Netflix has delivered a chilling new crime thriller in director James Ashcroft’s film, The Whisper Man. Based on the novel by Alex North, the film follows a grieving crime writer, played by Severance star Adam Scott, who seeks the help of his father, a retired police detective, played by Robert De Niro, to capture a serial killer linked to the disappearance of his young son.
In an interview with Digital Trends, Ashcroft and North talked about developing this dark and haunting crime thriller and the universal message of parenthood it conveys.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Digital Trends: All right, now to get started, Alex, what was your inspiration for writing The Whisper Man?
North: When I first started it, I wanted to write about fathers and sons, and that was the key thing for me. I had just become a father myself, but I didn’t quite have the way into it to make it into a crime thriller.
And I just moved house. My son must have been about four years old at the time. I was in the kitchen, and I heard him playing in the front room, so I kind of poked my head around the kitchen door to say, “What are you doing?” And he said, “Oh, I’m just playing with the boy in the floor,” which gave me a little bit of a chill. We just moved into this house, and I didn’t really want to renovate. But I also, my writer had thought, “That’s kind of good.”
That gives me a chill. Maybe it will give other people a chill, and that was kind of the way into the story, I suppose. The little boy [in] the story would have imaginary friends, and they might be quite scary in some ways, and there might be some kind of doubt about how real it really were.
Digital Trends: And now, James, you said in an interview that you enjoy telling dark stories on film, and The Whisper Man…it’s really bone-chilling. Was there a specific scene or a plot point in the story that made you say, “Oh, oh, I gotta make this into a movie?”
Ashcroft: Not a specific scene per se, but very much the theme [of] fathers and sons. And the exploration of all of those iterations of relationships throughout the book was very, very strong, and that made a huge impact on me.
That said, there were a couple of moments in there, like the hand coming through the mail slot in the door, which I remember reading. What I love about that is it’s actually fairly innocuous as a moment.
Nothing violent happens, but it’s all, it’s the suggestion of that and that sort of invasion of one’s own space; what you thought was safe isn’t. And I really, really sank my teeth into that aspect, and that’s all throughout the novel as well.
Digital Trends: Were there any particular movies that inspired you when making The Whisper Man? Did you look to any other crime thrillers to craft the world of the film?
Ashcroft: I grew up on films like this, so films like Silence of the Lambs and Se7en made a huge impact. Obviously, Zodiac, which is a true-crime exploration. So I was well-versed in that type of film.
But one thing I really wanted to maintain, and this comes from the novel and the screenplay itself, was that this is a character-driven story. This was a story that was actor-driven, and I knew these were roles that we could get really great talent because of how juicy they were. And I think that’s really what became the point of difference for me from a lot of other films of this type that I’d seen in this genre.
Digital Trends: Absolutely. And concerning the cast, you’ve got a star-studded lineup for this movie. You’ve got Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Hamish Linklater, Michael Keaton, and Owen Teague. What was it like working with all these big actors on this film?
Ashcroft: Honestly, it was like playtime. Everyone was at the top of their game. Everyone was making the same film. They were all incredibly generous, and the way we sort of worked was very much like an ensemble.
And I think each actor had an opportunity to do something a little different and flex different muscles that they haven’t previously got to do or don’t normally get to. So I felt an incredible sense of faith from all of them. But also, they were wanting to do well as well for themselves. And it’s a wonderful thing to provide actors an opportunity to do that.
Digital Trends: And now, Alex, did you work alongside James and the other screenwriters in adapting the book to film? How involved were you in the filmmaking process?
North: I was involved with the perfect amount for me, which was a little bit, but not too much. So I met Ben [Jacoby] in the early stages, and we had a chat. And then Chase [Palmer] came aboard later, and I saw various drafts over the years. Offered a small handful of comments. But I’m painfully aware that I’m an author of books, not a screenwriter, and they’re very different disciplines.
But each draft I read, actually, I thought was just really, really good. From the very beginning, the essence of the book was there, which is fathers and sons and the different ways that we can pass on trauma or not to our children. So it was always there. So, apart from that, my contribution was really minimal. I just had to sit back and watch all these wonderful people do such a fantastic job doing all the hard work.
Digital Trends: Terrific. And now, James, what was the hardest, darkest scene that you had to film for this movie?
Ashcroft: Oh, look, you’d probably think we were making a comedy if you came to sit with the amount of laughter and joy. It was [a] very light set…it’s important when you’re doing sort of heavier work that you keep things light, and you keep things safe for everybody so that they can they can operate at [their] best. You know, bring their A game.
There was a day where there’s a discovery of a young boy who’s been a victim of the Whisper Man. And it was raining. It was cold; he’s found topless. So, for a small child being asked to lie down in the mud in the middle of the park and in the rain, that’s not pleasant.
That’s uncomfortable for a kid who [hasn’t] acted a lot. Despite the uncomfortable nature of the scene, you have to get the shots still. So I definitely felt I was the bad guy on set that day, making poor Exavier have to do that. But he’s a little champ, and he knew what he had to do. So he was great.
Digital Trends: And now the book, The Whisper Man, that was 1st published back in 2019, and James, I read that she signed up to direct the movie way back in 2023. After all these years and talking and filming and getting this project off the ground, why should audiences go and watch this movie now?
Ashcroft: I think what makes Alex’s work as big and successful as it has been is that it’s a very universal story…this theme of fathers and sons and the complexity of that relationship. All things good and bad stem from the home first and foremost, and I think that’s what people really engage with with this film.
North: Yeah, and for me, they should go and see it because it’s just a fantastic movie. James and everybody involved has done such an amazing job with it. So there is all the fathers and sons stuff, but it’s also just a fantastic thriller in its own right. It’s really entertaining from beginning to end. And yeah, I’m really looking forward to seeing what people think of it.
Stream The Whisper Man on August 28, 2026, on Netflix.
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