Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil Remake Has To Have A Different Ending Twist, Right?

This article contains discussion of abuse and graphic violence. It also contains spoilers for
Speak No Evil
(2022).

Summary

• Blumhouse’s
  Speak No Evil
  trailer disappoints by revealing key plot twists, potentially spoiling the surprise for viewers.
• Blumhouse should create a new, unexpected ending to differentiate its remake from the original 2022 film.
• Balancing originality and shock value, Blumhouse faces challenges in crafting a twist that resonates with audiences.

Blumhouse just released the trailer for its upcoming remake of Speak No Evil, but it seems to hint at the same twist ending from the original film. Several scenes in the trailer for Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil are directly lifted from the 2022 movie, which implies that James Watkins’s script is a direct remake of Christian and Mads Tafdrup’s original Danish film. This presents a problem for moviegoers. Because the original Speak No Evil was released only a few years ago, the chilling twist will still be fresh in the minds of a lot of horror fans.

2022’s Speak No Evil follows a Danish couple, Bjørn and Louise, and their young daughter Agnes. While on vacation, they connect with Patrick, Karin, and their son Abel, who was born without a tongue. Patrick and Karin invite them to visit their country house in a remote, rural area of the Netherlands. As the weekend unfolds, Bjørn and Louise observe suspicious and concerning behavior, including Patrick’s abuse of Abel. Eventually, they uncover the truth of why Patrick and Karin invited them, but by that point, it’s too late to escape. Unfortunately, Blumhouse’s trailer gives all of this away.

Blumhouse Continues An Annoying Movie Trend With Its Speak No Evil Trailer

The Trailer Hints At Speak No Evil‘s Biggest Twist

Although the trailer for Speak No Evil has a lot going for it, including James McAvoy’s return to horror, it follows a disappointing trend that Blumhouse has been participating in lately. The trailer gives away the entire plot of the movie. It shows everything, from the families meeting and deciding to vacation together, to the eventual discomfort and outright horror that unfolds in the remote country home. It even telegraphs one of the film’s most shocking twists – that the son’s missing tongue isn’t because of a congenital anomaly. It was forcibly removed by his “parents” to keep him silent.

Several characters have new names in Blumhouse’s
Speak No Evil
. “Abel” is now “Ant.”

Including all of this in the trailer might be a good way to ensure audiences understand what kind of movie they’re watching, but it’s disappointing for fans who enjoy suspense. It’s an especially confusing decision to reveal all of this for a film that relies so heavily on characters deceiving and withholding information from each other. The cause of Ant’s mutism has already been shown, along with many of McAvoy’s character’s concerning behaviors, which could have been more effective if they’d been revealed slowly throughout the film. Fortunately, there’s still a way for Blumhouse to justify this decision.

The Speak No Evil Remake Must Use New Twists To Surprise Viewers

Horror Fans Will Already Expect The Original Twist

The best option would be for Blumhouse to use this trailer as a misdirect, allowing the audience to think that Speak No Evil will follow the original film’s twist before shocking them with a brand-new, unexpected ending. This would also help the film avoid feeling redundant. Although Speak No Evil‘s twist ending was the most memorable part of the film, recreating it would be a wasted opportunity. Thankfully, the true ending hasn’t been revealed, even with the trailer giving away much of the plot.

While the reveal that Abel’s tongue was forcibly removed is one of the most shocking moments in the original film, it leads up to an even bigger twist. It’s revealed that Patrick and Karin are serial killers, and Abel is the son of their last victims. After Abel, Bjørn, and Louise are killed, Agnes is forced to pose as Patrick and Karin’s daughter to help them lure in their next victims, and her tongue is removed so that she can’t tell anyone what happened. The trailer doesn’t give away that part of the ending, so there’s still the possibility of an unexpected twist.

An Updated Ending Will Set Blumhouse’s Remake Apart From The 2022 Original

Blumhouse Has A Chance To Shock Audiences With A Brand New Twist

One of the biggest reasons 2022’s Speak No Evil was so acclaimed was the horrifying and unexpected twist at the end of the film. Most of the movie plays out like a comedy of manners, making it even more shocking when it descends into violence. Blumhouse’s remake doesn’t have the same opportunity to surprise viewers, so even if it completely recreates the ending, it won’t be nearly as effective. However, Speak No Evil‘s twist was controversial. Some viewers criticized the extreme brutality, especially towards children. Blumhouse has an opportunity to avoid alienating audiences in the same way.

This puts the film in a difficult situation. If it directly recreates the original film’s twist, it could be criticized for being unoriginal. Alternatively, if it makes too many changes, it could face judgment for sanitizing the ending to appear more palatable to American audiences. It will be a challenge to craft a new ending that reaches the same level of horror as the original without being redundant or off putting. Either way, Blumhouse needs to have some kind of surprise in store that hasn’t been hinted at in the trailer to make its remake of Speak No Evil worthwhile.