Whistle (2025)

 Is it possible for the guy who directed one of the dullest horror films ever to direct a good horror film? Well The Nun was awful on many levels so the chances of Whistle being worse was quite remote. The set up of the film is that Dafne Keen tries to pull off being a high school student and after arriving at her new high school goes to her locker which they haven’t bothered to clear out beforehand and she finds the titular whilst and after Nick Frost dies moments after trying to flog it on the antiques version of eBay the new friends that Chrys has befriended blow the whilst and death is now following them. 

The idea that when we are born our death is also born is kind of a neat idea although the film can’t help itself by being stupid and goes on to say that if we live to be 90, death will spend 90 years finding you and if you blow the whistle it finds you quicker.

Dafne Keen is perfectly fine as Chrys. She has a backstory where she is moving in with her aunt after she took drugs and killed her father. We never see the aunt or any adults really with the exception of Dean’s parents for about 30 seconds. Keen does well as the lead although I do think she just about gets away with being a High School student. The romance between Chrys and Ellie was one of the more interesting aspects of the two characters.

Nick Frost pops at the beginning and it would have been nice to have him do something more than deliver some exposition and then become greedy. Michelle Fairley’s role as Ivy is literally nothing more than exposition. She only has two scenes but they do nothing other than tell Chrys and Ellie what’s going on. She conveniently tells them how to cheat death and that is basically sacrificing someone else in their place. Even after telling them this they have to have it spelt out to them.

You would think that death would be the villain but they decided to introduce Noah (played by Percy Haynes White from Wednesday) who basically gives drugs to the kids from one of them overdosed so that makes him the bad guy and is the obvious choice for the sacrificing part but our scooby gang are so good that they don't want to go through with it even though he is loathsome.. The film gets around this by pretty much forcing  the situation so we get a satisfactory ending but the film ends with the most predictable sequel-bait ending where the pot containing the whistle has found its way back inside the locker. I’m not sure why the whistle doesn't try and find a new location but I suppose that doesn't really matter cause I am highly doubtful that we are going to get a sequel.

The deaths are quite good, especially Dean’s but that might be because he was very annoying and playing the typical irritating sports guy. Rel’s death was quite gory and I was surprised that it was a 15 because 10 years ago this would have received an 18 certificate but I think they probably got away with it because there is a surprisingly gory film and it seemed like the blood was real and no CGI blood which a lot of horror films seem to rely on.

I had very low expectations of Whistle and I have to say they were met. It’s nowhere near as bad as Return to Silent Hill because at least the film made sense but this will only really please people who want to stick on a dumb horror film on a Friday night when they don't have to pay any attention. It is neither terrible nor any good so average is probably the best word to use.