Dean Whitmore’s Death in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone: Is Dean Killed by Harrigan?
The adaptation of Stephen King’s cover story from his collection “If It Bleeds” is entitled “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.” John Lee Hancock wrote and directed the Netflix horror film. It centers on Craig, a youngster with a unique connection to businessman Mr. Harrigan. But even after Mr. Harrigan dies of old age, Craig keeps in touch with him on his phone, believing it contains the businessman’s ghostly presence.
Craig’s phone calls soon put other people’s lives in deadly danger. Dean Whitmore is one person who is particularly struck by the phone’s special abilities. Viewers wonder about Dean’s cause of death after he was mysteriously found dead. If you’re trying to find additional information about Dean Whitmore’s death in Mr. Harrigan’s phone.” Spoilers follow!
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Why did Dean Whitmore die?
In the final scene of “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” Dean Whitmore appears. A native of Waltham, Massachusetts, he is a college student circling New Hampshire. Craig is in college while working toward his goal of becoming a writer. Ms. Hart, Craig’s favorite teacher, has recently become engaged and is coming home to the city of Chester after a weekend trip. Dean consumes alcohol while operating a vehicle and becomes intoxicated. Ms. Hart is killed when his car collides with those of her fiancé and Ms. Hart.
Dean is the target of a lawsuit and a judge will decide whether or not he contributed to the collision. The judge sentences Dean to two years in prison, but offers a reduced sentence if Dean accepts a six-month alcohol rehab program. It’s evident that Dean’s family used their influence and position to keep him from going to jail. Craig is shocked that Ms. Hart’s killer hasn’t been apprehended as a result. Dean is found dead at the rehab center, but the police are hiding the circumstances of his death. When Craig visits the rehab facility, he learns that Dean’s death was caused by ingesting shampoo.
Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name from the anthology If It Bleeds, John Lee Hancock created, wrote and directed the American horror film Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Joe Tippett, Cyrus Arnold and Carl Zohan all appear in the film.
Netflix aired Mr. Harrigan’s phone
The older Mr. Harrigan befriends a boy named Craig, who also offers him a cell phone. When Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig calls his old number to complain about the people who are torturing him. As he does so, however, Mr. Harrigan’s spirit strikes back at his young friend from beyond the dead.
Cast of Mr. Harrigan’s phone
As Craig, Jaeden Martell
Mr. Harrigan is played by Donald Sutherland.
As Mrs. Hart, Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Craig’s father Joe Tippett and Kenny Yankovich (Cyrus Arnold)
Funeral Home, Carl Zohan
Iván Amaro Bullón as Deputy Sheriff
Popular high school student Josie Axelson Thomas Francis Murphy’s character Pete, Colin O’Brien’s character Young Craig
Young Margie played by Caitlin Shorey
Clerk Alex Bartner
As Edna Grogan, Peggy J Scott
Wall Street #1 is Gregory Jensen.
Deane Whitmore played by Daniel Reece
production
The rights to “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, a film written and directed by John Lee Hancock and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Ryan Murphy, was purchased by Netflix in July 2020.
Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Joe Tippett all joined the cast in October 2021. [4] Filming began in Connecticut on October 20, 2021 and ended on December 22, 2021. [2]
publication
Netflix released the film on October 5, 2022.
critical acclaim
33% of the 18 reviews from critics on review collection site Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an overall rating of 5.3/10.
“Viewers might be expecting a horror thriller, but this is more of a coming-of-age narrative about the risks of retribution and a reflection on how we’ve evolved with the advent of the smartphone,” said Brian Costello, who wrote the award has a rating of 4/5 in Common Sense Media.
Frank Scheck wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that “Mr. Despite its intriguing premise, Harrigan’s Phone has the key ingredient to make it truly memorable; it’s just not that scary.”
Bill Goodykoontz gave it a 4/5 rating in the Arizona Republic, stating, “The best parts of this story, like the greatest King works, aren’t the terror components (of which there are few). The time spent getting to know the characters.” It received a rating of 2/5 on CinemaBlend from Eric Eisenberg, who described it as “a slow and languid flick that attempts to be both a coming-of-age drama as well as being a supernatural horror thriller, but ultimately failing to make an emotional impact with any genre.”
