Whisper

Plot synopsis:
After being released from prison, convicted felon Max Truemont (played by Josh Holloway) and his fiancée Roxanne (played by Sarah Wayne Callies), wish to have a fresh start by running a small diner of their own. However, the bank refuses to loan US$ 50,000.00 to them to open the business, and without alternatives, Max accepts the invitation of his former partner Sydney and his associate Vince to participate in the kidnapping of the eight-year-old David, the son of a wealthy woman in New England, under the command of a mysterious mastermind behind the kidnapping. After the successful abduction of the eight-year-old boy, David (played by Blake Woodruff), the group awaits ransom instructions in a secluded hideout. However, as they begin to become suspicious of each other, Max realizes the boy is not as innocent as he seemed. The boy commands various characters in the movie to kill each other. As the film evolves we learn that the mastermind is none other than the boy's own mother who it turns out had adopted him. She tells Max that the kidnapped boy is a demon. He can suggest or "whisper" ideas to weak minded individuals. She pleads with Max to kill the boy on her behalf. On Max's refusal, she kills herself with her own hand gun. In the end, Max kills David, but with the loss of his fiancee Roxanne, who's killed accidentally by Max himself.

Tags: murder

Review:
If you too like to watch a movie just for a bed-time story you know the kind - it can't be complete crap, because you won't get into the story in the first minutes, but can't be too good too, 'cause you won't fall asleep during the rest of it.
"Whisper" seemed to fit, but - surprise - it doesn't.A quite good Ransom-Omen-Shining mix story provides actors some good dialogues to play and apart from few flaws it holds the level.
Convincing acting, without embarrassing moments (especially the kid earns respect) and very good dark music harmonized with cinematography in few mood-building panoramas (don't know why I remembered this) complete the work - WE HAVE A GOOD MOVIE HERE (and we can't sleep)..
In the horror genre,the sub-genus about evil children is not as popular as the slasher or the films about haunted houses,but,usually,it falls on clichés.Also,we have to add that,usually,we see a young actor who does not produce fear so,almost all the times,the result is a crap.But Whisper does not have that things because it is fun and it generates suspense thanks to its ingenious premise.Director Stewart Hendler shows us the story in a credible way and the movie produces more suspense than horror.I also appreciated the film does not have the MTV camera tricks.Josh Holloway has enough charisma in his leading role.The young actor Blake Woodruff makes a pretty fine performance.The complaining I have against this movie is that the film lacks of blood which would have made more credible the various deaths the movie shows.Whisper is not a great horror movie but it could keep me very entertained and tense.A nice surprise..
The good acting of Josh Holloway (known as Sawyer from Lost), Sarah Wayne Callies (known as Dr. Sara Tancredi from Prison Break) and the talented child Blake Woodruff, is make you feel good with this movie, only in case when you want to see a good thriller-horror movie.
It has an interesting subject with a very well constructive story, almost like The Omen (2006), only better, and you'll discover that this movie doesn't have good or bad characters, only good or bad choices and strength of choose.
David acts bizarre, drawing disturbing images, whispering evil into their ears, and creating a sense of fear among his own kidnappers.
He and the others soon discover their victim isn't what he appears to be and disaster follows.This movie is filled with familiar faces, even if the audience won't be able to put names to a good many of them.
It'll be interesting to see what this youngster does if he continues as a actor after becoming an adult, for his portrayal of David is eerie.No mention is made of why David is the way he is or exactly what he is, though there is a climactic scene toward the end of the movie in which it's disclosed he's already killed his father and nanny.
A little background would've been good though it isn't necessary for the story other than giving some explanation to the audience.There are a few shock moments, making one jump, and more than enough psychological moments as when Roxanne is trapped in a shower with a wolf sniffing outside the open bathroom door.All in all, an expected good shocker of a psychological drama..
In the dead of winter, the kidnapping of a young boy results in fatal consequences in the supernatural thriller Whisper.All Max Truemont (Josh Holloway, star of TV's smash hit Lost) wants is a chance to make a fresh start with his fiancée Roxanne...but a bank loan is not easy to get when you're a felon who's previously been convicted of manslaughter.Max's last resort--and only remaining choice--is to team up with two shady associates hired by an absent mastermind to kidnap the son of one of the richest women in the state.
There is a good and entertaining horror drama thriller about a young child called David who is kidnapped - but everything is not as it seems about him, much as we might follow but in different circumstances in Joshua and other child demon movies such as SHIVER.No spill of blood or sex scenes and I don't think this movie is intended to be a really scary horror movie, thank goodness, it is much better as a drama thriller with loads of suspense moments.Takes a while to work out who the girl is killed in the opening scene but once we engage with the child character after 20 minutes or so, we begin to understand.
So many good things about this movie that they override anything bad.Its not a great movie but if you like thrillers with a touch of horror and drama, you will enjoy this..
