Robert De Niro's new Netflix film 'The Whisper Man' divides audiences with a 41% Rotten Tomatoes score

Robert De Niro's latest cinematic offering, 'The Whisper Man,' now available on Netflix, has landed with a lukewarm reception, currently holding a 41% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 29 reviews.

The film casts the veteran actor as Detective Pete Willis, a man tormented by a serial killer he previously apprehended. The plot thickens when his grandson goes missing amidst reports of a "Whisper Man" imitator, forcing Willis back into action. The narrative delves into strained father-son relationships, focusing on Willis's estrangement from his writer son, Tom Kennedy, and Tom's own relationship with his son, Jake.

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full of well-known B-movie trash – serial killers, missing children, noises in the night, a suspect who is too obvious

Willis collaborates with Detective Amanda Beck, played by Michelle Monaghan, in a race against time to stop the resurgence of the Whisper Man. The official synopsis describes a grieving father and son relocating to the seemingly peaceful town of Featherbank, which was terrorized 15 years prior by the serial killer known as the Whisper Man, amid rumors of an accomplice.

However, critical reception suggests the film struggles to deliver on its premise. A reviewer for The Guardian characterized the film as "full of well-known B-movie trash – serial killers, missing children, noises in the night, a suspect who is too obvious." While acknowledging some initial "entertaining cheap thrills," the critic expressed disappointment that the film's "promise of something completely unexpected" ultimately led to an anticlimactic conclusion.

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Hoped for some slightly more disturbed or at least somewhat surprising destination, while the film with a silent promise hints that we are inexorably rushing towards something completely unexpected, only to dump us at the end of the road instead.