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.<\/p>\n
Starring Shaun of the Dead’s Nick Frost, Yellowjackets’ Sophie N\u00e9lisse, and Deadpool and Wolverine<\/a>‘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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n 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 N\u00e9lisse’s Ellie and Keen’s Chrys at its center.<\/p>\n “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\u2026 I wanted it to feel colorful and moody and epic \u2013 a world you can really get lost in. I wanted it to be a ride.”<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n