‘Whistle’ Review: Cursed-Object Horror Fumbles a Fun Setup

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The horror film Whistle introduces a new take on the classic cursed object story. It follows a group of high school students who accidentally find an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. As you can probably imagine, blowing this whistle brings nothing but trouble.

Dafne Keen plays Chrys, a new student who discovers a strange whistle in her locker. The whistle previously belonged to a student who died tragically. When Chrys shows the unusual, skull-shaped whistle to others, someone eventually blows it, unleashing a deadly curse on anyone who can hear it.

The movie Whistle begins with a somewhat awkward scene explaining the fate of the previous owner of a mysterious whistle. He’s haunted by terrifying visions of a severely burned person after a basketball game, and while the concept is genuinely scary, the scene doesn’t quite work. Director Corin Hardy, similar to his film The Nun, struggles to translate frightening ideas into genuinely creepy visuals. The opening feels artificial and unconvincing; the smoke effects, for example, look like stage props rather than a realistic part of the scene, pulling you out of the moment.


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Owen Egerton’s script often feels overly direct and occasionally clumsy when revealing important information. For example, we find out Chrys’s crush, Ellie, works at a hospital emergency room because she explicitly states, “If working at the ER has taught me anything, it’s that death is never beautiful.” Similarly, the script quickly establishes the two main athletes as bullies and hints at a difficult past for Chrys by having them immediately insult her as a “junkie who killed her father” upon meeting her.

Despite its flaws, the movie does have some genuinely funny moments. I particularly laughed at Nick Frost’s character, a teacher, describing an injury with the line, “kneed a boy in his genital bag.” However, it also includes awkward scenes – like a shot of large graffiti on the school that simply reads “DEATH LIVES,” which feels forced and silly rather than scary.

The mystery of what’s causing the characters’ deaths—what they’re seeing that leads to such gruesome ends—is ultimately revealed in a satisfying and inventive way. Without spoiling anything, it’s similar to a twisted take on Final Destination: fate and attempts to alter your life’s course are central, but those changes come with deadly consequences. This connection to Final Destination becomes especially clear when the film presents characters with ways to escape their fate, methods that feel directly inspired by those movies.


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The movie Whistle builds its suspense towards the end, with a few scenes creating a truly creepy mood. This includes a tense sequence of Grace (played charmingly by Ali Skovbye) being followed by the pool, and a fun, classic horror setting – a small-town carnival. While the deaths are shocking and often well-done with practical effects, some are let down by noticeable digital enhancements.

The film benefits greatly from the performances of Keen and Nélisse. While both actors are often cast in fantastical roles, it’s a nice change to see Keen as a typical high school student. Despite her character fitting some familiar tropes of the ‘troubled new girl,’ Keen portrays her with a convincing sense of sadness and longing. She and Nélisse, known for her work in Yellowjackets, share sweet chemistry as their characters cautiously begin a romantic relationship.

Despite being a bit silly, Whistle is still enjoyable to watch, though it feels like it could have been much better. It’s so over-the-top at times that it’s funny, even when it shouldn’t be. For example, the character Noah, a youth pastor, openly sells drugs to teenagers – he practically introduces himself as a drug dealer! It’s baffling that no one has caught him, considering how obvious he is about his illegal actions.


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Overall, Whistle isn’t a particularly strong horror film, especially when compared to other similar movies that have come out over the years, like the recent Smile. It’s also unfortunately bad timing: Whistle uses an Iron Maiden song, and following the fantastic 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a horror film needs to be truly impressive to justify that choice. Sadly, Whistle doesn’t quite reach that level.

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2026-02-04 17:09