Although there have been psychologically disturbed mass murderers used as cinematic villains since 1955’s The Night of the Hunter and 1960’s Psycho, the birth of the modern “serial killer” subgenre took off in the 1990s thanks to the success of The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. Both films existed in a vague space between being crime thrillers and straight-up horror, but they had enough authenticity to avoid being labeled “slashers.” That these films were treated as serious adult entertainment and featured prominent actors led to a brief renaissance from the genre in the 1990s that varied in terms of quality; a majority of them were slightly sillier and less grounded, in the vein of The Bone Collector, Copycat, Kill the Girls, and Freeway, with the occasional reinvention (Man Bites Dog) or parody (So I Married An Axe Murderer). It’s a mold of storytelling that more-or-less disappeared in the 21st century due to the popularity of crime shows, including Se7en director David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunter.
The Whisper Man is a deliberate throwback to this era, a fact made obvious because 1990s nostalgia is woven into the plot. Set within New Jersey, it’s about the crime writer Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott), who’s returned to the fictional small town where he grew up with his son, Jake (Acston Luca Porto), after the death of his wife. Although the community had once been the subject of a national news story because of a series of child abductions and murders linked to a serial killer known as “The Whisper Man,” the case was closed after Tom’s father, Detective Inspector Pete Willis (Robert De Niro), apprehended the suspect Frank Carter (Michael Keaton). Tom made no plans to reconnect with his estranged father, but he’s forced to seek him out when “The Whisper Man” kidnappings begin again and Jake’s reported missing.
There isn’t much of a mystery in The Whisper Man, other than a few red herrings in the form of the true crime memorabilia collector Norman Collins (Hamish Linklater) and a few local thugs who nearly assault Tom before Pete saves him. The more pressing conflict in the story is one of fathers and sons; Tom’s never forgiven Pete for being an absent parent, but he’s begun to fear that he’s following in the same footsteps by not giving Jake the support that he needed when both were grieving. It’s not a surprise that Frank has a son, Frank Jr. (Owen Teague), who’s obsessed with his father’s legacy.
The Netflix production holds The Whisper Man back. Characters are often saddled with expositional dialogue that’s repeated, presumably to ensure that anyone viewing second-screen can understand what is going on. There’re too many cutaways to the other victims of the Whisper Man kidnappings that unnecessarily expand the scope of the story, which is at its best when it's focused exclusively on the Willis family. Yet, The Whisper Man is effective as an anxiety thriller because of how narrowly-focused it is. This isn’t an event that has started a media firestorm or initiated a national manhunt, but a local phenomenon that’s made everyone caught up in its wake feel more alone.
While De Niro has calcified his status whenever he’s reunited with Martin Scorsese or paired with another filmmaker like David O. Russell, his choices have otherwise included bizarre misfires like Dirty Grandpa and The Big Wedding. De Niro’s always had an interest in doing slightly pulpier, more generalized fare; he made Copland and Backdraft in-between his Oscar-nominated 1990s roles. The Whisper Man has a smart way to utilize him because it’s keyed into his history of playing grizzled detectives and cops. The hard work’s already done to make it believable that Pete solved a puzzling case and subsequently became a secluded recluse, so the film’s most important task is to bridge a compelling relationship between him and Tom. This is made possible thanks to Scott, who’s fashioned himself into a strong dramatic actor in the aftermath of his award-winning role on Severance.
That the trail of clues that lead to “The Whisper Man” aren’t complicated isn’t an issue for the film because it has a strong idea about the different perspectives of the investigators. Tom’s decision to develop his own probe isn’t because he’s specially qualified, but because he feels like he’s the only one who understands Jake, who’s had trouble making friends in the aftermath of his mother’s death. Pete has avoided all mention of the case in the years following its initial conclusion because of his guilt over a victim that he didn’t save, but the return of “The Whisper Man” is an opportunity to save his grandson, who he’s never met.
The neutral party between father and son is Detective Amanda Beck (Michelle Monaghan), a local cop who contacted Pete for his expertise before knowing that he was Tom’s father. It’s a surprisingly well-written role that doesn’t fall prey to any female cop stereotypes, mostly because Monaghan makes the material believable. Beck’s job is to keep the peace in a mostly quiet town, so it’d make sense that she would seek out the insight of Pete when faced with a logic-defying catastrophe. That The Whisper Man positioned all of its characters in the right place is enough to be satisfying, even if the final set piece would suggest there was nothing deeper to the disturbed villain. This subgenre has been absent long enough that a new entry that is “pretty good” is more than enough to justify its return.