While searching for a missing child, the corpse of another boy is found by detective Amanda Beck (Michelle Monaghan). The boy has a shirt wrapped around his head, which looks a lot like the way the victims of serial killer Frank Carter (Micheal Keaton) was found. This notorious serial killer murdered boys during the 1990’s, and he probably would have kept going if he didn’t get caught by Detective Peter Willis (Robert De Niro). The serial killer also got nicknamed the Whisper Man, since he whispered to his victims and recorded messages that were made to torment the grieving families of his victims. The problem is that Frank Carter aka Whisper Man has been behind bars for many years, so why are seemingly similar killings starting up again now?
Meanwhile, Peter’s widowed son Tom Kennedy has moved back to his wife’s hometown together with his young son Jake. They want to start a new life, and Jake brings along his imaginary friend which Tom believes is a coping mechanism after his mother’s death. Tom also tells his son that he had an imaginary friend too, which he called Mr. Night, who would visit him before he slept and kiss his forehead. Well, this isn’t a demon possession movie so imaginary friends aren’t the problem here…but when Tom one night hears Jake reciting the Whisper Man rhyme and also sees that a gloved hand is reaching through the letter box, he’s got very good reasons to become afraid for his son’s safety. So what does he do? Gets himself piss drunk one night, of course (that’s always such a good idea when there are problems afoot, right?) and ends up losing his temper and yelling at Jake. Nice call, dude. That will surely make everything better. Soon after, Jake is gone. Taken by the Whisper Man. Peter is the only man Tom knows who can help him, but they have been estranged for many years…and Peter is also retired and haven’t been wanting anything to do with the new copycat case. Now that his grandson has become one of the missing children, they need to work together in order to save the boy’s life.
The Whisper Man is a crime thriller from 2026, written by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer, and directed by James Ashcroft (who also directed The Rule of Jenny Pen from 2024 and Coming Home in the Dark from 2021). It is based on the novel of the same name by Alex North, and it was released on Netflix.
Like in many crime thrillers we have a city that’s haunted by old murders and unsolved mysteries, and a detective with alcohol problems. Never seen that before, right? Well, in this case the detective has former alcohol problems…now it’s his son who happens to be a writer who has turned to the bottle. There isn’t much of a problem with the story’s familiarity, however, since many movies can do the same worn stuff and still be entertaining. There’s enough twists and turns and mysteries to be gradually unsolved to keep your attention, and performances are of course pretty good, which should come as no surprise with Robert De Niro in the leading role. Also fun to see Michael Keaton in the role as Frank Carter, the Whisper Man behind bars. The juice certainly ain’t very loose here. And of course, also fun to see Adam Scott in another movie again this year (as Tom Kennedy) reprising his role as an alcoholic writer, just like in Hokum.
Regarding mysteries, it is a little too easy to figure out who the killer is, but there’s enough involvement from other characters and deeper parts of the mystery that keeps the story interesting throughout. There’s also more than a couple hints at something a little supernatural, although that never plays too significant a role in the story.
The Whisper Man is overall a decent movie, walking steadily on familiar yet solid ground and pretty fine for a mystery thriller.
Director: James Ashcroft
Writers: Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer
Country & year: USA, 2026
Actors: Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Acston Luca Porto, Michael Keaton, Owen Teague, Hamish Linklater, Will Brill, Aniela Zeig, Exavier Montanez
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11561116/
