Dead Whisper is a 2024 American horror film directed by Conor Soucy, and the cast includes Samuel Dunning, Rob Evan, Tana Sirois, Samantha Hill and Dhane Ross.
One of the key elements of a great horror film for me is its ability to create an immersive atmosphere, and if a film succeeds in establishing this, I am often willing to overlook flaws.
This is somewhat true for Dead Whisper, the feature debut from director and writer Conor Soucy.
Although it does create an ambitious and layered experience, it is a movie that seeks an active emotional engagement, which is not easy at times as the movie does have its flaws.
It is currently rated 3.9 on IMDB yet on Rotten Tomatoes it has a 72% audience score, although granted it is a very low sample size.
The story follows Elliot Campbell, a lawyer living in a coastal town on Cape Cod, who is struggling with the recent death of his child.
This tragedy has strained his marriage and led him into alcoholism and he's struggling to get his shit together, and one evening, a mysterious innkeeper directs him to an island where he is supposed to reconnect with his deceased daughter.
The theme of grief and recovery has become quite common in horror films, especially in recent years in the likes of Babadook and Hereditary, and Dead Whisper does fall into some predictable patterns.
Samuel Dunning's is the heart of the film as he embodies the essence of a grieving father pushed to the edge of sanity by his overwhelming loss as he skillfully balancing moments of raw vulnerability with intense determination.
I can see what Soucy was going for, it's all about that emotional engagement, and the film wants you to feel the pain, the loss, the regret, and maybe, just maybe, you'll connect with Elliot’s desperate quest for closure.
Nevertheless, it seems Soucy may have focused too much on style over substance and the film’s heavy reliance on atmosphere and experience leaves it lacking in other areas and the overall execution of the movie left a lot to be desired for me.
The movie, unfortunately, gets too wrapped up in its own atmosphere, as Soucy is clearly in love with the idea of setting a mood, but at times, it feels like he forgot there’s supposed to be a story happening.
It’s got this slow pace, the kind that makes you check your watch every 15 minutes and add in some excessive pretentiousness, and formulaic approach to timeless themes, it all results in a film that while pleasant, it doesn't come without some major flaws.
It’s got this slow pace, the kind that makes you check your watch every 15 minutes and add in some excessive pretentiousness, and formulaic approach to timeless themes, it all results in a film that while pleasant, it doesn't come without some major flaws.
A major issue I found was just how random a lot was, as it seems to pick up and drop off randomly, and leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and not in an interesting way, but in a frustrating way.
But, despite the atmosphere being brilliant throughout the film, I still was not overly impressed overall, and I get why audiences are divided with this one.
The film is divisive, as said above, even with a low sample size of reviews on the two sites, it's quite interesting. so, what the hell happened there?
Well, people either love the atmosphere and the emotional punch, or they just can’t stand the meandering plot and the random weirdness.
I get both sides, and even as someone who enjoys what this film tried to deliver, it did not quite hit the mark for me.
But I would still say to give Dead Whisper a watch, as its worth a try, I did like certain elements of the film, but it just didn't come together as a whole.
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