The Nun (2018) director, Corin Hardy returns to horror to direct a fresh new story in Whistle (2025). Owen Egerton writes this story about a group of high school students who unleash a deadly old-age curse from an ancient Aztec death whistle. What comes for each of them is a premonition on how fate decides they die. Once they hear the wrath of the whistle their graves become marked.
It’s opening scene delves straight into the horror. It wastes no time in setting up the world around Chrys Willet (played by Dafne Keen). She discovers the whistle in her locker – an object which previously belonged to the school’s star basketball player, Mason “Horse” Raymore (Stephen Kalyn) who died a mysterious death. There are a few confusing moments where it’s unclear if other characters can see or hear the premonitions too – particularly if they didn’t hear the whistle.
But the highlight of the film is not only the in-depth planning by Egerton behind creating such gruesome and inventive deaths but in the friendships formed along the way. Chrys’ close friendship with her eccentric loyal best friend, Rel Taylor (Sky Yang) needs a whole series by itself. Keen and Yang were perfectly cast and created such a powerfully emotive and believable friendship that needs its justice.
Inventive & Creative
Rel’s sweet but eventually dilapidating crush on Grace Browning (Ali Skovbye) truly gave the audience a relationship worth rooting for – even if she didn’t like him back. Another strong moment was the Annual Pellington Harvest Festival sequences. These scenes used haunted mazes, Halloween costumes, and carnival games to its advantage and added to this spooky feel. Each death is inventive and these are the strongest parts of the story.
Whistle’s high school characters were believable even if a little archetypal. With the jock, Dean Jackson (Jhaleil Swaby) and popular mean girl Grace ruling the school halls. Then there’s the perfect student, Ellie Gains (Sophie Nélisse) falling for misfit teen, Chrys. Although, she is positioned as the protagonist, the role feels shared between Chrys and Rel. They’re both so strong in their roles. A surprise role from Nick Frost sees him play teacher, Mr. Craven who is clearly not as smart as his students.
Whistle: A Perfect Premise
Whistle’s premise is moulded in perfection. There are definite hints of inspiration drawn from some of the best teen horror franchises out there from Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The small-town eerie setting of the fictionalised, Barton Village and the dark school corridors add a sense of realism here. But even the small towns of Eli Roth’s impressive Thanksgiving (2023) and Eli Craig’s slasher Clown in a Cornfield (2025) draws some similarities. Of course, the premonition of death draws a likelihood to the successful Final Destination franchise.
Although the third act is where instead of the pieces of the jigsaw coming together, they slightly fall apart. Feeling like the storyline of ‘90s classic, Flatliners – where medical students experiment with the afterlife – here Whistle follows the same formula. Although, the scene where Chrys experiments with her own fate runs far too long which slows down the pacing.
In theory, this scene was a good realisation, but it came a little late in the story. It didn’t quite match the faster pacing of the first and second acts. The premise was undeniably inventive and had limitless potential along with its two leads – Chrys and Rel, but it missed that last pull to sew the story together. With this slasher it has rewatch potential and plants itself for a sequel. Perhaps it sits among other teen horrors, including sinister franchises like Smile and Ouija.
Whistle is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.
Rating: 3 ½ Stars
You can read our other reviews like British crime-action, Wildcat (2025) here.
