James McAvoy’s Upcoming Horror Reboot Has An Impossible Ending Problem

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Speak No Evil (2022)

Summary The original ending of Speak No Evil is too dark for a mainstream Hollywood horror movie, posing a challenge for the upcoming 2024 remake.

The shockingly bleak conclusion of Speak No Evil was what made the film a viral hit, but replicating it in the remake may be problematic.

The remake risks redundancy if it sticks to a shot-for-shot redo without changing the original ending, which is no longer a surprise for audiences.

This article contains potentially distressing discussions of murder, including violence against children.

Although Speak No Evil's 2024 remake looks promising, the movie has an almost impossible ending problem. 2022’s Speak No Evil became a viral hit upon release thanks in part to its brutal ending. At first, the Danish psychological thriller plays out like a cringe comedy. A Danish family befriends a Dutch family while on holiday and visits their isolated countryside home, only to discover that their outspoken hosts are a little unhinged. Awkward misunderstandings soon escalate and grow increasingly uncomfortable until Speak No Evil’s shocking twist ending proves that the movie isn’t a farce but rather a dark horror.

Like the earlier European horror movies Funny Games, Nothing Bad Can Happen, and Borgman, Speak No Evil’s horror story hinges on the compliance and morbid politeness of its protagonists. Even as their circumstances grow absurdly dire, the lead characters remain paralyzed by politeness and incapable of taking action. This leads to a twist ending so unutterably bleak that it turned Speak No Evil into a cult sensation. This prompted an English language remake although, ironically, it will be this ending that could doom the upcoming 2024 horror movie. The remake can't replicate it, but can’t change the ending either.

Speak No Evil’s Remake Needs The Original Movie’s Ending

The Shockingly Bleak Conclusion Was Its Most Memorable Moment

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Speak No Evil’s original ending is way too dark for a mainstream Hollywood horror movie, but it’s also what made the film a viral hit. 2024’s Speak No Evil can’t end with the heroes being stoned to death in front of their daughter before the villains abduct the kid and cut out her tongue. The James McAvoy horror movie can’t keep this ending for numerous reasons, not least of which is the fact that the original movie also sees the villain kill another child off-screen before the grim finale even begins. It’s simply too bleak for Hollywood.

Even in a movie from the director of Eden Lake and The Woman In Black, a Hollywood horror is unlikely to kill off a small child, then both its heroes, and then maim their surviving child. However, even if Speak No Evil’s remake was audacious enough to keep this ending, it wouldn’t work now. What made Speak No Evil's ending so shocking was the fact that it was utterly unexpected, since the movie initially felt like a dramedy about cultural differences, not a horrifying psychological thriller. James McAvoy’s upcoming horror movie can’t shock audiences because of the original movie's success.

Speak No Evil Can’t Replicate The 2022 Horror Movie’s Impact

The Remake’s Ending Is No Longer A Surprise

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Speak No Evil’s trailer implies that the remake will be a shot-for-shot redo, replicating most of the movie’s memorable moments verbatim. As such, Speak No Evil risks being completely redundant if it doesn’t change the ending’s big twist, but cutting the brutal original ending will inevitably result in complaints that the reboot has been sanitized. It is hard to see how Speak No Evil can win, since its original ending is no longer a surprise and any other ending would inevitably be less shocking and nihilistic. As such, 2024’s Speak No Evil has its work cut out when it comes to the remake's final act.