The Tail Section

When a movie sets cold for a couple of years and gets its first release off shore, you have to be a little concerned.  Yes, Whisper is not anywhere approaching the ground breaking terror of other evil-child movies, but it is well acted and beautifully photographed.

The cast all turn in very acceptable performances.  It’s difficult as a Lost fan not to look at Holloway as Sawyer, but after a while the differences in persona begin to sell this new character.

The script is uneven and jumps through character development like its a series of flaming hoops.  None of the characters are particularly well drawn, despite the performances, and details of their pasts are brought up in expositionary bursts that serve the plot.

There is most definitely a plot, a small time crook (Holloway) and his girlfriend (Sarah Wayne Callies) are trying to start a legit life.  After failing to secure a loan to buy a run down diner, they participate in one last scam, a kidnapping organized by a mysterious figure named Jones.   The child is taken to an isolated cabin in the Maine woods and before long the ne’er-do-wells begin dropping like shivering little flies.

I’ll admit, the experience was probably most enjoyable for the opportunity to see Holloway in action. I was surprised throughout by the quality of the cinematography, in the end it wound up that Dean Cundy served as director of photography.  Cundy is a master, so mystery solved.  I will say that, at least on the screener I have, the levels are a bit flat.  Nowhere is the movie as stark and colorful as the promo shot you see above.  Nor is it as creatively blocked throughout.