Add Decider on Google Where to Stream: The Whisper Man Powered by Reelgood More On: Robert De Niro Is ‘The Whisper Man’ Based on a True Story? New Shows & Movies to Watch This Weekend: ‘The Whisper Man’ on Netflix, ‘Adults’ on Hulu + More ‘The Whisper Man’ Director James Ashcroft Breaks Down “Heartfelt” ‘Whisper Man’ Ending: “We Were Very Passionate About the Revelation at the End” 11 Best New Movies on Netflix: August 2026’s Freshest Films to Watch A fun exercise while watching The Whisper Man (now on Netflix) might be to see how the cell phone has altered the formula of ’90s-style serial-killer potboilers. Director James Ashcroft’s (The Rule of Jenny Pen) film somewhat prominently shows the seams of its influences in its twisty psychological-thriller plot, emphasis on the “psycho,” here played in a juicy supporting role by Michael Keaton, who channels the spirit of that one guy played by Anthony Hopkins. You know, the masked cannibal fella who’s bit of a foodie. Keaton turns up about halfway through the movie to give primary stars Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, and Robert De Niro a little dramatic boost for a movie that’s a little bit silly, a little bit creepy, a whole lot serious and, generally, pretty entertaining.
The Gist: Twenty years ago, a serial killer known as the Whisper Man terrorized the homey little town of Featherbank, New Jersey. So much so, it inspired a sing-songy rhyme that sticks in your memory like a jingle from an old TV commercial (Wanna know my fave? “Toniiiiight, toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, let it be Lowenbrau”). But the Whisper Man was captured and everyone lived happily ever after, the end. No! I fib! The creep’s locked up forever, but it seems a copycat killer has emerged to kidnap and murder children, sending cassette recordings of the child’s final words to journalists and leaving the bodies’ heads wrapped in cloth. Detective Amanda Beck (Monaghan) leads the investigation and ponders whether she should consult the old Whisper Man, Frank Carter (Keaton), in prison. May I suggest she not wear cheap shoes?
Cut to: Tom Kennedy (Scott) and his young son Jake (Acston Luca Porto) as they move into a neat old craftsman house in Featherbank. They’re sad; their wife/mother recently got sick and died, and they hope this is the fresh start they need. Tom, a novelist, hopes Jake attending a new school will scare up some friends for him, besides the imaginary one he spends a bit too much time with, a little girl (Aniela Zeig) that only we, the viewers, can see. As Tom contemplates Chekhov’s Leaky Roof in the new house, Beck hopes to get help from retired Detective Peter Willis (De Niro), who not only caught the OG Whisper Man, but just so happens to be Tom’s long-estranged father.
Things get a little stupid once a creepy blue-rubber-gloved hand snakes its way into the mail slot, scaring the bejeezus out of Jake and Tom. Why Tom doesn’t call the cops is beyond me, but he does when he chases an apparent squatter out of the basement. One dark and stormy night, Tom has a little too much scotch, yells at Jake about the imaginary friend, then wakes up to find the boy missing. You don’t even deserve a guess as to who snatched him, because you already know: the Babado- er, I mean, the Whisper Man. Thus, Tom and Pete end their estrangement, which means we now have a professional detective, a retired detective, and an amateur detective on the case. And they might just stand a chance against this disturbed shitheel. Might.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Some of those ’90s thrillers it’s heavily influenced by? The Silence of the Lambs, The Bone Collector and Seven.
Performance Worth Watching: To reiterate: Keaton brings the juice, drawing some blood, especially compared to Monaghan and De Niro’s more workmanlike performances.
Our Take: Your enjoyment of The Whisper Man depends heavily upon your ability to weather lapses in logic and a few convenient coincidences — which are among the hallmarks of second-tier post-Lambs dreary-dark crime-cop downers. But hey, those movies offered fairly engaging psychodrama, and Ashcroft succeeds in stirring some nostalgia for a mostly washed-out cinematic storytelling trend, while inspiring rock-solid performances from his cast. Newcomers to the genre may quietly guffaw at some of the contrivances and overcooked components of this plot-driven endeavor, but we familiars may appreciate the shepherd’s-pie comfort-foodieness (maybe find a recipe that incorporates fava beans?) of this melange of grim atmosphere, deranged psychopaths, poker-faced investigators, and desiccated corpses. It’s almost, you know, cozy.
Granted, there’s a bit much going on here. A subplot involving a collector of serial killer artifacts played by Hamish Linklater and the imaginary friend (or is she a ghost?) stuff feel a touch extraneous, and the screenplay, based on a novel by Alex North, wallows about in underscored and emphasized and italicized daddy issues, via three pairs of characters. While the procedural components drive the story, De Niro and Scott are at the epicenter of some melodrama klutzy enough to inspire brief snatches of unintended laughter. But this is a prime example of appreciating a handful of memorable moments in a relatively diverting movie, despite the fact that it doesn’t really hold together particularly well.
Our Call: Psst: The Whisper Man is far from perfect, but it ain’t half bad. STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Werner Herzog hugged him once.
