The Whisper Man hid a huge clue about why the killer chose Jake and you probably missed it

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Whisper Man*

The Whisper Man is packed full of clues, but there’s one hidden detail that even eagled-eyed viewers may have missed. Not only does it connect to a later reveal that explains why the killer targeted Jake, but it also answers an unsolved mystery in the Netflix film.

Directed by James Ashcroft and based on Alex North’s 2019 novel of the same name, The Whisper Man follows author Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott) and his young son Jake (Acston Luca Porto), who move to Garretton following the death of Tom’s wife and Jake’s mum, Rebecca.

But the town has a very dark history. Decades earlier, serial killer Frank Carter (Michael Keaton) abducted and murdered young boys, before being caught by Tom’s estranged father and former detective, Peter Willis (Robert De Niro). 

In the present day, a child is killed in eerily similar circumstances and another is abducted, with police fearing someone may be following in his footsteps. As they investigate, Jake is kidnapped by the new Whisper Man, paving the way for Pete and Tom to be dragged into the case.

While the movie eventually reveals who has been targeting him, it doesn’t immediately spell out exactly how Jake was chosen. Initially, it seems like true crime obsessive Norman Collins (Hamish Linklater) is one of the main suspects.

He had been in contact with the original killer Frank in prison, and Tom even catches him snooping around the basement of his new home. Things get even more suspicious when Tom tracks Norman down and finds him hanging around outside his son’s school, Rose Terrace.

The real killer was hiding in plain sight 

We later find out that while Norman killed Frank’s former accomplice Dominic Barnett, he’s not the new Whisper Man. That title goes to Frank’s son, Francis Carter Jr. (Owen Teague).

It’s not until the end of the film that we find out he’s a teaching assistant at Jake’s school. But there was a tease much earlier – when Tom tracks down Norman and the police run over, the teachers gather the children to bring them inside. And among them is none other than Francis.

It’s easy to let this detail pass you by given a) Frank’s son wasn’t even on our radar at this stage, b) there are multiple teachers in that scene and c) we don’t find out what he looks like as an adult until later. 

But Francis being at Rose Terrace isn’t just a sneaky bit of foreshadowing – his job there also explains how he chose Jake as his next victim.

Earlier in the movie, Pete explains that Frank seemed to have an ability to identify the children who “wanted to go”. In other words, he knew how to find vulnerable kids who were unhappy or struggling in some way.

Francis followed in his dad’s footsteps, only he had an even easier way of finding them. As a teaching assistant, he had direct access to children every day and would have been able to observe them without immediately raising any suspicion.

In a sick and twisted way, Jake would have stood out to him. He was new to town, grieving the recent death of his mum and struggling to make friends – exactly the kind of vulnerable child Frank knew how to identify.

Once the detectives figure out that the killer is Frank’s son, Amanda pays a visit to Dr Sharmatz, Francis’ childhood counsellor. Francis opens the door, claiming he’s a man named George Carringdon and that Sharmatz died. 

Francis does admit he works as a teaching assistant at the school, but claims he works with special needs children and therefore wouldn’t know Jake. Of course, by this point we know that’s very much not true.

It doesn’t take long for us to find out that Francis murdered Sharmatz, and it takes even less time for Amanda to discover his real identity. 

The hidden cameo of him earlier on in The Whisper Man may also answer another question the movie never explicitly clears up: what was Norman doing at Jake’s school in the first place?

At the time, his presence there only makes him look even more suspicious. Tom already knows Norman has been communicating with Frank and has caught him inside his basement, so finding him hanging around outside Jake’s school makes it seem like he could be watching his son too.

But we later learn that Norman was the person who helped connect Frank with someone on the outside – and that person was Francis. So while the movie never explicitly confirms that Norman went to Rose Terrace to see Frank’s son, we can assume that’s the case after the truth comes to light. 

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Featured image credit: Netflix