Picture Credit: Netflix
“If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken. If your window’s left unlatched, you’ll hear him tapping at the glass. If you’re lonely, sad, & blue, The Whisper Man will come for you.”
This is the haunting, nursery rhyme-style boogeyman song inspired by the infamous child kidnapper & serial killer of the same moniker; a man who became the stuff of nightmarish legend for young kids in a quiet New Jersey town decades ago. It’s a song that will make horror film fans think of another nightmarish figure who got his own twisted anthem back in the 1980s with this child sung warning:
“One-two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three-Four, better lock your door. Five-six, grab your crucifix. Seven-eight, gonna stay up late. Nine-ten, never sleep again.”
While Freddy Krueger became iconic with his mangled form, darkly clever humor, & killer clawed glove, the creators of the latest Netflix crime thriller The Whisper Man would probably hope for the same cultural relevance in their own fictional homicidal lunatic.
Based on the New York Times Bestseller by Alex North – a novel hailed by the publication as having your name on it if you “like being terrified”, the film adapts the story of Tom & Jake Kennedy, a fiction writer and his son, who move to the town where their recently passed wife & mother was raised in hopes for a fresh start. As you may surmise, this quiet, unassuming town had been previously terrorized decades prior by The Whisper Man, who was known for stalking, enticing, kidnapping, & eventually murdering his young, emotionally vulnerable victims.
While the threat of the notorious criminal was thought to be extinguished with his capture & incarceration, a new wave of child abductions & murders with his signature have recently begun to emerge. When his son Jake is taken from their home, Tom enlists the help of his estranged father, a retired police detective connected to the serial killer linked to his grandson’s disappearance.
With such a high-profile novel and well-established producers who acquired the rights in the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame, The Electric State), it shouldn’t come as a shock that the film is teeming with talent in front of and behind the camera. The film’s cast features 2-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro (The Godfather Part II, Raging Bull), Golden Globe nominee Michelle Monaghan (True Detective), & Emmy nominee Adam Scott (Severance). The film is directed by The Rule of Jenny Pen helmer James Ashcroft on a screenplay by Ben Jacoby (The First Omen) & Chase Palmer (It).
Seeing so many things going in its favor, The Whisper Man landed on my Most Anticipated Netflix Movies of 2026 list back in January. Unfortunately, the results don’t match the talent, the anticipation, or poor Freddy Krueger.
The Whisper Man. (L-R) Robert De Niro as Peter Willis, Adam Scott as Tom Kennedy and Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Beck in The Whisper Man. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2026
I realize how insane this will sound in print, but, for a film about child abduction & murder, The Whisper Man seems restrained.
In the current Netflix climate of constant true crime docs, multiple Ryan Murphy serial killer series, and the past brilliance & influence of David Fincher (Mindhunter needs to return! Stop messing around!), we all have some sense of what we come to expect from the modern crime thriller: a captivating killer with the creep factor set on high, a backstory that makes your skin crawl (or at least drum up some empathy), a great cat & mouse game with an overly invested detective who will stop at nothing, inventive MOs that distinguish them from their past archetypes, a race against time, and of course some outcome to root for in the end.
The Whisper Man feels content being a subdued version of almost all of these elements while making the audience wait until very late in the runtime to get interesting. Do we witness any murders or abductions of children at the hands of the reviled madmen in question? No. Does anything reprehensible happen while the children are held by these lunatics? Depends on your feelings on Mac & Cheese and softball interviews, but basically no.
Every chance for intensity that would separate the film from being a basic streaming procedural is pushed down until the film’s final moments. Even the classic face-to-face confrontation of longtime foes seemed more like a calm exchange of pleasantries & exposition for most of the interaction in their first meeting. Not a master tactician baiting hooks. Not a sadistic killer who wants to revel in the details of his work. Just a bitter convict with a grudge against those that finally put him behind bars.
The strongest scenes in the film belong to those moments that actually dare to touch a nerve, interact with the depravity, or simply find humanity – which unfortunately are in shorter supply than you’d hope. The reveal of Mr. Night, the disquieting nature of murder memorabilia collector Norman Collins (played by the underrated Hamish Linklater), the home confrontation by Detective Beck in the final act, and, of course, the heroics of mystical friends.
But, even with a cast of decorated actors doing their best to create tension from safety and a talented director behind it all, The Whisper Man will ultimately fall on deaf ears.
Watch The Whisper Man If You Liked
- Lost Girls
- “Monster” TV Series
- The Little Thing
- Zodiac
- Mindhunter
MVP of The Whisper Man
Hamish Linklater as Norman Collins
While Hamish Linklater has had an increasingly impressive career over the last 2 decades, his last 5 years since his breakout role as Father Paul in Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass have brought him to another level.
Abraham Lincoln in Apple TV+’s Manhunt. Dean Cipher in Amazon’s 2nd season of Gen V. His darkly hilarious turn as island founder Richard Warren on Widow’s Bay. And the real ones know that he is the current voice of Batman in Batman: Caped Crusader.
Linklater is a captivating figure with a quiet yet engrossing presence that seems to be more in demand with each new project. In The Whisper Man, his performance as the “murder curious” collector of rare depraved goods carried more weight and tension than most scenes with actual murderers in it. He’s one of my favorite actors to watch these days and I can’t wait to see him make his mark in his new collaboration with Midnight Mass creator Mike Flanagan, The Exorcist: Martyrs.
The Whisper Man fails to make enough noise to make us notice. While the big-name actors don’t disappoint, the lack of chills makes this thriller less thrilling.