‘Whistle’ Trailer Unleashes Horror & Death on a Misfit Group of Teens

Horror fans first learned about Whistle all the way back in 2023, but now we finally have some footage to connect to the upcoming horror thriller. IFC and Shudder have finally unveiled the first trailer for the feature, directed by Corin Hardy (The Nun) and starring Logan and Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Dafne Keen, and the result is beyond eerie. Whistle refers to an Aztec artifact, and the haunting trailer, which you can see below, teases: “If you hear the whistle’s scream, dying is not a choice…”

Whistle is led by Keen, a former child actor who made her breakthrough role as Laura (X-23) in the critically acclaimed MCU film Logan. She reprised this fan-favorite role in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Her credits also include the acclaimed BBC/HBO series His Dark Materials, the comedy-drama Ana, and a place in the Star Wars universe as Jecki Lon in The Acolyte. Keen is joined in Whistle by a talented cast including Sophie Nélisse, Sky Yang, Jhaleil Swaby, Ali Skovbye, Percy Hynes White, Michelle Fairley, and Nick Frost.

Hardy, meanwhile, made his feature film debut with 2015’s The Hallow, a horror film he also co-wrote. The feature centers on a conservationist and his family, who are terrorized by ancient Irish folklore creatures in a remote Irish forest. It was well-received by critics, but grossed just over $2 million globally. Hardy’s next venture, The Nun, a spin-off set in The Conjuring Universe, saw a radical shift from his feature debut. The Nun was largely panned by critics, holding an unimpressive 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was a box office success, grossing $366 million worldwide against a $22 million budget. That made it the highest-grossing film in The Conjuring universe at the time. Hardy has also directed episodes for the acclaimed series Gangs of London. You can check out the trailer for Whistle below…

‘Whistle’ Promises to Deliver a Haunting New Mythology

In an earlier interview, Hardy shared his excitement for the project, which he believes has a “simple, immediate, and has a fresh, haunting mythology.” He said:

“The premise of Whistle is simple, immediate, and has a fresh, haunting mythology. A cursed object that summons your future death to come and find you. The screenplay has echoes of some of my favorite classic horrors like ‘The Ring,’ ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ or ‘It Follows,’ with elements of seminal high school movies ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Donnie Darko.’ I’m thrilled to be working with this brilliant young cast to bring this inventive, terrifying and cinematic new horror to death… I mean life.”

Whistle is based on a short story by Owen Egerton, who also penned the screenplay. It is produced by Whitney Brown, David Gross, and Macdara Kelleher. Whistle is set to land in theaters in 2026, although an exact release date has not been confirmed. Whistle‘s official synopsis reads:

“A misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down. As the body count rises, the friends investigate the origins of the deadly artifact in a desperate effort to stop the horrifying chain of events that they have set in motion.”