The Whisper Man

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2:29

The Whisper Man

R

2026

1h 51m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

81 Reviews

38%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Alex North. When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as "The Whisper Man."

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Critics Consensus

Assembling an impressive cast to go through the motions, The Whisper Man is reasonably creepy but could've stood to crank up the fresh ideas and genuine tension by a few more decibels.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

Sep 8, 2026

3/5

The Whisper Man is indeed a safe space for tropes... You may also wonder which is weirder: the long periods when Scott vanishes from the story, or the periods he doesn’t, miscast as a brooding drinker. Still, the plot rolls on efficiently enough.

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Ben Travis

Empire Magazine

Aug 31, 2026

3/5

A Netflix serial killer thriller that’s – whisper it! – actually pretty good, with a heavyweight cast that brings greater heft to solid if forgettable material.

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Katie Rife

Inverse

Aug 31, 2026

Saying that The Whisper Man is "better than it needs to be" would only reinforce the idea that it’s okay for Netflix movies to be disposable trash, but still: The effort is appreciated.

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Rachel Ho

Exclaim!

2 days ago

As expected, the best scenes are De Niro and Keaton's tête-à-têtes, which give the movie enough gravitas to warrant a watch.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

4 days ago

2/5

Considering the mix of subject matter and genre, the movie should pack more of a punch. Instead it’s an overly familiar crime thriller that leaves us wishing for the richer and heavier movie it could have been.

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Matt Pais

MattPais.com

4 days ago

D+

Not the worst movie ever made, but bad and upsetting enough that I’d be pretty concerned if someone I knew really liked it.

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Jelisije J

@jjosifovic 51 min ago

A well made movie with good actors, but this film has to many flaws that are too obvious to ignore.

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Benjamin W

@Code70 2 hrs ago

It’s not so much bad as it is dull and cliched. The Whisper Man is not the worst movie you’ll see come out in 2026. Not even close. But it might be one of the least interesting and memorable, despite the powerhouse cast and a promising premise. The cast is probably what works best for this. The characters weren’t very interesting, but the actors and actresses playing them just bring this weight to their roles that they otherwise wouldn’t have. But it’s just kind of a slog to get through. Everything’s all dour and depressing, it’s paced rather slow, characters disappear at certain points in the film for a period of time, which makes things feel imbalanced and like they tried to give each heavy weight actor equal screen time even when it compromises the movie, and the mystery just wasn’t that interesting, and didn’t go anywhere we haven’t seen a thousand times. Like I said, it’s not terrible or anything. It’s shot well, the cast is great. It just… doesn’t leave a mark.

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inta K

@intuciic 6 hrs ago

Interesting story line. The only thing that was sort of unnerving was the lack of common sense in detective, grandfather and the father.

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Rafael P

@Rafael160 6 hrs ago

It is without a doubt one of the worst movies I have seen in my life. Even De Niro is terrible. What a waste of time.

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Sara L

@saramarlund 14 hrs ago

Utter crap. The worst movie I’ve seen this year.

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Movie T

@TheMovieTalk 1 day ago

The movie didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by its amazing cast. The story of a serial killer definitely keeps you watching, as the details and references are crucial to understanding the plot. However, the story is predictable enough that you can anticipate the ending.

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James Ashcroft

Director

Robert De Niro

Pete Willis

Michelle Monaghan

Amanda Beck

Adam Scott

Tom Kennedy

Michael Keaton

Frank Carter

Owen Teague

Francis Carter Jr.

The Whisper Man: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Alex North. When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as "The Whisper Man."

Director: James Ashcroft
Producer: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Screenwriter: Ben Jacoby
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: AGBO, British Film Commission
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Images|Brief Sexual References|Some Bloody Violence|Suicide)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 28, 2026
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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