There is a decent idea buried at the core of "The Whispering", but the script's logic is messy (why can some people see the demon-woman and others can't? What does the hypnosis scene have to do with anything else? And - SPOILER - as someone else already mentioned, how can you defeat a demon simply by breaking a mirror???). Leif Garrett gives a narcoleptic performance that matches the director's funereal pace perfectly. In short, this is yet another horror film that you'll have completely forgotten two hours after seeing it. (*1/2)
8 Reviews
A very bad movie...
svonduhn29 May 2001
Warning: Spoilers
This movie, in my honest opinion, looks like a college film student's project. A majority of scenes are shot on a campus, and the actors are all professors or students. I wonder what kind of grade she was aiming for with those sex scenes? It did not make up for a bad movie concept and horribly cheesy effects. Was anyone scared by the demon? I cannot recommend this movie, it had zero entertainment value, and I was left bored and frustrated at the end of it.
*** SPOILER ***
Okay, I'm giving away the ending here, but it was a disappointment anyway. Anyone hwo has seen it will likely agree that the ending is probably the least important part. The main character has to defeat the demon, and does so by breaking a mirror? No climax, no logical reason why that made the demon disappear. I was left wondering how that resolved anything, and it doesn't. The movie simply ends with that.
I have seen other college student movies that were done better than this.
*** SPOILER ***
Okay, I'm giving away the ending here, but it was a disappointment anyway. Anyone hwo has seen it will likely agree that the ending is probably the least important part. The main character has to defeat the demon, and does so by breaking a mirror? No climax, no logical reason why that made the demon disappear. I was left wondering how that resolved anything, and it doesn't. The movie simply ends with that.
I have seen other college student movies that were done better than this.
This movie was awful
paperangel21 February 2007
I remember watching this movie and hoping that they would all hurry and kill themselves so the movie would be over.
The fact that Leif Garrett has a staring role in it should have been warning enough that it was going to be a bad movie because obviously the ability to act was not going to be a requirement to actually appear in this movie.
The only thing that could have made this movie worse is if they had allowed Leif to sing...although that may have hastened the suicides, thus ending the movie that much sooner.
If I owned this movie I would burn it.
The fact that Leif Garrett has a staring role in it should have been warning enough that it was going to be a bad movie because obviously the ability to act was not going to be a requirement to actually appear in this movie.
The only thing that could have made this movie worse is if they had allowed Leif to sing...although that may have hastened the suicides, thus ending the movie that much sooner.
If I owned this movie I would burn it.
sucky
ethylester17 July 2002
Lief Garrett? This movie blows. It makes you go "what the heck? that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" It really does! Quite a few times. It's so predictable and none of the characters have any originality. That one weasely looking guy looks like Dennis Christopher's annoying brother. The office scenes, the sex scenes, the demon scenes, it's all been done before. It's very stereotyped and very lame and very boring. And balding Leif Garrett can hardly keep his eyes open the whole time anyway.
The hyper high school girl says to Lief, who is about 30 years old, "Would you like to fu*k me?" very clearly, then he says "excuse me?" and she says, "I said, would you like a cup of tea?" and I said out loud, "what the heck? whatever!" and rewound it and it's so stupid that anyone could ever think those two sentences sound the same and it has nothing to do with the girl's personality. Why did she say that? I don't get it. LAME LAME LAME STUFF
The hyper high school girl says to Lief, who is about 30 years old, "Would you like to fu*k me?" very clearly, then he says "excuse me?" and she says, "I said, would you like a cup of tea?" and I said out loud, "what the heck? whatever!" and rewound it and it's so stupid that anyone could ever think those two sentences sound the same and it has nothing to do with the girl's personality. Why did she say that? I don't get it. LAME LAME LAME STUFF
Bored To Death
Deloreanguy7910 November 2022
The Whispering (1995) is one of the most boring movies of all time in my opinion. Former child star Leif Garrett has the charisma of an artichoke in this obscure 90's "Horror"movie. His performance seems like he had taken a fist full of Valium before every scene. As far as horror movies go it's barely a horror film due to the emptiness of this uninteresting script and completely dull scenes. This movie was so dull I was really only fixating on Leif Garrett's seriously receding hairline.
As a VHS collector I buy alot of horror,and this one is going into the bowels. Of my collection. Never to be seen again.
As a VHS collector I buy alot of horror,and this one is going into the bowels. Of my collection. Never to be seen again.
