Whistle

Film: Whistle

Year: 2025

Director: Corin Hardy

Writer: Owen Egerton

Starring: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nélisse and Percy Hyne White

Review:

This was a film that I heard about from being on the Dreadcast. It was brought up as a film in the horror genre that was coming out soon. I’ve since heard others in the community bringing it up with mixed feelings. Seeing that this was playing at the Gateway Film Center, I was leery to see it. I decided to check it out and determine if it was going to be a Featured Review for the podcast. Since there wasn’t another release, I felt I could discuss elements.

Synopsis: a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits summons an evil that hunts them down.

We start this at a basketball game. The player we’re focusing on is Mason ‘Horse’ Raymore (Stephen Kalyn). He is friends with Dean Jackson (Jhaleil Swaby). The game is on the line and Horse is one of the best players. We see that there’s something in the crowd that draws his attention. He ends up hitting the game winning shot and then flees into the locker room. It is there that he breaks a ceramic skull. He thinks that’s it when he’s attacked by a burning person in the shower. He’s found in flames.

I believe we then shift six months into the future. It is here that we meet one of our leads. Chrys Willet (Dafne Keen) is moving in with her cousin and his family. We never met the aunt and uncle though. Her cousin is Rel (Sky Yang). He’s into a comic book character and refers to himself as a nerd. This is her first day of school. It sounds like when Chrys used to visit, she was friends with Grace Browning (Ali Skovbye). That was elementary school though.

We then see Chrys go to her locker, which used to belong to Horse. This draws Dean and Tanner Church (Mika Amonsen) to intimidate her. Watching on is Dean’s girlfriend, Grace, and her friend Ellie Gains (Sophie Nélisse). Chrys won’t back down and knees Dean in the groin. She was seen by Mr. Craven (Nick Frost), who gives them all detention. It doesn’t appear that anyone cleaned out Horse’s items. Chrys does find an old looking container at the top of her locker. Inside of it is a whistle that has a skull face. She takes this with her.

Something to include here is that there are stories going around the school about Chrys. The rumor is that he’s a recovering drug addict who killed her father. There is truth in this, but it’s also been stretched. Dean calls Chrys out in detention, claiming she has something to smoke drugs from. She brings the whistle to Mr. Craven, who’s intrigued by what he sees. He allows everyone to go home early so he can research more about this item. He does assign them to write a five page paper as well.

There’s something not right about this item. Mr. Craven blows it and then he’s dead soon after. Rel stole the whistle when he went back inside for his comic book. He takes it over to Grace’s house, where they all meet to write this paper. Dean goads her into blowing on it. The noise that it emits is painful. It then becomes a nightmare as they’re followed by an entity. What they learn though is that what is after them is something from their own future.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this film has good and bad elements. What I’ll say is that most of the issues do not ruin the overall product. This does take liberties to get the story moving and avoids providing context as to why this group of people are friends. It is speeding up the process to get into what people come to see this for, which I did appreciate.

Let’s then start with our main character, Chrys. This film does well in setting the stage about her through Dean. Grace scolds him for what he said. Rel and Ellie don’t like it either. Chrys doesn’t correct him so for a majority of this, we think that she may have killed her father. The truth is sad and I can see why she’s harboring the guilt. She is now closed off, wearing bigger clothes and just isolating. The blowing of this whistle forces her to open up if she wants to figure out what to do and survive. Keen works well enough in this role, special credit to how annoyed she appears constantly.

I do then want to shift over to discussing the Aztec Death Whistle. First off, the design is cool. It looks like an artifact. I’ll tread lightly here but will say that whoever hears it has this entity coming after them. An issue here is why would anyone ever blow it then? I did see a buddy tear a scene apart where Chrys finds it in her locker, takes it out of its case and then almost blows it. We hear whispering so I get the idea that there are forces influencing events, pushing her. I can work with that concept. When Mr. Craven and Grace do it, it makes more sense.

Where I’ll then go next would be exploring the lore of this item. Mr. Craven is where they start since, he seems to be a history teacher. They then decide to seek out Horse’s grandmother, Ivy (Michelle Fairley). What we’ll learn is that she’s wealthy and she’s the one that brought it home. She is the expert who helps fill in what characters need to know. She is cryptic so that helps. This is a segment I come to expect so it does feel a bit generic.

Let me then explore issues that I had. The character Noah Haggerty (Percy Hynes White) is a young adult youth pastor who strangely sells drugs to his congregation. He serves as a temptation for Chrys, suggesting a relapse after her overdose. I felt this villainous role was too obvious as to why he’s here, especially after learning of a way to stop the curse. Chrys's early crush on Ellie also felt underdeveloped. I find it implausible that Ellie, while in high school, works as a hospital front desk administrator. These are minor criticisms, I acknowledge.

Then to finish out with the story, it explores the inevitability of mortality and the concept of fate, forcing the group to fight for survival against a unique personification of death. Protagonist Chrys must overcome emotional paralysis and face the weight of the past to determine the quality of life. The diverse group breaks high school hierarchies. The conflict is sparked by a "tourist sin": bringing back a powerful, unhonored artifact with severe consequences.

The acting performances, while not outstanding, were sufficient. Keen was fine as the brooding youth, and her arc with a dark past worked. Nélisse was a fitting counterpart, though their rapid "soul mates" connection felt forced. White served well as the villain, despite issues with the writing. Swaby, Skovbye, and Yang completed the main group. Frost and Fairley were likable in their smaller roles, and Kalyn helped set the stage. The supporting cast served their purpose.

All that is left then are the filmmaking aspects, especially the cinematography and framing, effectively capture the blue-collar, steel-mill town setting, which makes the presence of an artifact ironically amusing. The CGI-heavy and brutal deaths, though conceptually hard to do without it, are notable. The pacing is inconsistent; it feels both too long and rushed at times, particularly in setting up the group and the curse. A recurring theme, reminiscent of The Entity, was appreciated.

In conclusion, this is a generally entertaining entry into the supernatural teen horror genre, despite its flaws. While the film benefits from a compelling premise centered on the ancient Aztec Death Whistle and a strong lead performance from Keen, it struggles with underdeveloped character dynamics—especially the forced romance between Chrys and Ellie—and a somewhat generic approach to lore exploration. The film successfully tackles themes of mortality, fate, and the weight of the past, leveraging its unique monster concept and effectively bleak setting. Ultimately, it’s a watchable, if imperfect, film that successfully delivers on the horror elements its premise promises. Despite its R rating, I could see this as a potential gateway into stronger entries.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10