In this terror film, the most inept band of kidnappers in world history abducts the child from hell, an eight year old adopted boy from a very wealthy family in New England who's in fact the Antichrist or something.
Made with a no name cast (except perhaps for Michael Rooker, who twenty years ago has a cult hit in Henry, Portrait of a serial killer) the good scenery from New England in winter and a good hand in the directing adds a little to this passable movie.
When you go for the second option (which I encourage), your movie pretty much stands or falls with the child's acting performance.
And the ending was also good.Overall a movie with character..
Then how come the movie ended the way it did?Again, I can't say there was anything particularly wrong with this film, but there was nothing about it that would make it memorable.
The story for WHISPER: kidnappers get more than what they bargain for when they kidnap a kid with psychic/supernatural powers.At the isolated cabin where the kidnappers are hiding him, the evil boy plays with their minds and they start dying one by one.That's it.It's pretty obvious the people involved with this film do not know anything about horror films.
This never happened in the whole super slick film.The kidnappers were all good looking and young, so I guess that's how the director thought viewers would sympathize with these criminals.
The film could have worked if the writers actually knew something about horror or how to play with guilt vis a vis kidnapping and other human emotions but the drama fell flat.
I think it is superb that Hollywood is now filming movies that deals with the emotions of KIDS, and how much KIDS can truly hate.
Also, i think the boy playing David is equally SUPERB after coming off such an childish Film background in 'Cheaper by the dozen 1&2' to such an suspense, freakish, scary and very evil atmosphere.
It feels a little odd to put Whisper into the Horror movie genre.
Blake Woodruff in his role as David absolutely makes you think of movies of the Omen franchise and even though we are watching a child actor, he absoutely inhabits the role of an adult.
Whisper has the potential to be a really good movie.
The interplay between all the kidnappers is very interesting, the scenery is beautiful and most of the actors are really good - Sarah Wayne Callies and Joel Edgerton especially.The main problem seems to be that the film is trying to be too many things at once - Omen, plus a kidnapping film, plus some sort of cop thing.
The film ends up relying too much on jump scares, the rivalry between the two cops doesn't really add anything to the plot, the character of Max (while Josh Holloway is a good actor) is kind of boring compared to the other kidnappers and the soundtrack is ridiculously overwrought at times (also, Dulé Hill's moustache looks ridiculous) While it is still an interesting film, it doesn't really stand out from the crowd..
Fortunately that wasn't necessary as I simply pressed eject immediately after yet another smug look from the child and stopped watching the movie about half way through.
If you want to see truly creepy child actors, good acting, a good plot and experience true jump scares & suspense watch Mama instead..
Long time before Whisper, there were the Omen series, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and other movies with a mysterious child having supernatural powers, with strong references to occultism and religion.
Here, the child (9-years-old boy David, splendidly performed by Blake Woodruff), has been "victimized" more as he is being kidnapped.
The cast is also nothing special, with the exception of Woodruff and Joel Edgerton as Vince Delayo.Well, the movie is okay to watch, and about 1h 20 minutes only, but as for similar plots, I still prefer movies where a child punishes evil (people) using his/her own wit and skills - as in Home Alone series, for example..
Finally, I did enjoy the kidnapping aspects and how that unfolded, which made the film more of a Thriller.This film is great for the average individual or group looking for a scary thrill but will not hold up to the standards of big Horror fans..
However, the bank refuses to loan US$ 50,000.00 to them and without alternatives, Max accepts the invitation of his former partner Sydney (Michael Rooker) and his associate Vince (Joel Edgerton) to participate in the kidnapping of the eight year old David (Blake Woodruff), the son of a wealthy woman in New England, under the command of a mysterious leader.
The quartet drives with the boy to a camping area in Maine, closed in the cold winter, where they are individually disturbed by whispers that affects their behaviors until Max discloses the dark secret about David and his mother."Whisper" is a very effective horror movie that scares without explicit violence or gore.
The young actor Blake Woodruff has a top-notch performance in the role of the evil soul collector and the acting and direction are solid.
I saw a trailer for this movie months before it's DVD release and remember reading stuff about it but not knowing all the details so I couldn't wait to see it.It would have been nice to have caught it in theater's for it's limited release.The original movie poster for "whisper" was nice, with a picture of a house behind trees and David sitting in the snow beside a dead and bloody crow with a caption "the devil's work is child's play".I really liked that original poster for the movie and hoped it would be the cover for the DVD as well.But instead we get a cheap looking cover with a new caption.For the DVD they should have gone with the alternate title "Hellion" instead which would be appropriate for this new cover art and the movie.
As for the movie itself,I liked it and it was better then I thought it would be.It has good solid acting and an original idea.It would have made a great Omen sequel since Damien was orphaned at the end and he would have gone to another family anyway and raised hell!
