on its head in the horror movie. (Warning: spoilers ahead, obviously!)

Thanks to an overplayed trailer (accused of giving away the big twist earlier in the year), Speak No Evil probably isn’t on anyone’s list of the most anticipated 2024 horror movies. But as we wrote in our Speak No Evil review, it’ll still “have you gritting your teeth and nervously laughing in equal measure.”

Thankfully, many people (including Speak No Evil’s stars) don’t think spoilers matter. As such, we’ve got a breakdown of everything that happens in the new movie, whether you want to sit through the entire affair or not.

So, here’s Speak No Evil’s big twist explained, along with the movie’s full ending and how it compares to the 2022 version’s finale. 

Speak No Evil twist explained

Before the climax of Speak No Evil, Ant reveals to Agnes that Paddy and Ciara aren’t actually his parents, and that they’re actually a pair of killers who befriend families on holiday, kill the parents, and cut off the children’s tongues so they can’t speak.

That’s one hell of a modus operandi. Ant, who can’t speak after having his own tongue cut out, reveals this to Agnes by taking her down into the cellar where Paddy and Ciara hide the keepsakes from their kills: luggage, watches, and pictures of past families they’ve killed, including Ant’s.  

Universal

It’s later revealed that Paddy also gets the respective parents to transfer all their money to his secret account, which is why they can afford such a lavish lifestyle without jobs. 

Agnes puts two and two together and manages to get Louise and Ben into the upstairs bathroom to reveal all.

How does it end?

Thankfully, Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant manage to escape after a terrifying night hiding out from Paddy and Ciara in the house.

After finding out Paddy and Ciara’s horrific secret, Lousie and Ben attempt to make an escape by pretending that Agnes just got her first period.

Paddy and Ciara follow them out to their car, watching them leave with creepy, intense scrutiny. Multiple obstacles get in the way, such as a flat tire and Agnes’ toy doll being thrown onto the roof. However, they manage to get into the car and start driving, with Paddy and Ciara waving them off, Ant still by their side.

But things take a horrific turn when Ben looks back and sees Paddy throw Ant (who can’t swim) into the pond at the end of the drive. Ben runs out and into the pond to save the boy, only to see that Paddy and Ciara now have Louise and Agnes hostage. 

The family is taken into the barn on the property and tied up, Paddy forcing Louise to transfer their money to his account before he plans to kill them using injections. He and Ciara intend to cut out Agnes’ tongue, all while their friend arrives to have their car resold. 

However, Louise manages to disarm Paddy, and the family makes a quick escape, along with Ant, locking the two in the barn. They run into the house for safety, but Paddy and Ciara are freed by their friend, and they cut the phone lines and power.

Trapped in the dark house, Louise and Ben realize that they have to fight their way out. Hiding Agnes and Ant in a closet, the two grab weapons and attempt to barricade themselves in. But Paddy and Ciara break inside eventually.

Universal

Ben is almost stabbed in the face by their friend, but Louise appears and brutally murders him. Paddy storms into the house, attempting to search for the children in the bathroom. But just as he’s near finding them, Louise jumps out and squirts bleach in his eyes.

Paddy screams and collapses in pain while Louise and the kids make a break for it. Ben, Louise, Agnes and Ant run upstairs and climb out of the window, finding a ladder leading to the ground. As they attempt to climb out, Ciara appears and tries to drag them back. Louise and Ciara fight, and Ciara is thrown from the roof and onto the ground below, dying. 

As the family climbs down, Paddy appears. Enraged by the death of Ciara, he grabs Agnes. But Agnes still has the needle from earlier in the barn, stabbing it into Paddy’s leg. As he falls, Ant grabs a brick and slams it into Paddy’s head repeatedly, killing him. 

The family finally get into their car and drive away, Ant in tow. 

Speak No Evil’s new ending makes sense

The 2022 Danish movie has a much darker ending, with Paddy (called Patrick in the original version) successfully drowning Ant (Abel), and murdering Louise and Ben (Bjørn) after cutting off Agnes’ tongue.

Essentially, there’s no happy ending or escape for those involved. Bjørn discovers Abel’s body floating in the pool, and after attempting to flee, their car breaks down. Karin (Ciara in the new version) cuts off Agnes’ tongue in keeping with their plan, and Patrick makes Louise and Bjørn dig their own graves before they’re stoned to death.

Universal

The implied future is that Patrick and Karin’s cycle of torture and murder will continue, with Agnes taking Abel’s place as their fake child.

Frankly, for fans of disturbing and hopeless horror, this is undoubtedly the “stronger” ending. That said, the new movie is certainly a result of Hollywood-ification, meaning the overall plot has been made slightly lighter and more reasonable for those who aren’t as attracted to tragic endings.

That said, there’s no “right” or “wrong” ending. Ultimately, the most important parts of the story are still there. The tension, the awful sensation that something is wrong…these are the elements that make Speak No Evil such a distressing watch.

Skipping out on the most disturbing part of the original story isn’t undoing the 2022 movie’s impact – it’s simply making it more watchable for the majority of general audiences. Not everyone wants to watch a couple get stoned to death while their child gets their tongue cut out.

In fact, by the end of the movie, it’s almost a relief to see that Paddy and Ciara get their comeuppance, whereas their Dutch counterparts, Patrick and Karin, most decidedly don’t get.

That’s the Speak No Evil ending! For more, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time. You can also check out the best horror movies to stream on Amazon Prime Video, and find out how to watch the Speak No Evil remake and the original movie.