"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
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Director: Stewart Hendler Writer: Christopher Borrelli Genre: Crime - Drama - Horror - Thriller Country: USA Certification: 15+ Language: English Released: 3rd March, 2008 (DVD)
MAIN CAST: Blake Woodruff (David Sandborn) Teryl Rothery (Catherine Sandborn) Josh Holloway (Max Truemont) Sarah Wayne Callies (Roxanne) Michael Rooker (Sydney Braverman) Julian Christopher (Mr. Harper) Dulé Hill (Detective Miles)
During a birthday party, David Sandborn, only son of a wealthy widow, is kidnapped by a group of hapless thieves down on their luck.
Max, a wannabe-entrepreneur who dreams of opening up a small diner but has been refused a bank loan because of his past, desperately wants to settle down with his wife and start a new life on the straight and narrow. When he is offered a 'job' that will rake in the much needed cash for his business, he accepts - much to his wife's displeasure.
The group of men, accompanied by Roxanne (Max's wife) who wants to make certain the child will be well-cared for, kidnap the boy and take him to an abandoned campsite - where, from the very first, strange things start happening, people start dying, and whispers can be heard drifting through the house. Roxanne is plagued by horrible nightmares and a guilt-ridden conscience, while as Max is trying to make sense of everything that is happening as one by one the men start dying under violent and strange circumstances, and black wolves surround the house.
Meanwhile, appearing at ease and eerily content, David, the young boy, is busily drawing nightmarish scenes upon his bedroom wall.
'Whisper' isn't an extraordinary movie, but it is extremely watchable and entertaining. For those who enjoyed the Omen and similar movies, they will enjoy, to a certain extent, this one. 'Whisper' is very similar to the Omen plot-wise, and although it attempts to earn its own way, story-wise it's much of the same. There are no surprises - the story is extremely obvious and it takes no great genius to recognise the fact that David is just another Damien.
As far as this genre goes, it possesses that eeriness that can only be attributed to 'evil-death-spawn' children, and with the added bonus of a few nasty black wolves, 'Whisper' becomes a second-rate Omen with a cast of average actors who have come straight off the sets of sitcoms and soaps. Personally, I love Josh Holloway as Sawyer in 'Lost', and I liked him in this movie, but his talent as an actor is limited.
The storyline and dialogue are somewhat staid, however, giving credit where credit is due, the special-effects are good, the atmosphere is suitably dark and ominous, the camera shots are excellent, and the director has done a good job of hijacking the 'Omen' and turning it into 'Whisper'. There is a fair amount of tension and suspense, the characters are realistic (if not actually likeable), and David is creepy - although he is lacking the angelic façade that is necessary in this type of movie.
Keeping in mind the fact that the original director, Erik Van Looy, dropped out of this movie after only a couple of weeks, the replacing director did manage to create something that is a cut-above the average horror while remaining a steadfast mediocre to good.
This movie deserves a 3-stars simply because it is well-made, entertaining, and although the storyline is far from original, it is a good contender for the Omen.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
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