Are “Death Curse” films a valid sub-genre in horror? You know the sort of thing. Someone does something unwise for various reasons, causing them to come to the notice of a supernatural entity/demon/ghost/fate/whatever, who hunts them down and murders them according to “rules”. The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is any one of the “Final Destination” films, but similar plot threads have been used for many years. The original Omen films and Night of the Demon (1957) are just two quick examples, where the Devil may invisibly elbow a handbrake to decapitate David Warner, and Dana Andrews is marked for a hellish demise by a runic parchment. More modern versions of this have continued alongside the Destination films, such as Smile, The Monkey, and Wish Upon, among others, and they show no sign of stopping. So, here’s yet another wrinkle on that concept. Whistle was written by Owen Egerton (adapted from his own short story) and has been directed by Corin Hardy (who also helmed The Hallow and The Nun). It features Dafne Keen (from Logan), as well as Brit genre icon Nick Frost in the cast and received a pretty positive response from audiences at last year's Fantastic Fest in Texas. Now in cinemas in the US and UK (with a release that appropriately occurs on a Friday the 13th), we hope it doesn’t blow or suck.

 

It starts as it means to go on with a strong and brutal opener. In a game of college basketball, the alpha player is spooked by glimpses of a charred and crispy figure seemingly following him. This culminates in an unexpected and visceral death in the shower room. Some months later, Chrysanthemum "Chrys" Willet (Keen) moves to town and is bequeathed the locker of the aforementioned victim. And wouldn’t you know it? There’s a mysterious jar lurking in its tinny depths, which holds a strange antique. Chrys shows it to Mr Craven (Frost), who sneakily covers up its value but identifies it as a whistle which (according to his translation) can summon the dead. After Chrys meets up with some fellow students at a pool party, the whistle makes another appearance and (of course) some idiot blows the damned thing. This results in a group of doomed individuals gradually meeting spectacular demises, as they are haunted by personifications of their own deaths that were fated to happen in the future. Having now fast-forwarded to their final moments, how can you stop something that can never be avoided?

 

Whilst the central concept is very similar to recent horrors such as Smile, Talk to Me, and It Follows, it’s actually a very intriguing idea that is nicely realised at the important moments. Without spoiling the best scenes, if you can imagine yourself being haunted by your future… err… “self”, and they herald the physical effects of the way in which you are going to pop your clogs later in life, you can imagine the possibilities there. Cue several brilliantly mounted scenes, which are kicked off by an excellent sequence where a blackened zombie sets fire to a victim by shoving its arm down their throat! Then there’s one involving a savage deterioration of the body from a terminal disease, and so on. Each death is pre-empted by characters facing their corpse-y doppelgangers, who scuttle, twitch, and teleport in a way that will be familiar to fans of J-horror. These are, without a doubt, the best parts of the movie and are presented with wonderful visual flourishes. Hardy nails these moments with full-on bloodshed (albeit decidedly CGI) and gruesome representations of the various ways that a person can die. Each one is accompanied by great pounding dirges on the soundtrack and appropriately fraught reactions from the victims and bystanders. Real nice work from Hardy there.

 

Aside from the general concept, a decent broody atmosphere, and the top-notch deaths, it has to be said that Whistle is a little generic otherwise. The cast is fine and likeable, and there’s an eclectic soundtrack (that will really appeal to Gen-Xers, if not everyone), so there’s nothing really wrong with it. It’s just that “Future Death” is such a neat hook that you wish more had been done with it. The imagination and potential that are shown in the dynamic and satisfying kill scenes make you wish for a larger pool party and more victims. As it stands, it just follows the same pathway as similar teen horrors. Strange deaths, the kids “Scooby Doo” for clues, more deaths, cops are nowhere in sight, a get-out clause is highlighted, but it’s nasty, etc. But while a film like Talk to Me or Smile 2 has depth and clear metaphors in the story, this is mostly shallow. Some elements are pretty laughable, such as the lack of media interest being given to the various dead bodies being found all over the place and the legal precedent that a person can be feasibly burnt to a crisp under an active shower. The full amount of exposition is ridiculously handed off to just one person (Michelle Fairley as Ivy Raymore), and lazy, made-up mythology is largely used to fill in any blanks. Let’s just say that there are a lot of teen-horror tropes and some of the dialogue is questionable (“What is this Satan shit?!”).

 

This results in a solid enough horror, which has some real high-points, but will largely be forgotten come the end-of-year summaries in favour of other genre entries. That’s not to say that there isn’t some skill shown in the presentation, though. Keen’s character and same-sex romance are nicely understated, and she shows some verve and emotion as the denouement approaches. Hardy is savvy enough to throw in plenty of references to past horror touchpoints, like The Crow, Get Out, and Flatliners. But maybe you could also argue that’s why it doesn’t feel more original in execution? Having said that, and as mentioned before, there’s some nice use of sound in the film, both with the bombastic score during kill scenes and moments where there are neat song choices (Omen by The Prodigy plays just before the whistle is blown). The visuals and atmosphere are creepy for the most part, and with its emphasis on a “Harvest Festival” and horror costumes (a nicely judged middle sequence), it seems a shame that this was not engineered for a Halloween release. As it stands, it verges on greatness but doesn’t quite cross over with a big enough impression, despite the solid efforts of all involved.

 

Whilst mentioning Nick Frost, and Michelle Fairley to some extent, their casting seems a bit odd. Frost resolutely keeps the Brit accent and offbeat persona, which seems a little jarring given the Americanness of everything else, and no real background is given to him, or most of the characters, to be honest. Fairley is literally only there to provide filler regarding the history of the whistle and is entirely wasted. The overall subtext seems to be that everyone is going to die at some point, so you might as well make an effort in living. This juxtaposes with the lead character, who has a (flimsy) backstory involving self-loathing due to drug addiction and an associated family death. But none of this feels really set up or has the emotional heft that you would expect from those sorts of themes. Keen does manage to pull this back a little with the end sequence, but everything still feels a little broad and vague when it comes to major plot points and emotional gut-punches. As such, even with the grand guignol on frequent view, it doesn’t really stand out in a crowded field.

 

One particular film critic smartly pointed out that this could be considered a post- Scream version of M. R. James’ classic spine-tingler story Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad. Both feature characters who blow ancient whistles and summon a malignant force after all. But in all honesty, this is just popcorn fodder in comparison with that much-adapted shriek fest. Although it is good popcorn fodder and an excellent antidote to Valentine offerings (such as Wuthering Heights). You’ll enjoy it, and you’ll appreciate the momentum and dynamics of the genre elements, but it’s unlikely to tempt you to repeat viewings (unless you’re ghoulish enough to rewatch the death scenes and skip the rest of it). So, it is very easy to recommend; however, it won’t blow you away.