I really respect the vision and the choices they made and the movie is a ton of fun for what it is. It took a quiet story and made it into a flick that could be seen on screen. My choice for a follow-up to CoC would have been Innsmouth, because the action is already there - it didn't have to be scripted in.
I think the only thing I really found clunky about Whisperer were some of the editing choices. We spent a little too much time in the debate, a little too much time in the Roller, etc. I think a little more judicious editing would have tightened that film up nicely.
Totally agree. I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen as a double feature with CoC this past weekend (at its unofficial "Boston Premiere"), and while i thought everything up until the last act was really strong, I agree with T. Kelly that there really needed to be some edits in there. The argument with Hannah's father is 5 minutes of stating the same information back and forth, and the following scene in the barn with Hannah, while a nice scene, is really out of place for the pace that it needs to be running at that far into the film. Also I feel that the multiple end cuts felt really indecisive--if they had just picked one and went with it, it really would have capped the movie off nicely.
Also, I really felt like they didn't commit to the style as much as they could have compared to CoC. A lot of the trappings of the "30's-style horror film" just didn't feel there, and some things were just too modern (if you're going for a 30's style horror, you really can't have CGI creatures).
Along the same lines, especially after seeing it, I found myself wondering why they chose that specific story. As far as stories that don't lend themselves to the screen organically go, that one is pretty high on the list. I agree with T.Kelly in that a better choice probably would have been Innsmouth, or even (though it's been done twice now) Dunwich Horror--the latter even ends like a classic Universal Horror, with the group of villagers banding together to hunt down the monster, and the monster is invisible for 90% of the movie, so that would take the strain off the creature work too! If it were handled in a way similar to Val Lewton's Night of the Demon, I think there could be something really special there as a genre tribute.
All that being said, I have to say that with very few exception, all of the acting was fantastic, especially Matt Foyer--He really needs to get in to some more films, he's a great talent.
Anyone know what the next one is going to be if/when they make one?
