REVIEW: “Whistle” (2026)

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Lately, January through March has become a popular time for new horror films to come out. This year’s lineup includes “Whistle,” the newest movie from director Corin Hardy, who last directed “The Nun” in 2018. The film had a lot of promise and seemed to have everything horror fans want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite deliver on that potential, which is disappointing.

As a movie fan, I have to say ‘Whistle’ had potential. It’s based on a short story by Owen Egerton, who also wrote the screenplay, and the core idea is actually pretty smart. But honestly, it felt like it was built on a bunch of horror clichés. The setting – a typical high school – and the way the characters came across felt really shallow. And there was one character choice that was just… unbelievable! All of this kept the movie from being truly scary, engaging, original, or even making much sense, to be honest.

The movie “Whistle” begins with a shocking prologue: Mason Raymore, the star basketball player at Pellington High, is killed in a fiery incident while in the locker room shower, pursued by a frightening, burning figure. Several of his teammates witness this horrific event. The director uses this intense opening to set the stage and prepare viewers for the story to come—though not quite in the way they might expect.

Half a year after the initial events, we meet Chrys (Dafne Keen), a shy teenager who recently moved to town following a difficult experience. On her first day at Pellington High, her cousin Rel (Sky Yang) introduces her to his friends: Grace (Ali Skovbye), Dean (Jhaleil Swaby), and Ellie (Sophie Nelisse). They’re a surprisingly mismatched group, but each one falls into a familiar high school trope – the intelligent outcast, the popular girl, the stereotypical athlete, and the academic.

It’s like no one at school even remembers what happened to Mason – they’ve all just moved on. His locker was still full of stuff, and it was given to Chrys. Inside, she found a beautiful, old Aztec whistle. Her teacher, Mr. Craven, took it to examine, but it somehow ended up back with the teens. They couldn’t resist trying it out, and when they blew the whistle, they unleashed a dangerous, ancient evil that put a deadly curse on them all.

Okay, so here’s the deal with this curse: anyone who hears the sound is immediately haunted by the way they’re destined to die. It’s like their fate is ‘summoned,’ and then this…thing stalks them, usually leading to a really awful, over-the-top death. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of the ‘Final Destination’ movies. But thankfully, Hardy and Egerton aren’t completely helpless – they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeves, though not all of them actually pan out.

Despite some weak points, the biggest problem with “Whistle” is the character of Noah, played by Percy Hynes White. He’s a seemingly random, unstable youth pastor involved in drug dealing, and he appears unexpectedly throughout the film. He doesn’t really contribute to the story, serving only as a convenient villain. While he might seem silly, the decision to make him central to the movie’s ending is particularly jarring.

“Whistle” unfortunately falls into the trap of being a predictable horror film about a group of kids who suffer the consequences of their nosiness. The characters aren’t well-developed, so it’s hard to care about what happens to them, even when the movie tries to be shocking. The ending is silly and unscary, and the attempt to set up a sequel feels unnecessary. Overall, this movie isn’t worth a second look.

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2026-02-06 18:57