On its surface, Whistle is a throwback that embraces and delights in many of the time-honored traditions of the supernatural teen horror film. Those include young hot people making questionable choices, leading to increasingly gruesome and gory deaths; and, of course, the new-to-town outsider finding love amid the chaos. And this time, that love story — yeah, it’s a lesbian one.
But let’s take a step back.
For those unfamiliar, Whistle introduces audiences to Chrys (Daphne Keene), a young woman with a dark past and a whole lot of trauma who has come to live with her cousin for a fresh start. However, what she doesn’t, and could never know, is that waiting for her there aren’t only the usual school bullies and mean girls (although they’re here too), but something ancient and evil—a death whistle that, when blown into by two people, means, well, death.
Daphne Keene in 'Whistle'
Shudder
acceptance, in the form of Ellie (Sophie Nélisse). The two are drawn to each other by an almost as powerful and supernatural force at first sight. “They're complete polar opposites, but there are two magnets that are so drawn into each other,” Nélisse tells PRIDE. “They bring out the best in each other, but also they bring out a strength that I don't think they would have been able to ever find on their own.” And they are going to need it. In fact, their young lesbian love may just be the one thing that stands between them and a certain and grisly demise.
While it's certainly not the first time a horror film of this kind has featured a love story, there’s something fresh and sweet about the connection that Chrys and Ellie forge in this one. There’s a truth and an ache to it that almost makes you wish you were watching a different kind of movie. But that was the point, director Corin Hardy explains, because it elevates the stakes. “It was just a big part of what appealed to me in telling the story of Whistle,” he tells PRIDE. “As well as the great mythology and this concept of your future death coming to hunt you down if you've heard the sound, to go with the horror. I want the heart, and I want to have characters you care for.” And good news: his and writer Owen Egerton’s efforts succeed.
Daphne Keene and Sophie Nélisse in 'Whistle'
Shudder
“I loved that there was this undercurrent of this quite sweet love story, which, if the whistle hadn't been blown, it would have been a cool story to watch, finding each other in school,” Hardy continues. “We all share love. We all share heartbreak and embarrassment. It's exactly the same… it was just a human story.”
It also helps that Keene and Nélisse have a powerful, gentle, and romantic chemistry on screen that captures those early, exciting, but awkward experiences of love, particularly for queer folks who are navigating the layers of hope and fear of rejection.
But Ellie is the kind of character any baby sapphic would be crushing on, and for Nélisse, getting to play someone so kind was a refreshing departure from a darker role, say like that of Shauna Shipman in Yellowjackets. “It's been nice to play a character that's a little more mentally stable and sane,” she jokes. “Ellie, you're drawn to her immediately because of how kind-hearted she is and her candor, how open-minded she is as well. I think she just takes people as they are, without judgment or prejudice, and I think she welcomes people with open arms. It's her biggest strength, and I think she will be so surprised by the character of Chrys that it will just bring a breath of fresh air in her life.”
Daphne Keene and Sophie Nélisse in 'Whistle'
Shudder
While the sapphic love story may be the heart of the film, it’s first and foremost a horror movie, with all the chills and thrills that come with the genre. Although the mythology offers a new wrinkle, the film harkens back to titles such as It Follows—and particularly Final Destination—in which death is always just around the corner: cunning, hungry, and ready to dispatch our characters in increasingly gruesome (and, let’s be honest, satisfying) ways.
While it’s not for the faint of heart, there’s something almost cozy about Whistle, particularly for horror fans of a certain era. This film would have thrived in the 2000s cinemas, and, thankfully, everything Y2K is back. Add to that one of the sweetest lesbian love stories of the year, and you have the makings of a true sapphic horror classic—especially for horror-loving queer folks.
Whistle arrives in theaters on February 6. Watch the trailer below.
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