Though Stephen King is considered the king of horrors, his horror novels are rooted in intensely personal human relationships. From all-time favorites like Carrie to current hits like Outsider, King’s best-loved stories chill us to the bone because they deal with real suffering, social rejection and loneliness. If the horrifying visions King conjures up weren’t actual demons that haunt us all every day, they wouldn’t have the same effect on us. King puts the horror on hold to tell a coming-of-age tale of morality and camaraderie in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. While Mr. Harrigan’s Phone still contains a few supernatural elements, the book’s focus is on Craig, the protagonist, and his inner world.
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Video collider of the day
A film version of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone faces several significant obstacles due to the fundamental nature of the book. The novella Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is a perennial favorite with little reward, although it is a remarkable story that confronts us with the uncomfortable things we occasionally wish for other people. As a result, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone isn’t exactly cinematic, especially for viewers looking for a new, terrifying experience. Craig’s narration has enough suspense, but Mr. Harrigan’s Phone still leans more towards drama than horror. And the Netflix version of the novella finds itself in this awkward situation. This is because, despite its flaws, the Netflix film is an exact replica of the original work. And while John Lee Hancock, the film’s writer-director, is an accomplished director, we can’t help but feel that some of the magic has been lost in the film adaptation of the written book.
Mr. Harrigan’s telephone meeting
Jaeden Martell plays Craig in Donald Sutherland’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, a Netflix original film about a young boy who gets paid three times a week to read books to a reclusive billionaire named Mr. Harrigan. Mr. Harrigan hires Craig as a contractor as he can no longer rely on his eyesight to read due to his advanced age. Martell, who is already familiar with the horror genre thanks to It and The Lodge, is adept at capturing the confusion and ambition that characterize youth. As for Sutherland, his portrayal of Mr. Harrigan is the ideal portrayal of a ruthless businessman – a man who doesn’t think twice about destroying others to achieve his goals. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone spends about an hour investigating the connection between these two individuals and how a chance encounter leads to a strange friendship.
When Mr. Harrigan’s Phone allows its cast to hone their dramatic skills to invent a moving story about a new family, it’s at its best. Additionally, the film is very successful in exposing the intricate connections we make with technology once the titular phone is launched and Craig begins enlightening Mr. Harrigan about its wonders. Smartphones are amazing communication tools that put practically the whole world in our hands, but they also have a tendency to monopolize our attention and keep us disconnected from the outside world. Additionally, smartphones are status symbols that can mimic the norms of social interaction, especially for teens entering high school. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is an odd take on a time not too long ago, before smartphones were essential everyday tools. It’s a slightly historical piece set in the early 2000’s.
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Will Harrigan kill Dean?
During Craig’s freshman year of high school, Mr. Harrigan dies of a heart attack. Craig thinks he can still reach Mr. Harrigan using their old iPhones. When Craig showed Mr. Harrigan how to use the phone, the two grew closer. After Mr. Harrigan’s death, Craig receives messages from his old phone, leading Craig to believe that Mr. Harrigan is still keeping an eye on him. Craig makes the decision to bring Dean to justice after escaping punishment for his actions. He then finds his old iPhone and gets in touch with Mr. Harrigan. Craig specifically demands that Mr. Harrigan execute Dean for his part in killing Ms. Hart during their conversation.
Craig learns of Dean’s death a few days later from the rehab facility. Dean appears to have killed himself by drinking shampoo in the shower. As a result, it is believed that he committed suicide out of guilt. However, Craig is aware that Mr. Harrigan was the one who killed Dean. Craig previously falsely told Mr. Harrigan that he didn’t like the school bully Kenny. After the discussion, Kenny is found dead. Craig deludes himself into believing Kenny’s death was an accident, but he is aware that Mr. Harrigan played a part.
At the film’s climax, Dean dies in a situation reminiscent of Kenny’s death. It is therefore evident that Mr. Harrigan murdered Dean on Craig’s orders. Craig is told by Mr. Harrigan to stop injuring himself using this strategy to deal with his opponents. Craig’s assurance to Mr. Harrigan that he would ruthlessly eliminate his opponents is the source of the entire deadly deception. Craig helps Mr. Harrigan care for Kenny and Dean Whitmore because he can’t do it alone. Eventually, as a result of his anger at himself for being responsible for the deaths of Dean and Kenny, Craig throws away the phone that connected him to Mr. Harrigan.