Reféns do Mal

When it comes to the characterisation of children, Hollywood doesn't really have much of a gray area: a kid can be either unbearably cute and sweet or, alternately, a supernatural Hitler. That's pretty much it. When you go for the second option (which I encourage), your movie pretty much stands or falls with the child's acting performance. I'm glad to say "Whisper" really hits a bulls-eye in that field, because Blake Woodruff is an intensely frightening kid who nails every scene he's in. He's almost as scary as Harvey Stephens from "The Omen", the movie "Whisper" so transparently tries to ape. In fact Woodruff is almost too good, because it's incredibly frustrating how nobody ever picks up on his evilness. You know that scene from every slasher ever where you're supposed to yell "don't go in there!" when a character's being stupid? "Whisper" gives you that feeling for pretty much its entire running time, and nobody listens here either. Doesn't change the fact that it's quite entertaining though, because the scares are very well-done (despite the overuse of dream sequences) and the finale gives you everything you could want from this kind of B-movie. Just don't expect anything really creative.

The cast is largely unknown at least to me but they do a superb and unforgettable job bringing this story to life about a kidnapping that goes horribly wrong from the first instant. The three kidnappers, two men and a woman who are somewhat a love triangle, kidnap an eight year old boy named David SAnborn but not just any eight year old boy. David acts bizarre, drawing disturbing images, whispering evil into their ears, and creating a sense of fear among his own kidnappers. The tragedy is what happens to the kidnappers who don't deserve their fate. David is like Damien from the Omen but we're not really sure if he is the angel or demon or son of the Devil but he does act like one. The film is a good thriller but leaves some flaws in it. I kind of liked the film overall.

This was an effectivly made film. Whisper might be in the same sort of vein as the omen, but its different enough to keep it interesting. So this young boy called davids babysitter dies afrer being chased by some wolves into an oncoming car. Its also the day of the childs birthday and his mother has hired a santa clause for some reason, but max is really there to kidnap david for ransom money. There are two other people involved in it. All great actors all around and each brough something to their roles but it becomes clear not long after that something is not right with david and he might pocess something no one would think. Overall an enjoyable and suspensfall horror thriller.

A bunch of guys desperate for money kidnap an 8-year old boy and ask a large ransom. They take the boy to a remote location, and soon things start going very wrong.

Man, this was a creepy tale of pure evil! There were so many interesting twists and reveals. Each character had a back story contributing to their fate. Blake Woodruff is well cast as the boy, David (clever choice of name in the context of the film).

While Sidney (Michael Rooker) and especially Vince (Joel Edgerton) prove to be bad guys, Max (Josh Holloway) and his fiancée, Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies) are in the dire situation for very different reasons, and we root for them. Being pregnant, her motherly instincts are evident when she starts caring about David.

The film dishes up a number of very effective jump scares, and the wolves are terrifying in their own right. This is a diabolical film that will resonate with you even after the credits.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

During the years it was idling on my watchlist, I hadn't at all looked further than the poster, rating and synopsis, being under impression it's an indie film, so it was surprising to hear the fanfare of Universal studios, and see Michael Rooker and Joel Edgerton popping up. "Whisper" is, at core, a tired old story of an antichrist ("fallen angel", in the words of this film) child that doesn't get told or updated as much lately, but back in 2007 "Whisper" had fun realizing the old tale with minor changes and effort for entertainment.

Max (Josh Holloway) is denied a loan for a food shop he wants to own and operate, cornered and feeling down he gets persuaded to realize a kidnapping & extortion scheme by his friends. Together with his wife Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies), friends Sidney (Michael Rooker) and Vince (Joel Edgerton), they do the deed and soon start to understand that David is no typical child... He's a Damien from "The Omen" with an attitude of a Kevin McCallister. Well casted as well, I've always thought it's especially hard to create a good antagonistic child character in horror, and anchor it with befitting performance. Thankfully, Blake Woodruff delivers enough, and it's a shame this was his last before last ("Victor Crowley") movie. Against Blake stands the band of criminals, from which Michael Rooker disappears way too fast for my satisfaction, Joel Edgerton is good as the mischievous and problematic adult, Sarah Wayne Callies gives a solid performance, just her character doesn't stand out with anything, and Josh Holloway, the main protagonist, is also okay. Sit back and enjoy the little malice slowly manipulating and, of course, eventually killing people. Other than that, participate in the struggles and melodrama of the kidnappers, none of which will come off as new or more exciting than usually. Pacing's just quick enough to not lower itself into tediousness. As for the technical and aesthetical choices behind "Whisper", it smells of the according cinematic traditions of the 2000's, and I don't mean it all that badly, production design, special effects and such are fine. A Hollywood straight-to-dvd horror, is what it feels like.

"Whisper" is a good choice when you have run out of those mischievous children horror flicks that you like, and a decent choice for a random evening horror movie. It'd even better in younger audiences, despite the R rating it's not overtly explicit. My rating: 6/10.