Does the Speak No Evil remake have a better ending than the original?

James McAvoy's terrifying face has been a constant presence in cinemas for months, with audiences forced to watch the trailer for Speak No Evil on a loop. No regular visitor to the UK multiplex could have escaped the knowledge that McAvoy's new horror film was on the way into cinemas.

But the trailers were considerably more coy when it came to explaining that the new Speak No Evil is a remake. British filmmaker James Watkins' film is based on a 2022 movie of the same name by Danish director Christian Tafdrup. That original movie is remembered primarily for its ultra-bleak ending, which has been changed in a big way for the 2024 version.

Note: There are spoilers ahead for both versions of Speak No Evil.

For the first hour and a bit, the two movies are very similar. Two families — one repressed and quiet, the other freewheeling and charismatic — meet on holiday in Italy. The latter family invites the other to their secluded country home for a weekend of fun and friendship. Over time, though, the repressed family have their boundaries pushed and begin to realise there's something sinister going on.

It is revealed that the freewheeling couple are actually serial killers who seduce other families to their home, where they murder them and steal their child, cutting off the kid's tongue to ensure they can't reveal the truth to the next victims. At this point, the two versions of the story diverge.

What happens in the original Speak No Evil ending?

Danish couple Bjørn and Louise, along with their daughter Agnes, jump in their car to escape their Dutch hosts Patrick and Kurin. They've just discovered photos of their hosts' other victims, as well as the drowned body of their "son" Abel. Inevitably, given that we're in a horror movie, their car breaks down.

Read more: Speak No Evil’s James McAvoy Explains Why He Didn't Watch Watch The Original Horror Movie (CinemaBlend)

Bjørn goes off to find help but, when he returns, Patrick has his family in his clutches. Patrick beats Bjørn and Karin cuts off Agnes's tongue with a pair of scissors. Then, Agnes is taken away and Bjørn and Louise are driven to a roadside ditch. Patrick and Karin force them to strip naked and then stone them to death. When Bjørn asks why they're doing this, Patrick chillingly replies: "Because you let me."

Later, we see Agnes — unable to speak — playing the role of Patrick and Karin's daughter as the deadly cycle continues.

What happens in the Speak No Evil remake ending?

Just as in the original, American couple Ben and Louise get very close to escaping from their English hosts: Paddy and Ciara. But as they drive away, they watch Paddy and Ciara throw their "son" Ant into a pond. Ben jumps in to save Ant, which allows Paddy and Ciara to capture his family. But just as Agnes is about to lose her tongue, Louise manages to slash Paddy's face with a Stanley knife.

Read more: Speak No Evil director points out glaring problem with film trailers (The Independent)

What follows is a tense chase around the countryside home, in which Ciara ends up dead along with the couple's gun-toting friend Mike — who's also in on the crime. Everything ends with Paddy holding Agnes at gunpoint, only for the girl to inject him with a syringe of ketamine they had intended to use on her earlier. Ben and Louise decide to leave Paddy where he lies, but the abused Ant bludgeons his "father" to death with a brick before joining the family in their escape.

Speaking about the changes to Radio Times, James Watkins said: "I love Christian’s movie, but I also thought there was an opportunity to take the themes of his movie and the set-up of it, but to slightly push it in a different direction."

Which Speak No Evil ending is better?

The two Speak No Evil endings are completely different. It would be easy to say that one is bleak and bold, while the other is a Hollywood-mandated "happy ending", but that's an overly simplistic way of looking at it. The two endings reflect the very different strands of social commentary in the separate movies. Even though they share a setup, each film focuses on a different idea.

Read more: James McAvoy left shocked by Speak No Evil audience reaction (Cover Media)

The original film is predominantly about social niceties and cultural differences. Bjørn and Louise ignore red flags out of social awkwardness and the fear of losing face, exacerbated by the language barrier — all four mostly speak English, but use their native tongues to talk privately. This awkwardness gives real weight to Patrick's chilling "because you let me" line, which rings hollower in the remake.

That's because the remake focuses far more on Ben's fragility as an entitled, middle-class man who lacks the moral fibre to defend his family. He's seduced by Paddy's raw masculinity, which prevents him from seeing the danger. There's also a class-based dimension to this story, with Watkins making sure to note that Paddy and Ciara drain the hefty bank accounts of their victims.

Christian Tafdrup's perspective is very clear, perhaps unsurprisingly, as he explained in an interview on Danish radio. “I don’t know what it is about Americans, but they are brought up for a heroic tale, where the good must win over the bad, and this version of the film cultivates that," he said.

Tafdrup described the remake as "wildly entertaining, effective, [and] well-acted" but explained that it "might not be that dangerous" in comparison to his film. He's certainly right in that respect. Watkins' film is gruesome in a way that is wholly acceptable to mainstream multiplex audiences, whereas the violence in Tafdrup's story is less gory but far more visceral and shocking.

Read more: James McAvoy has learned to love horror movies, and they love him too (Yahoo Entertainment)

However, it would be wrong to simply chalk up a victory for the original movie. Speak No Evil 2024 is an enormously entertaining thrill ride, given real intensity by the performances. McAvoy especially is completely terrifying as a feral, malevolent predator who appears to be 90% trapezius muscle. He's a human being filtered through the lens of the great slasher icons, from Michael Myers to Leatherface.

In reality, both films have the perfect ending for their spin on the story and it comes down to personal preference. I'm a big fan of the utter bleakness of the Danish version and the American remake seems a little defanged in comparison. However, there's no denying Watkins' ability to create tense set pieces and a gloriously silly finale en-route to some shocking brutality.

This is exactly what we want from remakes, isn't it? The original remains in existence, but the new version remixes it into something entirely different. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. Everyone gets to keep their tongues this time around.

Speak No Evil is in UK cinemas now and the original film is streaming via Shudder.