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The Ending of Speak No Evil, Explained
Now that Speak No Evil is in theaters, let's take a closer look at that ending.
**SPOILER WARNING!! Spoilers below for Speak No Evil!!**
With Speak No Evil finally in theaters (get tickets now!), moviegoers everywhere have at last gotten a taste of Blumhouse's latest thriller. An adaptation of the acclaimed 2022 Danish film of the same name, the new movie from writer/director James Watkins promises a new perspective on the original premise, and does it with the help of an all-star cast led by James McAvoy.
So, how does the new film set itself apart? How does it take the same premise and turn it into something new, complete with its own terrifying, tension-filled ending? Let's take a closer at how Blumhouse's Speak No Evil concludes its chilling story.
What happens at the end of Speak No Evil?
As the trailers for the film have shown us, Speak No Evil follows an American family –– Ben (Scoot McNairy), Louise (Mackenzie Davis), and Agnes (Alix West Lefler) –– as they head to the English farmhouse of a family they met on vacation. There, they settle in for a weekend of fun with Paddy (McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and Ant (Dan Hough), but soon discover something is very wrong with their vacation friends.
The biggest clue that something's up, and that the family isn't just eccentric and a little aggressive, comes from Ant himself. He's been rendered mute by what we're told is a genetic condition, but the closer he gets to Agnes, the more Ant tries to explain, nonverbally, that something is wrong. After showing Agnes his scars and wounds, trying to write down messages, and simply trying to dissuade the family from staying, Ant finally sees an opportunity. When Paddy falls asleep in a drunken stupor, Ant steals his keys and leads Agnes to the barn on the family property. There, he reveals a trap door which leads down to a chamber full of stolen goods, and a photo album featuring other families that Paddy and Ciara have met on vacation... including one featuring Ant with an intact tongue.
Ant was not born with half a tongue. He was a normal boy with a loving family until Paddy and Ciara killed his parents, abducted him, and cut out his tongue so he couldn't tell anyone. Armed with evidence that something's wrong, Agnes tells her parents, who are immediately horrified that all their suspicions about Paddy and Ciara's strangeness have been confirmed. The family tries to flee, only to find that Paddy has deflated one of their tires and thrown Agnes' beloved stuffed rabbit Hoppy, which she needs to deal with anxiety, on the roof. These factors stall the family just enough that Paddy and Ciara are able to overpower them and take them back to the barn, where they intend to cut out Agnes' tongue and kill Ben and Louise.
Speak No Evil's Final Confrontation
When all hope seems lost, Louise and Ben are able to fight back, free Agnes, and leave Paddy and Ciara scrambling with the help of their local friend, Mike (Kris Hitchen), who's been an accomplice for quite some time. After escaping the barn, Louise and Ben barricade themselves inside the house, while the three killers outside try to break in.
In the ensuing struggle, Louise is able to kill Mike with a claw hammer and wound Paddy with a chemical burn. The family tries to escape from the roof, only to find Ciara chasing them. Ciara falls from the roof, breaking her neck, and the family thinks they've found an escape, until Paddy re-emerges with a gun. With nowhere left to go, the family is saved when Agnes reveals that she swiped the sedative Paddy was going to inject her with in the barn. She injects Paddy, who quickly collapses as the drugs take hold. Satisfied that they've incapacitated Paddy, the family turns to leave, and invites Ant to go with them. Ant, though, stops short, picks up a brick, and smashes Paddy's head in a fit of rage. With all of their attackers now dead, Ben, Louise, Agnes, and Ant leave in the family's car.
What happens next with the Speak No Evil characters?
We leave the action just as the family is driving away from the house of horrors, so we don't get to see exactly what they do next. We can guess, though, that they seek medical attention and call authorities, who would no doubt eventually discover just how many families Paddy and Ciara had destroyed in an effort to build their own perfect family with a captive child. But there's a deeper emotional connection that's also worth addressing.
In the course of trying to survive the fight against Paddy and Ciara, Ben and Louise were also able to navigate some issues of their own, namely their ability to trust one another following Louise's past indiscretions. It's not clear from the ending if they'll be able to complete repair their marriage, but in fighting for their family, they've both helped Agnes to grow up and learned to trust each other when everything is on the line again. That's not a perfect solution, but it's a start, even if they had to go through hell to get there.
Speak No Evil is in theaters now. Get tickets at Fandango.
