I learned about Aztec death whistles through a series of prank videos on the internet. (If you've never seen one, take 30 seconds to watch one.) These contraptions emit a loud, piercing sound that resembles a scream from beyond the grave. It's no wonder people are easily startled by them. Whistle, the new horror film from director Corin Hardy (The Nun), revolves around the discovery of an Aztec death whistle and the terrible things that happen when someone blows into it.
Chrys Willet (Daphne Keen from Logan) is the new girl at school. She's assigned the locker that belonged to a basketball star who died in a mysterious fire. On top of the locker, she finds a strange-looking urn containing an equally strange whistle. Professor Craven (Nick Frost) confiscates it when she brings it to detention, but a friend steals it back and returns it to her during a group study session. Another friend blows the whistle, and soon after, the whole gang starts dying one by one in gruesome ways. Chrys wants to stop the cycle, especially before death catches up to her new girlfriend, Ellie (Sophie Nélisse).
Director: Corin Hardy
Writer: Owen Egerton
Stars: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nélisse, Percy Hynes White
Whistle will appeal to fans of the Final Destination franchise, as it has a similar tone. The main idea is that the whistle summons each person's premature death. The way they would have died at the end of their natural life is how they die now. One character who smokes cigarettes deteriorates into a body ravaged by cancer. Another, who was destined to die in a car accident, sees their body abruptly mangled. Each death is more horrific and elaborate than the last, and the tension builds as you wait to see how the deaths will unfold.
Despite how gory the deaths are, Whistle has a touch of self-aware humor. Owen Egerton's script pokes fun at teenage stereotypes, and Mr. Craven's arc is inherently comedic. A central scene takes place inside a ridiculously large maze at a local festival, where the characters get lost while trying to escape death. In other words, this isn't the kind of horror movie that will traumatize you; instead, it provides good scares that will make you jump and then laugh at your own reaction.
Unfortunately, the plot doesn't offer any new ideas aside from the whistle itself. In fact, it's quite predictable. There's the obligatory scene where Chrys and Ellie visit an old woman, the typical "plot exposition character," who tells them how the whistle works. This character, in particular, is very underdeveloped. As for Noah (Percy Hynes White), the pervert who harasses his female classmates, his fate is predictable long before he even realizes it.
The predictability is generally forgivable, as Hardy directs the film with plenty of style and energy. (The use of Chvrches' song "Final Girl" at the end is perfect.) These qualities, combined with a charismatic cast and some gloriously gruesome deaths, make Whistle a fast-paced horror film full of sinister fun.
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