Spoiler alert: This article contains mentions of the plot of the newly released film, ‘The Whisper Man‘. If you are yet to watch it, read the article on your own discretion. Starring big names like Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Keaton, among many others, the brand-new crime thriller release has generated a lot of buzz and praise amongst the masses. Based on Alex North’s novel of the same name, the story revolves around The Whisper Man, a serial killer who has returned after decades and has kidnapped Jake, who is played by Acston Luca Porto. It is up to his father and grandfather to uncover the truth of what is really happening while racing against time to save the young boy before it’s too late.Here is a look at the brand-new OTT film, what really went down in the final moments, and who ended up being the killer.
‘The Whisper Man’ ending explained
The film begins with Jake Kennedy going missing, after which his father and estranged grandfather come together with a detective to find out what happened. Kennedy’s kidnapping uncovers a connection to a decades-old serial killer, The Whisper Man, who has been locked up for luring out and killing five young boys. When tapes of the new Whisper Man interviewing Jake start appearing, the family must race against time to find out who is copying the original serial killer’s style before it’s too late. In the film, the Whisper Man is described as someone who lured vulnerable children out by “whispering outside the windows and drawing them away from their family to take them [as a] Pied Piper kind of figure.”The first suspect in the case is Norman Collins, a true crime junkie who lives in the area and is obsessed with such mysterious cases. Tom, Jake’s father, also finds him trespassing on their property, and it is revealed that he has been visiting the original Whisper Man’s cellmate. After a while, Tom and Pete, Jake’s grandfather, discover that two bodies have been buried in the basement of the home that they had just moved into. They also connect the dots about why Jake chose the house in the first place, telling his father before his disappearance that a mysterious imaginary friend, a little girl, told him to live there.It is later revealed that Norman is connected to the murders because he murdered ex-con Barnett, who had been the previous renter of the home that Tom and Jake now live in. Rather than admitting his mistakes, Norman kills himself in front of Pete and Amanda, the detective assigned to the case. However, before dying, he confesses that he helped the Whisper Man connect with someone from the ‘outside.’
How do they find out the truth behind the Whisper Man?
The truth uncovers itself after Pete visits Frank in jail. Frank, the real Whisper Man that Pete had caught during his days as a detective, tries to rile him up by saying that his son writes true crime novels to be like his father. This gives Pete the clue he needs to look into Carter’s family, aka his son, who may just be the copycat they have been looking for. He works with Amanda to uncover the truth and where he lives.The two confront Francis Jr., however, in a bloody fight; both Amanda and Pete are stabbed. While Amanda survives, Pete breathes his last breath by telling Jake to run away from the house as far as he can.
The film explores the father and son’s estranged relationship
From Tom and Jake to Pete and Tom and even Frank Carter and Francis Jr., the thriller film is based on the estranged relationships that the father-and-son duos share. Dealing with the loss of his wife, Tom shuts himself off, while Jake deals with his mother’s death in his own way and lashes out at his father. Tom and Jake shift roles after her death to make sense of things. Tom and Pete already share a complicated relationship because Pete was never around when Tom was a kid due to his life; he turned out to be an alcoholic. Along with this, Francis Jr., the new Whisper Man, is following in his father’s footsteps.While talking to Tudum, author Alex North explained more details about how the film explores these estranged family relations. Talking about Francis Jr., he says, “He’s seeking his father’s approval. He’s seeking to make sense of who he is in light of his father’s treatment of him and his father’s treatment of others. It’s very much about how we react to our upbringings—whether we run toward them or run away from them, or a bit of both at the same time.”
How does ‘The Whisper Man’ end?
The film ends on a more positive note, with Tom and Jake finally reuniting. They later move into Pete’s home to honor his memory and the sacrifice he made to help Jake survive. However, this is not the only reunion that you see in the film. After Frank Jr. is arrested for his crime and sent to jail, he meets his father, Frank Carter. Though the reunion is a bittersweet end for Francis Jr., who faces the same fate his father’s victims faced in their last moments: getting strangled with a shirt over their faces. While talking about the ending, director James Ashcroft shared, “Francis Jr. is the final victim of the original ‘Whisper Man’; it’s not a fist-bump moment of good guys vanquished by bad guys. That happens to some extent, but it’s also a tragic story.”Tom is also later seen going through photos and memorabilia of his late wife; however, he is shocked to find a photo of the little girl in the blue dress that his son called his imaginary friend.‘The Whisper Man’ is available on Netflix for streaming worldwide.