A girl called Maggie meets up with her friend at a park where many people mysteriously go missing. This is Miroslav Petkov’s The Whisper 2: Natural Connection.
Last year we reviewed Teddy Nikolova’s short horror film, The Whisper which focused on a young girl who, on discovering a mysterious journal, triggers a series of strange events. While the film boasted some interesting visuals and evocative shots of the Bulgarian landscape, its shift from folk horror to haunted house tropes with an ambiguous ending ultimately prevented it from fully realizing its potential, though it did showcase Nikolova’s directorial promise. For its sequel, The Whisper 2 brings viewers back to the same green, bright yet chilling Bulgarian wood that becomes lonelier and more unforgiving as the film progresses, while also presenting us with a very similar film.
The biggest compliment I can give to The Whisper 2 is that it feels exactly like the original movie. Miroslav Petkov takes over the directorial reigns and he gives us more of the same; there’s a little bit of mystery, some atmospheric storytelling, and the haunted building from the original. Unfortunately, also like its predecessor, it once again doesn’t live up to its promise and we are given too many static shots of people just talking. When all you have is 14 minutes you need to hook people in and keep things moving.
Petkov does have some interesting ideas for cinematography and lighting, emphasizing the emptiness amongst the beauty by capturing the isolation of the setting. While the performances aren’t particularly strong, the use of close-ups gives some emotional weight to the characters. The camera’s movement, sometimes handheld, grounds the narrative in reality yet, at times, the camera slowly glides, hinting at something more, something just beyond our grasp, something paranormal.
The muted colour palette during the interior scenes underlines the isolation and despair that permeate the narrative, while the bursts of yellows and greens on the outside punctuate the repetitive nature and amplify a sense of unease. The film itself walks a tightrope between what is real and the potentially supernatural, leaving viewers questioning the true nature of these strange occurrences. Are they simply the product of other people or is there something more sinister at play? The cinematography and lighting contribute significantly to this ambiguity. Certain scenes possess a dreamlike quality, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination, making it difficult to discern what is real and what is imagined. Meanwhile, symbolism is also woven throughout, adding layers of meaning and a sense of unease, whispers in the dark, unexplained phenomena – are they merely tricks of the light and sound, or is there actually something more to them?
There are some good ideas entwined in The Whisper 2 but they are somewhat hidden by the clichés and the overlong scenes. With a more streamlined story and disciplined editing, there would be less time to think about these distractions. But even taking all this into account, The Whisper 2 manages to keep us interested in the continuation of this story from a new team of Bulgarian filmmakers attempting to make a splash.
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