Movie: Whistle (2025)

Premiere: September 25, 2025 (Fantastic Fest - USA)
Country of origin: Canada, Ireland
Director: Corin Hardy
Writer: Owen Egerton
Production Companies: No Trace Camping, Wild Atlantic Pictures 
Distributed: Shudder
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Folk Horror
Runtime: 1h 40min
Starring: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nélisse, Sky Yang

When I first saw the poster for Whistle, I instantly felt: “Wow… I need to check this one out.” Then when I watched the trailer, I actually stopped it after only a few seconds because I did not want to know more. It immediately gave me this strong 80’s atmosphere and felt like one of those movies you should experience without knowing too much going in.

 

The movie centers around, new to town,  high school student, Chrys (Dafne Keen), who finds a cursed Aztec death whistle inside her locker… or maybe it found her. Together with her newly found friends, she becomes trapped in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with death itself.

What I really liked was how the movie used the mythology surrounding the Aztec death whistles. In reality, their exact purpose is still debated, which already gives them an unsettling mystique. In this movie though, this is definitely not something you would ever want to use.

The movie has a fantastic atmosphere throughout and mixes supernatural horror with slasher energy surprisingly well. It feels modern while still carrying the spirit of old-school horror movies. The death scenes are extremely graphic, gore-filled, creative and thematically connected to the lore of the story. The kills never feel random and instead feel carefully built around the mythology itself.

That old-school feeling is honestly one of the movie’s strongest elements. The film carries clear influences from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), while also echoing the vibe of The Breakfast Club (1985) in a more subtle but noticeable way.

One of the clearest nods comes during a detention scene inside the school, which feels like a direct reference to The Breakfast Club. The setup is familiar, but the dynamic is flipped, instead of three guys and two girls, this film uses three girls and two guys trapped together.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Chrys herself also feels like part of that influence. Her look and style land somewhere between Allison from The Breakfast Club, played by Ally Sheedy and the darker 80’s screen presence of Winona Ryder.

The soundtrack helps build this feeling perfectly. The movie blends 80’s inspired songs, lesser known tracks and newer music that still carries retro energy. Together with the visuals, it almost feels like watching some underground cult horror movie.

The movie also features a wonderful score by Doomphonic, which adds even more atmosphere and emotion to the experience.

8/10. It reminded me of the feeling of discovering horror movies years ago while still feeling fresh enough for modern audiences. Because of that, I completely lost myself in the world of the movie for a while and genuinely cared about the characters.

Links:
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29550683
Official Homepage: https://www.whistle.movie/
No Trace Camping: https://notracecamping.com/#Room

And about the sound of the whistle itself…
Well… let’s just say it does not really end when the movie does.

Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

Movie: Snow Angel (2023)

Release: January 20, 2023 (Canada)
Directed by: Gabriel Allard
Starring: Catherine Bérubé, Olivier Renaud, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Paul Doucet, Alexandre Nachi
Distributed by: Black Mandela

 

 

I got a screener copy of this from Black Mandela, a distribution company from New Zealand. It originally premiered in Canada back in January 2023. I do not know if my version was a different cut then the 2023 release, it stood 2025 on the file.

The movie begins with the aftermath of a devastating car accident. A man stumbles out of a wreck, a woman lies on the ground with a bottle of alcohol next to her and another car holds a couple inside with tragic results. From here the focus shifts to a woman named MJ. She lives alone in a lodge in a small mountain town, chopping wood, making coffee and quietly going about her life. But something is off.

The present-day story of MJ is cleverly inter-cut with flashbacks to a gathering in the past. At first they seem like warm memories, friends and laughter, memories that connect back to the night of the accident, giving us small clues.

One of the film’s strongest elements, comes from its well made editing, there is a scene with a spoiled milk bottle in the present that is matched with a violent outburst from the past and the transition sends chills down the spine. This back-and-forth structure builds an unsettling rhythm that makes the viewer constantly question what is remembered.

As the story progresses it becomes more and more low-key surreal. What is really going on with MJ? Is she haunted by guilt perhaps... 

Snow Angel is a slow-burning movie, quiet and emotionally heavy, yet it carries an intensity beneath the surface. Even when I thought I had figured things out, the atmosphere and editing kept me hooked all the way through. Well acted by Catherine Bérubé that play M.J, she taps into all kinds of emotions, very believable.

 

I rate this one: 8/10
Great edit and a chilling puzzle about guilt, memory and what really happened on the night of the party.

Links:
https://black-mandala.com/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7582428/


Article written by: Sonny Mikszath