Can evil be passed down in our DNA? Can the sins of the fathers be passed down onto their children? Only the Whisper Man can answer this question.
The Whisper Man
Thank you, Andy Burns, for recommending this film. Directed by James Ashcroft and based on the (Steve Mosby aka Alex North) novel, Netflix’s The Whisper Man is one hell of a thriller. The film stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague, Acston Luca Porto, and Michael Keaton. The plot is stressful enough to watch because it involves a serial killer who preys on little boys, but there is also the added tension with Jake’s (Acston Luca Porto) involvement with his imaginary friend.
Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott) is a widowed novelist with an eight-year-old son, Jake. He moves back to the town where his wife grew up. The house has a history, and it isn’t long before young Jake tells his father that his imaginary friend is afraid of the house and the boy under the floor. Tom, who has absolutely no patience with imaginary friends, is still recovering from his wife’s lost battle with cancer and the estrangement from his dad, Pete Willis (Robert De Niro), a retired police officer.
While Tom and Jake attempt to make a new life, homicide detective Amanda Beck (Michelle Monaghan) discovers the body of a child while searching for another missing child.
All the deaths of these little boys emulate a serial killer, Frank Carter (Michael Keaton) aka The Whisper Man, but there is one little problem…Frank Carter has been locked up for years, and Detective Pete Willis captured him. So, is this a copycat killing? Does Frank Carter have a pen pal who is doing his dirty work for him? There are many suspects, including a weirdo (Hamish Linklater) who collects items connected to serial killers and their victims. Amanda Beck is forced to ask Pete Willis for help, and Tom is forced to reconnect with his father after Nate is kidnapped by the Whisper Man.
Conclusion with Spoilers
The Whisper Man was worth watching, and I felt that the estrangement between Tom and Pete mirrored perfectly Tom’s unwillingness to believe that Nate was seeing a ghost.
The biblical drama between fathers and sons is also mirrored in Frank Carter’s relationship with his abusive dad…and eventually explains the needs of the serial killer’s choice in victims…this said…I was left wondering what had been left out in the filming that was in the book. I will watch just about anything that Robert De Niro stars in. That man can make a toothpaste commercial look scary, but I felt that De Niro was held back in his portrayal of a police officer who not only captured a monster but kept in touch with a soulless entity that so maliciously harmed children. Michael Keaton will always be Batman to me, but he can also do one hell of a scary sociopathic serial killer.
There is a ghost in this story. The film acknowledges the spirit, but for this psychic/medium/ghost investigator…this would have been a better story within a story if they had recognized how important a crime thriller can be when you add ghosts. So, now I will need to get the book and see what was left out of the film.
I would still recommend you watch this gem on Netflix. It was very scary, and you have De Niro and Keaton. The crème de la crème of the film industry.
