Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Speak No Evil (2024)!2024’s Speak No Evil utilizes a brand-new twist ending, completely changing the final events compared to the 2022 Danish movie. The American remake of 2022’s Speak No Evil follows Ben (Scoot McNairy), his wife Louise (Mackenzie Davis), and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) as they take a weekend trip to visit another family they met on a recent vacation. However, once they get to the home of Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), they begin to realize that there is something off about the fun couple and their son, Ant (Dan Hough).
After witnessing disturbing signs of physical and emotional abuse from Paddy and Ciara crossing a few lines when it came to parenting Agnes, Ben and Louise decide it is time to leave, but ultimately end up back at the farmhouse to look for Agnes’ stuffed animal. The two families appear to settle their differences and try to enjoy the remaining time together, but the mood changes when Ant reveals the truth about his family to Agnes. That sets up Speak No Evil‘s ending and a desperate quest for survival that offers a new conclusion compared to the original movie.
Ben, Louise, Agnes & Ant Escape Paddy & Ciara In Speak No Evil’s Ending
The Dalton Family Survives In A Major Twist
The entirety of Speak No Evil‘s ending takes place as Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant fight for their lives and attempt to escape from Paddy and Ciara. This comes after Ben saves Ant from drowning after Paddy discovers his “son” revealed the truth: that Paddy and Ciara kill families, abduct their children, and cut out their tongues. This leads to Paddy capturing Louise and Agnes and holding them at gunpoint. Paddy then gains access to Ben and Louise’s bank accounts, planning to kill everyone except for Agnes, and cut off Agnes’ tongue to make her his and Ciara’s new “child.”
Louise’s preparation for conflict as they originally planned to leave pays off in this moment, as she uses a knife to hurt Paddy and steal the gun from Ciara. She helps free Ben, Agnes, and Ant, and after being shot at by Mike – one of Paddy’s accomplices, the four of them wind up in the farmhouse looking for a way to survive. Ciara, Paddy, and Mike invade the home to kill Ben, Louise, and Ant afterward, leading to multiple confrontations between the hopeful survivors and evil attackers. Louise is responsible for injuring Paddy further and killing Mike and Ciara.
The final confrontation comes as Paddy finds Agnes and holds a gun to her head, forcing Ben and Louise to drop any weapons they have. He does not plan to hurt Agnes, wanting her to replace Ciara and become the person who cares for and helps him. However, Agnes injects Paddy with a syringe full of medicine, which makes him collapse to the ground. At this moment, Speak No Evil‘s characters are free to leave the horror, but Ant stops them from leaving immediately, opting to kill Paddy before they can go.
Paddy & Ciara’s Plan & Motives Explained
They Had Despicable Plans In Mind
The truth about Paddy and Ciara is hidden from Speak No Evil for most of the movie’s runtime, even as Ant attempts to clue Agnes into what has happened. The movie ultimately reveals that the couple has a history of taking children from other families and killing the parents. Speak No Evil mentions that Paddy and Ciara attempted to have children of their own before but miscarried a baby girl at 12 weeks. While it is not confirmed if this backstory is true or part of their manipulation of Ben and Louise, they are ultimately driven to have a family.
Where Speak No Evil gets a bit murky is in the motivations for Paddy and Ciara to take these measures to create a family. When Ben asks Paddy why they are doing this, McAvoy’s character explains its “because you let us.” There is an indication that this idea could have come from Paddy’s own childhood, as he comments at dinner about how much parents can screw up a child and force their own beliefs and ideas on them. But that does not fully explain why Paddy and Ciara wanted Agnes.
It would appear that Paddy and Ciara’s motivation for luring Ben and Louise to their home so they could make Agnes their child comes from some disappointment with Ant. Speak No Evil makes it abundantly clear that this is not a healthy family dynamic and shows Ant’s unhappiness with his life. While it is possible that Paddy and Ciara wanted another kid to give Ant a sibling, their actions indicate they’d rather get a fresh start with a new kid like Agnes.
Why Ben Didn’t Kill Paddy & Why Ant Did
Ant Killed His “Dad” After Ben Refused
One of the big moments from Speak No Evil‘s ending comes at the very end when Paddy is lying on the ground and very much still alive. Ben walks to him with a loaded gun, but he doesn’t pull the trigger, appearing content to leave Paddy lying there alive with his injuries. However, Ant cannot do the same. He picks up a stone and gets on top of Paddy, bashing his head repeatedly with the giant rock. The decision to have Ben not kill Paddy and Ant do it is crucial.
|
Character |
Cause Of Death |
|---|---|
|
Mike |
Hit in the back of the head by Louise |
|
Ciara |
Fell off the roof after being hit by Louise |
|
Paddy |
Head smashed by a rock by Ant |
This is ultimately a reflection of Speak No Evil‘s major themes and ideas and a reminder of a difference in characters. Ben is shown to be angry but largely passive and unable to take action throughout the movie, including when Louise saves him from certain death when he fights Mike. While Ant is quiet and shy throughout most of the movie, this is the result of the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse he has from Paddy. The reflection of this parenting style comes through at this moment, with Paddy even taking some pleasure in his boy wanting to kill him.
