The Whisper Man

"If you leave a door half open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken."

2026 1h 51m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🥫

45%

ROTTEN

★6.9TMDB · 884🥫45%Rotten Tomatoes

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.

“If you leave a door half open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert De Niro
Peter Willis
Michelle Monaghan
Amanda Beck
Adam Scott
Tom Kennedy
Acston Luca Porto
Jake Kennedy
Michael Keaton
Frank Carter
Owen Teague
Frank Carter Jr.
Hamish Linklater
Norman Collins
Will Brill
Sgt. John Dyson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Ashcroft
Writers: Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer, Patrick Campbell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

268+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by James Ashcroft, shot by Peter Deming. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Colin Stetson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert De Niro and Michelle Monaghan and Adam Scott carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If you leave a door half open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Ashcroft directs. Peter Deming behind the camera. Colin Stetson scores. Christopher Tellefsen cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
3268+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by James Ashcroft, shot by Peter Deming. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Colin Stetson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Robert De Niro and Michelle Monaghan and Adam Scott carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "If you leave a door half open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken.".
9IMDB entry: tt11561116 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Deming
Original score: Colin Stetson
Editing: Christopher Tellefsen
Production design: Anastasia White
Costume design: Kasia Walicka Maimone
Makeup / hair: Nuria Sitja
VFX supervisor: Alexis Sansone
Sound: Rich Bologna
Stunt coordinator: Stephen A. Pope
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Whisper Man (2026)
Rotten Tomatoes: 45% 🥫 Rotten

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James Ashcroft

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dean2026-09-06
★ 5/10
It was average, not bad, but not good either. We already have seen thousands of movies about this subject - serial killers. Nothing unique, nothing special.
The Fixate & Binge Podcast, w/ Joe Curdy2026-09-11
★ 5/10
Director James Ashcroft's THE WHISPER MAN is a hodge-podge of other suspense thrillers you've already seen. Sometimes it's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, then BLACK PHONE, or the lesser-seen Sean Penn's THE PLEDGE (2001). With one of the most enviable casts in recent memory, the story takes place in the soggy, dour suburbs of New Jersey, where widower and single father Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott) moves into a new home with his socially awkward son, Jake. (And with HOKUM earlier this year -- isn't Scott tired of playing novelists?) Estranged from his decorated, long-retired detective father Peter Willis (Robert De Niro), Tom's already complicated life becomes considerably worse when an old (and solved) serial killer case appears to have produced a copycat killer, as the bodies of small children begin turning up again. Local detective Amanda Beck (Michelle Monaghan) enlists Willis' help in trying to uncover clues, just as Tom's son suddenly goes missing. Co-starring Hamish Linklater, Michael Keaton, and Owen Teague -- who each arguably upstage De Niro, Scott and Monaghan here -- the plot eventually congeals into a rote and rather predictable conclusion that will unfortunately result in being almost instantly forgettable. With two Oscar-winners, capable performances by Scott and Monaghan, and directing by New Zealand's Ashcroft (who stunned in 2021 with COMING HOME IN THE DARK), THE WHISPER MAN struggles to pick a lane, vacillating between being a supernatural thriller, a detective story, and a serial killer film. It is this indecision that appears to hurt the film most -- as, again, the performances from the supporting cast save the film from being a total waste of time.