New horror movie Whistle features a death scene so “insane”, director Corin Hardy had to go back and reread it during his first peek at the script.
Starring Shaun of the Dead’s Nick Frost, Yellowjackets’ Sophie Nélisse, and Deadpool and Wolverine‘s Dafne Keen, the film centers on a group of high school students who unwittingly attract the attention of the Grim Reaper when they blow on an ancient Aztec instrument.
Having initially believed that the whistle conjured spirits, they learn the hard way that it actually fast-tracks the user’s demise; if you were originally going to be killed in a fire years from now, you’ll be stalked by a burning corpse. Simply die of old age? You’d better steer clear of that wizened woman with a murderous glint in her eye. In short, it’s giving big Bent-Neck Lady vibes (IYKYK).
With that, writer Owen Egerton got… inventive when it comes to the ways in which characters are picked off. “There’s one death that I’d never seen [done] before. This guy in his bedroom and what happens to him,” Hardy teased in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Godzilla spin-off Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on the cover. “I read it on the page, and I had to reread it. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s insane. I have no idea how to do that yet, but I’m gonna design it.’ So I worked with a couple of great storyboard artists, concept artists and special effects maestros, who all did incredible work.”
Whistle was inspired by everything from A Nightmare On Elm Street and The Lost Boys to Fright Night but, for Hardy, it’s mostly a mix of The Ring and… The Breakfast Club, with a queer romance between Nélisse’s Ellie and Keen’s Chrys at its center.
“They have to work together to figure out how they can beat the death whistle, and this brings them closer together. I’m a big softy in that sense. It was important that there was this undercurrent of hope running through and a need to survive,” he noted. “[I wanted to] make a horror film with heart… I wanted it to feel colorful and moody and epic – a world you can really get lost in. I wanted it to be a ride.”
Whistle is set to be released on February 6 in the US, and February 13 in the UK. While we wait, check out our list of all upcoming horror movies in 2026 and beyond.
