Whistle Review: An incredibly fun yet safe teen slasher

While it was certainly an odd choice for Whistle to be the final screening at many film festivals, I was more excited for this film than many and enjoyed its placement. While "teens get a doodad that's about to kill them" is almost its own subgenre at this point, it's a subgenre I enjoy. Whistle promises a marriage of Final Destination and a teen slasher, but does it live up to its aspirations? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be tackling in today's Reel Ranker review.

Whistle is one of those films where the best and worst elements are intertwined. If you don't enjoy teen slashers where cool kills and teenage drama and romance are all you've really got to cling to, then this film likely isn't going to change your mind about the genre. I loved the premise that the Whistle kills you prematurely, but in the same way that you would've died in the future. It works very well as a new twist on the Final Destination formula without being derivative.

I personally don't see anything wrong with taking a genre that works and doing another simple entry in the genre with a new coat of paint. However, that's what most people seem to dislike about this film: it's very familiar. We get the typical character archetypes, the kills, the jumpscares, the loud music cues, and the romance between the two leads... although this time it's a lesbian romance, which is decently fresh for the genre!

Of course, some of the flaws of teen slashers come into play here, where stupid decisions are made at every turn. This is especially apparent in my least favorite part of the film, the ending scene that teases a sequel, which I'd love to see, but the setup for it was a little ridiculous. The premise is also a little questionable... why would anyone be so stupid to blow into an ancient whistle with death notes written all over it? Then again, human error is its own form of horror, so I don't mind.

The best elements of the film are easily the teen romance and the kills. The romance between Chrys and Ellie was a nice touch and didn't feel like a LGBTQIA+ relationship thrown in for the sake of it. Moving to a new place is already hard, but showing Chrys trying to maneuver through figuring out if Ellie was gay or not was simultaneously sad and funny. The little love triangle with Grace was pretty solid, and I appreciated that Grace isn't a jerk just because she's popular.

And the best part of the film was the kills. This is the only part of the review where I'm really going to spoil anything, so skip this paragraph if you don't want spoilers. Every kill here is gnarly. One character instantly ages and dies of natural causes, one is hit by the trauma and impact of a vehicular accident without the vehicle, one is shredded through an invisible meat grinder, the list goes on. The horror elements here were creative, and the gore was fantastically executed, which is part of what elevates this film above many teen slashers.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Unreel
The Reel Ranker Score: 74%
Letter Score: A-
Star Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

Whistle is a fun, gory teenage slasher that knows exactly what it is: a vehicle for interesting kills and teenage nonsense. While it isn't reinventing the wheel, fans of teen slashers or the Final Destination series will find plenty to enjoy here. This film certainly has the potential to become a staple horror franchise that I'll be eagerly watching out for, if Colin Hardy can find new, engaging places to take the mythos in the next entries!

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