Netflix’s ‘The Whisper Man’ Revives the ’90s Serial Killer Film Formula | Review

Netflix’s The Whisper Man is presented as a deliberately old-fashioned serial-killer thriller, recalling the dependable but familiar crime films of the 1990s. The review finds that it does not substantially update the formula, but considers it an effective and particularly eerie watch thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and strong cast.

Michelle Monaghan plays Detective Amanda Beck, investigating a missing child whose case may be linked to the long-imprisoned “Whisper Man”, while Adam Scott’s character has a personal connection to the earlier murders. Robert De Niro plays the retired detective who caught the killer, with Michael Keaton also supporting; the film is adapted from Alex North’s 2019 novel and directed by James Ashcroft. Its detached depictions of the killer and lightly supernatural elements are singled out as unsettling, although its visual style is judged competent rather than distinctive.