How Many Families Did Paddy & Ciara Kill In The Past?
Their History Of Murders Is Teased
The revelation of Paddy and Ciara’s history is a shock to Ben, Louise, and Agnes, and there are multiple clues regarding how many times they’ve killed other families and taken their children. The two major clues come with Paddy’s watch collection and the photo album that Ant shows Agnes. Ant flips through eight different pictures of Paddy and Ciara with different kids and parents. Meanwhile, Paddy has nine watches, which are essentially his trophies from previous murders. This indicates that Paddy and Ciara killed eight different families, and Ben and Louise would’ve been the ninth.
Was Ciara Really The First Kid Paddy Took?
Is This True, Or Is It Another Lie?
A potentially disturbing reveal comes in Speak No Evil‘s ending regarding the truth of Ciara and Paddy’s relationship. When Louise is leaving the barn after overpowering Ciara and Paddy, Ciara mentions that she is a victim too. This is when she says that she was Paddy’s first, implying that she was the first kid that Paddy took and that he groomed her to be his accomplice and lover. The movie does not confirm whether this is the truth or another one of their lies, opting instead to leave different clues for those watching Speak No Evil to decipher.
There is some evidence that Ciara is telling the truth about her and Paddy’s history. For starters, there are signs that he is emotionally, physically, and possibly even sexually abusive to her through how he treats her, the bruises on her stomach, and comments about how frequently they have sex. She also reveals that they have been together for 17 years, which Louise notes is odd considering the apparent age gap between them. Even Paddy’s mention that she came from the foster system could be a sign of how he managed to take her as a child.
However, there is also an argument to be made that this was just another lie. When Ciara decides to say this, it could be seen as an attempt to gain Louise’s sympathy so that she can overtake her and carry through with the plan. It is ultimately up to each viewer to determine whether Ciara is telling the truth about being the first child Paddy abducted. The movie seems to provide enough evidence to make the claim believable, though.
How Speak No Evil 2024’s Ending Is Different From The 2022 Original
Some Major Changes Are Made To The Finale
The 2024 remake might be mostly familiar and similar to the original 2022 Danish movie early on, but the two endings are radically different in their execution and character fates. The inciting incident for the finale is different, as Ant reveals the truth about Paddy and Ciara to Agnes, who then informs her parents. In the original movie, the Ben character Bjørn finds the son dead after discovering the truth on his own. This leads them to leave the house as Patrick tracks them in the middle of the night, with Louise only learning the truth when they begin abducting Agnes.
The 2022 Speak No Evil ending is much darker than the 2024 remake
The new movie almost completely reverses the fates of the characters compared to Shudder’s Speak No Evil ending too. Instead of Paddy and Ciara dying, the original movie left those characters as the sole survivors, along with Agnes. Bjørn and Louise are instead stoned to death. Agnes does get abducted and has her tongue cut out, with the 2022 movie ending as she joins her new parents on the summer vacation the following year, where they seemingly would look for a new family to target.
The Real Meaning Of Speak No Evil Explained
The Movie’s Main Themes & Ideas Are Worth Exploring
By the end of 2024’s Speak No Evil, director James Watkins has offered up a completely fresh film that brings a new meaning to the story. The original 2022 film delivers an incredibly grim and haunting conclusion, as the protagonists all die due to their general politeness and the antagonists ruin the lives of another family. They refuse to take necessary actions when the opportunities are presented to them to possibly earn safety. But, the 2024 remake flips this approach by exploring Ben and especially Louise’s willingness to do whatever is necessary to survive and do the right thing.
Ultimately, Speak No Evil explores the importance of parenting and nurturing. Ben and Louise have raised Agnes to be kind and polite, although she is also arguably too sheltered or babied by them. They are working through their own issues as a married couple and trying to do their best to raise Agnes, and she proves to be quite resourceful in exposing the truth and fighting back, even if she takes a non-lethal approach to Paddy’s defeat.
That’s completely the opposite of Ant’s upbringing, at least under Paddy and Ciara’s supervision. That difference can be seen through him killing Paddy to even Agnes’ compassion to give her bunny to him in a moment of comfort during Speak No Evil‘s final shot. It’s a final reminder of how much influence parents have over their kids, offering a more hopeful outlook on humanity and families compared to the original.