[Whisper]
Plot:A group of kidnappers abduct a young boy, who turns out to be far from being as innocent as first thought.

Cast: Josh Holloway, Blake Woodruff, Dule Hill, Sarah Wayne Callies, Joel Edgerton.

My Thoughts:A wannabe "Omen" sort of, but a good one.

Review:I knew going into "Whisper" is was a horror film about a boy with powers similar to that of Damien from "The Omen", and he would use these powers to wreak havoc on some unsuspecting people. I wasn't too stoked because after "The Omen" 2006...evil kid movies lost alot of faith from me. But this film has fully restored that faith, as it's simply brilliant. "Whisper" follows a gang of would be criminals who really aren't the violent types running loose today, but are just looking for a big score. Josh Holloway plays Max, an ex-con who was just released from prison. He hooks up with his girlfriend Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies), and an old partner in crime Sydney (Michael Rooker), who has a job he wants Max to get in on.

Basically it's the usual ransom deal...snatch some rich peoples kid, and hit them up for millions of dollars in exchange for their precious childs safe return. The plan goes off without a hitch, and the group joined by one other guy take the kid to an undisclosed location in the mountains. But things quickly take a sinister turn as the mental stability of the gang starts to break down little by little beyond the pressure of their current "job", and it begins to become evident and clear very quickly that David (Blake Woodruff) is not your "average" little boy. "Whisper" is a great supernatural horror pic, further made wonderful by the performances of everyone involved, especially Woodruff who plays the evil little tyke known as David very well.

The kid has great acting chops, and really makes his role come off as believeable instead of just poorly executed like some kid out of a "Children Of The Corn" sequel. Aided by a mysterious black wolf, David quickly turns the tables, and begins tormenting his captors. The joy of this movie lies indeed in watching the perverbial tables get turned on these crminals who snatched this kid from his mother. But writer Christopher Borelli makes sure not to let you enjoy it too much. He makes his bad guys very human, giving one a heart condition, and thrusting three others into a complicated love triangle. So while you do enjoy seeing these crminals get tortured by this mysterious yet evil child, you do eventually feel for them later on as you get to know them more and at some points during the films later scenes...you might even find yourself rooting for them to survive this situation as I found myself doing.

The films title pertains to the kids ungodly power to whisper bad thoughts into peoples heads, and force them to act upon those thoughts. "Whisper" also operates on many different levels, branching out into alot of different subplots involving a mysterious unseen character who seems to be pulling the strings on the kidnapping racket, and two police officers who are trying to track down the missing child. One of which are played by Dule Hill. The deaths scenes in the movie aren't many, nor are they very bloody or groy, but in a film like this they don't need to be. For supernatural horror pics, the deaths just need to be creepy and disturbing, which they certainly are in this movie.

"Whisper" also works on levels, creating an unsettling and eerie mood at first using Woodruff's characters as the catalyst for all the weird happenings at the criminals cabin, and further intensifying the action as the film moves towards act three, and David slowly becomes more defiant towards his captors as what was once a situation where the adults who snatched him were in control...eventually becomes a scenario where David manages to take control of the adult criminals who's numbers begin to shrink along with their mental psyches.

The films final act is a very exciting, with alot of startling revelations (one in particular is an out and out jaw-dropper), and a final fight as David battles it out with Holloway's character Max in a life or death scenario where both have designs on killing the other, and Maxes girlfriend is used as a pawn by both sides in the great battle. "Whisper" is a great supernatural horror pic, which is certainly worth seeing atleast once, with an ending that's sure to keep you buzzing afterwards.

Positives:Great performances by the entire cast, specifically Woodruff and Holloway. Great story, and very intense and eerie scenes. A classic ending as well.

Negatives:Nothing major.

Overall:Definitely check this one out on dvd in November.





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