This movie is disappointing!
CIodhopper20 September 2001
I recently rented this movie, figuring it would be cool, but what do i get???? JUNK! The classification of this movie as being "HORROR" and/or "THRILLER" is absolutely laughable! One expects "horror" to be blood and/or guts gushing out on-screen, but the only real "blood" is from what appeared to be a dead animal? But, even that is just a split second of viewing, to leave it rather questionable, as to if it was just a paint can.
Now, on to the "thriller" part......well, this is laughable too. I was on the edge of my seat, just waiting for the movie to end! There isn't anything to get all excited over in this movie, besides waiting for it to end.
Save your money, and rent a good movie, like........Hellraiser movies. Now, those are horror movies!
Now, on to the "thriller" part......well, this is laughable too. I was on the edge of my seat, just waiting for the movie to end! There isn't anything to get all excited over in this movie, besides waiting for it to end.
Save your money, and rent a good movie, like........Hellraiser movies. Now, those are horror movies!
fascinating psychological premise
chromotome9 March 2003
"The Whispering" is a low-budget horror film that happens to have a very thoughtful psychological premise. Spare on gore and special effects, "The Whispering" is not a typical horror film. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that this film tries to convey specific psychological insights, using the horror genre as a vehicle. For this reason, the typical fan of horror films will probably acquire a case of "psychic indigestion"; expectations of blood, boobs and violent boogey-men, will collide with a nuanced offering of psycho-spiritual mechanics.
The "menace" in the film is a demonic woman who taunts people toward self-destruction. She works her way into peoples' minds by preying on their psychological vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities born from traumatic experiences with life. The subsequent feelings of self-doubt and low self-worth, render them vulnerable to "mental" phantoms, whose suggestions pave a path toward self-destruction if allowed.
Watching this film, I thought of the many youths today who harm themselves at the urging of inner "whisperings" which prey on their damaged sense of self-worth. An over-burdened and damaged psyche can be more threatening than any external monster, and this film points in that direction. It explains why the guileful female spirit never seems particularly threatening in itself. Her power comes from the weakness of the unenlightened mind. A solvable if confounding problem.
Peformances are effective overall. One scene in which Leif Garrett's character is analized under hypnosis is quite good. I wish there was more to Leslie Danon's role as Garrett's girlfriend. She is an attractive and engaging actress. Playing a once troubled woman who is getting her act together, she inhabits the film as an enigma we would like to know more about. Alas Garrett's character gets all the juice.
I wouldn't want to leave anyone with the impression that this is a "heavy" film. It does assume a sense of meaning, but stays down-to- earth at the same time. There are no pretentions on the part of the filmakers. The charming and funny credits that make fun of this films low budget status leave no doubt about that.
I think this film is worth watching. Even though it was made by young people without resources, they really tried to make a film that is fun and has a little meaning. Don't measure this against the "Exorcist", or "Rosemary's Baby", and you can find things to really admire about this effort.
The "menace" in the film is a demonic woman who taunts people toward self-destruction. She works her way into peoples' minds by preying on their psychological vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities born from traumatic experiences with life. The subsequent feelings of self-doubt and low self-worth, render them vulnerable to "mental" phantoms, whose suggestions pave a path toward self-destruction if allowed.
Watching this film, I thought of the many youths today who harm themselves at the urging of inner "whisperings" which prey on their damaged sense of self-worth. An over-burdened and damaged psyche can be more threatening than any external monster, and this film points in that direction. It explains why the guileful female spirit never seems particularly threatening in itself. Her power comes from the weakness of the unenlightened mind. A solvable if confounding problem.
Peformances are effective overall. One scene in which Leif Garrett's character is analized under hypnosis is quite good. I wish there was more to Leslie Danon's role as Garrett's girlfriend. She is an attractive and engaging actress. Playing a once troubled woman who is getting her act together, she inhabits the film as an enigma we would like to know more about. Alas Garrett's character gets all the juice.
I wouldn't want to leave anyone with the impression that this is a "heavy" film. It does assume a sense of meaning, but stays down-to- earth at the same time. There are no pretentions on the part of the filmakers. The charming and funny credits that make fun of this films low budget status leave no doubt about that.
I think this film is worth watching. Even though it was made by young people without resources, they really tried to make a film that is fun and has a little meaning. Don't measure this against the "Exorcist", or "Rosemary's Baby", and you can find things to really admire about this effort.
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