Speak No Evil, a remake of the Danish film of the same name,changed the original’s bleak endingfor a brand new one that sees its protagonists fight back in the third act. Thewell-receivedfilm follows an American family visiting the rural home of a mysterious British couple they previously met on vacation, but things quickly get sinister when a dark past is revealed. The director, James Watkins, has revealed why they went a different route for the third act,which he still does not think is a happy ending.
In an interview withVariety,Speak No Evildirector James Watkins discussed why he changed the film’s conclusion, revealing that it informed the climactic final hour. Theoriginal endingto the 2022 Danish film was a bit meaner and twisted, doubling down on its message regarding the main family’s reluctance to upset their hosts despite the warning signs. However,the remake gets the message across much earlier in the film, and ends without a purely tragic outcome.
“In Christian’s film, it takes it to the very end — this notion of how polite society can shackle you. I wanted to get to that end point in the second act. And then to build thematically on it because of the mortal danger. Scoot McNairy’s character is this man who feels part of the scrap heap. He sees this mentor figure in Paddy; this bad mentor who promises an old school masculinity. Ben signs up for that and thinks this loose couple will unlock them and that it’ll be this weird couples therapy weekend.”
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TheSpeak No Evilremake follows that dark ending by providing a more positive one, which sees the Dalton family reckon with their hopeless passivity and inaction. Watkins wanted to center the third act around the reckoning of those themes, especially through Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), who end upgoing against stereotypical normswhen the family finally fights back against their psychotic hosts. It’s a deconstruction of Paddy’s entire philosophy, as Watkins states:
“And then the irony, is that when we get into the third act, this kind of model is seen to be completely false but also this idea of what Ben thinks is his masculinity, or what it should be, is completely false. The person who actually steps up is his wife, and the notion of this kind of these kind of tropes of masculinity are shown to be complete nonsense. It’s not sort of gendered, who is strong.”
Speak No Evil
Speak No Evil is a 2024 horror-thriller film by writer-director James Watkins. A remake of the 2022 movie Speak No Evil follows a family who head to the country for a much-needed vacation - but the situation quickly deteriorates, thrusting them into a horrific nightmare.
Speak No Evil Does Not Have a Happy Ending
Although theSpeak No Evilremake ends on a more positive note than the Danish original,it does not mean things are wrapped up in a neat bow. The relationship between Ben and Louise Dalton is still in doubt, even though the situation presumably promoted some growth between the couple. Moreover, the cathartic release of Ant violently killing Paddy (James McAvoy), a child whose parents were previously killed by the couple, is not meant to be seen as an easy answer. As Watkins states, all is still not “well with the world.”
“And then also with Ant, the young boy, I wanted to track that whole theme there, in terms of the Philip Larkin poem of how violence is sort of cyclical. ‘Man hands on misery to man’ There’s a real ambivalence about Ant killing Paddy. People might want the catharsis of that release, but I don’t think you can say it’s a Hollywood ending. It’s a pretty European version of a Hollywood ending. It’s not triumphant. It’s not an easy solution, saying, ‘Okay, our problems are behind us.’
People can have different reads on whether their relationship is recovered or not. That didn’t need to be bleaker, because there’s a real sadness to it. It’s in the music and it’s in Dan’s face. They’ve survived, but it’s not in any way apt. It’s not just like all’s well with the world.”
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James McAvoy previouslydefended remaking the 2022 film, as he believes both versions can live in the same space. “They do say different things. And, I’m not making this film for the people who saw the first one,” McAvoy stated. He has a point, as the new version still abides by the general themes of the original, while expanding upon them and delivering a more satisfying final hour. Both versions will always be there if viewers want to experience either of them, if not preferably both.
Speak No Evilis currently available in theaters.
