‘Whistle’ Review
Stars: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nelisse, Percy Hynes White, Nick Frost, Jhaleil Swaby, Ali Skovbye, Sky Yang, Michelle Fairley | Written by Owen Egerton | Directed by Corin Hardy
A group of high schoolers encounter a cursed Aztec death whistle in this enjoyable teen horror from director Corin Hardy (The Nun, TV’s Gangs of London). Various elements of Whistle may feel familiar from other movies, but a strong script, engaging characters and Hardy’s suspenseful direction ensure that it never feels derivative.
After an opening death scene in which a high school basketball player is killed by a burning figure, the film centres on teenage outcast Chrys (Dafne Keen), who arrives at a new school, alongside her cousin Rel (Sky Yang), following the death of her father in a car accident. On her first day, she finds an ancient Aztec death whistle in her locker, and after one of her new friends (Ali Skovbye as Grace) blows into it, they discover that the whistle summons each person’s death, which then pursues them until they die in that manner.
With various forms of death stalking the group, Chrys and her friends – including med student Ellie (Yellowjackets’ Sophie Nelisse) and jock Dean (Jhaleil Swaby) – have to find a way to escape the curse. At the same time, Chrys and Ellie find themselves falling for each other, while the group also run foul of a local drug dealer (Percy Hynes White), who’s also the town’s preacher.
The script, by Owen Egerton, riffs on multiple different horror films, from the Final Destination series to other curse movies such as It Follows, Smile or Talk To Me. In other hands, Whistle could have felt like a clumsy mish-mash, but under Hardy’s skilled direction, the film establishes its own identity, setting up what could be a successful franchise.
On that note, the kills are impressive and feel original, with one in particular serving as a horrific warning against the dangers of a certain illegal activity, like one of those public information ads from the ’70s. Similarly, Hardy orchestrates a handful of successful suspense sequences, aided by Nick Emerson’s astute editing and an effective, atmospheric score by Doomphonic.
The key element to Whistle’s success is its central characters, who are interesting variations on the usual Breakfast Club-style stereotypes. These are people you really care about, and who care about each other – to that end, the central relationship between Chrys and Ellie is nicely handled and believable.
The cast are superb. Keen and Nelisse make a terrific central duo, and they have touching chemistry together, while Yang brings an interesting physical element to the standard wise-cracking nerd character, and Ali Skovbye does unexpected things with the cheerleader role. On top of that, Nick Frost is good value as one of the teachers, while Percy Hynes White brings an air of charismatic menace to the offbeat character of the preacher-slash-dealer.
As an additional nice touch for horror fans, there are several amusingly affectionate nods towards genre greats, like Verhoeven’s steelworks or Cronenberg cigarettes. In a similar vein, Hardy was previously involved with a proposed remake of The Crow, which might account for Rel’s obsession with a familiar-looking comic book character called The Revenger, an obsession that comes into its own during an extended Halloween sequence.
In short, Whistle is a cut above the usual teen horror fare, thanks to well-written, likeable characters, a strong central concept and suspenseful direction from Corin Hardy. Oh, and don’t leave before the mid-credits sting, which delivers a perfect final note.
**** 4/5
Whistle is in UK cinemas from Friday, February 13th.
