The Whisper Man, directed by James Ashcroft and based on Alex North’s bestselling 2019 novel, premieres on Netflix on August 28. Produced by Anthony and Joe Russo’s AGBO Films, the serial killer thriller stars Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Keaton. The critical response has landed firmly in mixed territory, sitting at 57 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with most reviewers agreeing that the cast is working well above the material they have been given.
Tom Kennedy, played by Adam Scott, is a widowed crime writer who moves with his young son Jake to a new town to start over after the death of his wife. When Jake begins hearing a whispering voice at his bedroom window, matching the legend of a serial killer called the Whisper Man who lured children to their deaths decades earlier, Tom is forced to reach out to his estranged father Pete Willis, played by Robert De Niro, the retired detective who originally caught the killer.
Meanwhile, Detective Amanda Beck, played by Michelle Monaghan, begins investigating a newly discovered body with disturbing connections to the original Whisper Man case and to Frank Carter, the convicted killer who remains behind bars. Netflix has requested that critics not reveal the name of the unbilled actor playing Carter, described across reviews as an Oscar-nominated star whose identity constitutes a genuine surprise.
The critical response to The Whisper Man is perhaps best summarised by where different publications drew the line between watchable and forgettable. Deadline’s Pete Hammond was the most generous of the major publications, calling it “a pulsating” thriller that “keeps us engaged and guessing from beginning to end.” He described it as clearly inspired by The Silence of the Lambs, “occasionally pulpy and sometimes a bit over the top” but consistently entertaining, and praised director James Ashcroft for proving he “has the chops to pull off this genre piece.” He singled out the mystery casting of Carter as a “sensational” contribution, describing the prison scenes between Carter and De Niro as “a classic cat-and-mouse encounter”.
Variety’s Guy Lodge was the most pointed in his criticism. He described the film as “a diverting Netflix serial killer chiller that doesn’t demand much of Robert De Niro”, calling it a “straightforward procedural beset with daddy issues” and noting that Adam Scott “could be replacing pretty much anyone as the anxious dad”. His headline said it plainly: the film doesn’t demand much of its star, and the star, to his credit, delivers more than the film deserves.
The Hollywood Reporter described it as “a twisty airport paperback serial-killer procedural”, a description that is simultaneously a compliment and a criticism, depending on what you are looking for from a Thursday evening Netflix watch.
IndieWire offered perhaps the most interesting framing, arguing that the film “pulls off a casting masterstroke” by pairing Robert De Niro’s disinterested gravitas with a story that cannot quite decide if he is feigning boredom or simply living it. The review called it “an otherwise forgettable thriller” elevated into something “watchable” by its cast, but concluded that watchable is a low ceiling for a film with this much talent in the room. Forbes summarised the Rotten Tomatoes consensus cleanly: many critics found it “dull, formulaic, and uninspired”, with some calling it a “lazy pick’n’mix thriller”.
RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico was the harshest of all, calling it “about as bad as Netflix originals get”.
The consistent note across every review is that Robert De Niro gives the film more than it earns. The Hollywood Reporter described this as “a good role for De Niro, remorse, fatigue and solitude written all over his face”. IndieWire made the most interesting observation, noting that De Niro’s “disinterest in getting back on the job when his signature case re-opens” creates a genuinely compelling ambiguity: is he doing a great job of feigning boredom, or simply living it? Either way, he brings gravitas. Variety acknowledged his presence gives the film “more gravitas than it otherwise deserves”, which is a backhanded compliment but a genuine one.
The unbilled actor playing Frank Carter has been the most talked-about element in the lead-up to release. Netflix asked all critics to keep the casting secret, describing it as a key surprise the film is better for not knowing in advance. Deadline called the performance “sensational” and the prison scenes between Carter and Robert De Niro “a classic cat-and-mouse encounter”.
Wikipedia’s cast list confirms the actor as Michael Keaton, though Netflix has not officially confirmed this. Whatever the identity, the critical response to those scenes is the film’s warmest point of consensus.
Adam Scott’s performance has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as “by-the-book”, a concerned father working within the limits of what the script gives him, which is not much. Variety noted he “could be replacing pretty much anyone” in the role, not a damning critique of his performance but a clear indictment of the writing. Michelle Monaghan’s Detective Beck has drawn similarly muted notices: present, professional and underused.
James Ashcroft, whose previous film The Rule of Jenny Pen was described by Deadline as “underrated”, has impressed critics with his technical command even when they are less convinced by the material. The film’s cinematography by Peter Deming and score by Colin Stetson were noted across reviews as doing strong atmospheric work. Deadline credited Ashcroft and screenwriters Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer with finding “a fresh level of storytelling” through their adaptation. Most other publications were less convinced the screenplay had been solved as cleanly as that.
The Whisper Man is the kind of film Netflix produces regularly and audiences consume reliably, a serial killer thriller with name actors, a page-turning source novel, and enough atmospheric dread to hold attention across two hours. It is not the genre’s best recent entry, and it does not pretend to be. What it has is Robert De Niro, operating at a level of quiet authority that the film does not fully justify but cannot help but benefit from. As IndieWire put it, the cast elevates an otherwise forgettable thriller into something watchable. On Netflix on a Thursday evening, that is enough. Whether it is enough for awards consideration or lasting conversation is a different question entirely.
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Film Details: The Whisper Man
Director: James Ashcroft
Writers: Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer
Based on: The Whisper Man by Alex North
Cast: Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Keaton, Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague, Acston Luca Porto, Will Brill
Cinematography: Peter Deming
Music: Colin Stetson
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
Production: AGBO Films
Distributor: Netflix
Release Date: August 28, 2026
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