Whisper of the Witch Casts a Spell, But Loses Its Voice Midway

A haunted mansion, a fractured past, and one whisper too many—Whisper of the Witch opens strong before spiraling into supernatural confusion.

REVIEW — Whisper of the Witch (2025)

2.5 out of 5 stars

Distributed by Well Go USA – Available August 19

The latest supernatural horror to emerge from Eastern Europe, Whisper of the Witch arrives with atmospheric flair and a mysterious hook, but ultimately stumbles under the weight of its jumbled narrative. Directed by Serik Beyseu, the Kazakh-Russian film blends Slavic folk horror with Eastern genre influences, resulting in a moody but uneven ghost story.

The plot centers around a group of teenagers who find themselves trapped in a sprawling, decaying mansion—one rumored to be haunted by a whispering witch whose voice once promised healing but now seems to curse everyone who hears it. When one of the kids goes missing, an emotionally frayed investigator (grappling with his own traumatic past tied to the same mansion) is pulled into the case. As layers of personal trauma and folklore collide, the film attempts to interweave multiple timelines and character arcs—some with surprising emotional weight, others that fade into forgettable subplots.

While Whisper of the Witch opens strong—its first 15 minutes dripping with dread, clever camera angles, and jump-scare potential—it quickly loses narrative cohesion. The film borrows heavily from the visual and narrative style of J-horror classics like Ju-On and Dark Water, especially in how the titular witch moves and interacts with her victims. These nods help build a creepy mood, but also highlight just how derivative and chaotic the central story is.

The dubbed English release from Well Go USA doesn’t help matters. While serviceable, the overdubs undercut performances and disconnect viewers from some of the emotional beats. It’s hard not to wonder if a subtitled version might better capture the cultural context and character nuances. Still, even with a cleaner translation, the fragmented storytelling and underdeveloped lore make it difficult to stay invested past the midpoint.

There’s an intriguing mythos buried within Whisper of the Witch, and you can see the filmmakers reaching for something meaningful about trauma, childhood memories, and folklore gone wrong. But the film never fully commits to exploring those depths, opting instead for cheap thrills and a few scattered moments of genuine creepiness.

In the end, Whisper of the Witch feels like a well-intentioned horror experiment that’s more ambitious than effective. It flirts with the unique but falls back on the familiar, landing somewhere between unsettling and underwhelming.

VERDICT: Worth a late-night watch if you’re a fan of international horror or witch-centric folklore—but don’t expect to walk away haunted.