His name could have been changed after his adoption.....But Whisper is is a good movie on it's own.And after seeing it I understand the title of the movie.Before I watched it I had an idea about the plot.I knew a young boy was kidnapped and was held hostage by 4 kidnappers and unknown to them the boy wasn't as innocent as they thought.He had a way of tapping into their minds and turning them against one another.I anxiously wanted to see it to see how an 8 year old could outsmart them.I started thinking about another movie I saw called "hard candy" where a young conniving girl managed to use her mind to turn against the pedophile she was stalking.
Well after watching it I realized they were 2 completely different movies and that "Whisper" was more like the Omen and that David was actually something from Hell.Well indeed he did get even with the ones that kidnapped him and hatched a diabolical plan to carefully destroy them one by one!
I think one of the reasons this movie works is because of the evil background music and seriousness of it rather than being b-rated or movie of the week like.Blake Woodruff did a very good and convincing portrayal of this not so innocent boy.
The one problem I had was the beginning seemed rushed and there was a very quick line about David's father dying and him being adopted and all of his nannies dying mysteriously.This was quite confusing because it doesn't really explain where he came from and how he became what he was.At least in the Omen there is a back story and Damien had an origin, but with David it's a mystery.I think this could have been explored better.And after seeing the alternate ending,I have to say I prefer it better because you can't kill that type of evil.How can an ordinary guy like Max(Josh Holloway)defeat David's powers so easily where his associates couldn't!
Cross THE OMEN with THE SHINING and add a great dollop of "The Ransom of Red Chief", and you get WHISPER, a slick, "better than I had expected", horror flick.
Whisper was a very well put together film with great performances from all the actors.
Josh Holloway (Lost) and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break) put in really good performances as 2 of the kidnappers, but I think the most praise has to be given to Blake Woodruff, the young boy who played David.
It is quite simply breathtaking.It contains elements of "The Ring" and both version of "The Omen" but takes the genre to a whole new level.Also it is one of the few films I have seen where there are no 'Good' or 'Bad' characters there are just shades of grey.
Whilst rationality tells your sympathies to lie with the child, another part of you feels sorry for two of the kidnappers I guess you could say this is what happens when Bad meets Evil.Watch it or you'll regret it forever..
Certainly some people will moan about this being too much like "The Omen", but "Whisper" is far better than that movie.
Blake Woodruff who plays David stole this movie from the rest of the cast.
When I was watching Cheaper By The Dozen 1 & 2 I said many times that Blake Woodruff who played Mike Baker in that movie was great but unfortunately he had bairly any airtime.
At least in a movie like the Omen, you knew what the child stood for.
And like many other poorly written and contrived movies, the ending was very weak, the kid was made out to be invincible so he shouldn't have died and I don't think anybody got anything out of max giving away the money.
"Whisper" again revolves on an evil child, a 9-year-old called David, who terrorizes a bunch of adults.
Overall the character development is adequate for this type of movie but a bit implausible at times.** spoiler ahead **There were some familiar faces in this, when Sydney (Michael Rooker in a minor but well-done role)died I felt like I did when I watched Deep Blue Sea where Samuel L.
It was done more or less in shadow so it's not explicit at all.They don't waste time trying to explain the kid's abilities, probably a mix of his artwork and whispering, so it's left up to the viewer to decide how he can do what he does which makes plot-holes much less likely.
After being released from prison, Max and his fiancé Roxanne wish to have a fresh start of their lives running a small diner of their own.However, the bank refuses to loan them and without alternatives, Max accepts the invitation of his former partner Sydney and his associate Vince to participate in the kidnapping of the son of a wealthy woman in New England, under the command of a mysterious leader.The quartet drives with the boy to a camping area in Maine, closed in the cold winter, where they are individually disturbed by whispers that affects their behaviours until Max discloses the dark secret about David and his mother....The Omen, meets Orphan, meets any movie that features an evil child, although this rips off the first two Omen movies with two identical kills from the two movies (the hammer is reminiscent of the church spire, and the ice drowning is identical to Damian).There are dogs in it, and Micheal Rooker, who gets fed up of the whole thing half way through and has a heart attack.The acting isn't the best, and the kid is annoying, not evil, and becomes more unbearable as the film reaches it's unsurprising climax.The sets are good, and there is an eerie feeling to the film, but it's been done before, and doesn't offer anything new..
Where should i start....Plot and Writing: So the plot of this movie is some guys wants some money to open a restaurant, so they get the idea that they would get the money from kidnapping a child.
And the boy who played David wasn't good.
The only moment that really felt like part of a good thriller.When it comes to actors than I must say they all were good.
I just throw in a few points for the fact that the actors were good, they made a beautiful scenery with all the snow even when filming in summer and that good camera work doesn't make one feel that the movie was shot in an amateur basement, but I doubt I would ever want to watch it again..
I confess I usually like films of innocent looking children who turn out to be evil, such as in the films "Orphan" or "Joshua", so after David (Blake Woodruff) is kidnapped, and appears to be totally unafraid and even in control, I was hoping for some sort of original explanation, especially when he draws wall paintings nearly on the level of Frazetta.