Whistle (FANTASTIC) Proves Teen Supernatural Horror Doesn’t Have to Blow

Title: Whistle

First Non-Festival Release: February 5, 2026 (Theatrical Release)

Director: Corin Hardy

Writer: Owen Egerton

Runtime: XX Minutes

Starring: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nélisse, Percy Hynes White

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2025.

It might be morbid to wonder about your own mortality but there is something human about picturing how you will die. Whether attempting to prevent it from happening altogether or mentally preparing for the moment, there can be some comfort in knowing when it’s time.

After surviving a terrible overdose and a car accident that takes her father, Chrysanthemum (Dafne Keen) moves in with her cousin Ral’s (Sky Yang) family. Her first day at school is exciting to say the least, earning herself, her cousin, and fellow schoolmates detention after getting in a fight. In detention she shares the strange object that she found in her new locker, which they soon discover is an ancient Aztec death whistle. What they don’t know, until it’s too late, is that when you use this whistle it prematurely summons your death. 

Dumb supernatural slasher Whistle invigorates with lively kills and captivating visuals.

Just like many teen supernatural horror films before it, Whistle is best left enjoyed when you accept the premise and don’t think too hard about its convoluted logic. Introducing the audience to the titular Aztec death whistle, the film plays loose with its rules. Conjured out of nowhere and implemented as needed, the rules serve more as a warning for what’s to come rather than a guarantee. Similarly, the nature in which the characters fight back against the evil is predictably stupid but ties in with the film’s deeper point on accepting death and the struggles that precede it with cautious understanding. Its back-and-forth does give Whistle a larger sense of mystery despite it not quite making complete sense in the end.

The characters may not be incredibly deep but there’s enough meat on the bones to make them affable and offbeat for this type of film. Whistle works mainly because of Dafne Keen’s wounded Chrysanthemum. Concealing a past as a substance user and wracked with guilt over her father’s death, Chrysanthemum’s relationship with life and death makes her an interesting protagonist. The rest of her new friends are standard teen horror cattle to be slaughtered but each has a quirk or two that differentiate them from the standard stereotype they are meant to portray. A cartoonishly evil altar boy, a popular girl who leads with her heart and head, and a revenge-seeking yet goofy cousin are all examples of the ways in which Whistle attempts to subvert these roles. It’s not enough to fully flesh them out but makes them interesting enough while they’re alive.  

Where Whistle thrives is its commitment to brutal kills and thrills. Nothing underscores the funhouse horrors of a supernatural slasher quite like an inspired kill sequence. Whistle runs on spectacle, and it does an amazing job creating it. Boasting an impressive array of creative and shocking kills, Whistle builds suspense through a maximalist approach. There’s no wimpy quick-cuts or understated approach to horror here. Bells are ringing, fires erupting, and blood splattering the screen. The over-the-top nature of its horror allows the teen slasher to not take itself too seriously while delivering on its premise.

Unexpectedly lush in visuals, Whistle crafts some memorable imagery that brings its small town to life in large ways. The landscape of this humble, decaying town gets a facelift as Whistle gives glimpses into the future deaths of its unlucky teen cast. Capturing the ennui of rust city living, Whistle transforms its town’s industrial landscape into a lush, fantastic nightmare. School hallways, corn mazes, and empty steel mills morph and become something sinister when tinged with the rage of the hapless victim’s ghostly doppelgängers. These bold colors and hypnotic visuals reflect the awesome power of the death whistle.

By no means revolutionary, Whistle understands its place in the horror genre and does enough to make it a brisk watch late at night with friends or a rowdy crowd. Its story is familiar, and it may get caught up in its own supernatural dream logic at times, but Whistle is still an enjoyable ride. Gorehounds will delight at the gnarly kills and genre cinephiles of all stripes will appreciate the intensity of this teen slasher. If you’re curious about how it all ends, get ready to hit that whistle note in pure pleasure when it releases next February.

Overall Score? 7/10