January and February are often times when horror films flounder. The audience perhaps just isn’t there, or it got shoehorned in for one reason or another. This, however, is not the case for Whistle, the new horror film from director Corin Hardy and writer Owen Egerton, who present us with an interesting spin on an ancient relic.

If you are not already familiar, an Aztec death whistle (or ehecachichtli) is an instrument that was found in Mexico City at the excavation of a temple dedicated to the Aztec wind deity Ehecatl. As time has gone on, the whistle itself has changed from an instrument that produced a wind-like sound to one that gave a great shrieking noise, presumably to scare off people or animals. Luckily, however, Whistle does not necessarily fall under that second category.

Whistle follows Chrys (Dafne Keen), who has just moved to a new city to live with her cousin, Rel (Sky Yang). Rel is friends with Grace (Ali Skovbye), a popular girl dating a star basketball player, Dean (Jhaleil Swaby), and Ellie (Sophie Nelisse), who immediately takes an interest in Chrys. When a mysterious object appears in Chrys’s locker, it sets off a tragic string of events. Think Final Destination, but with some gnarlier deaths.

We were able to sit down star Sophie Nélisse and director Corin Hardy. We chat the influence of the film, the process of it getting made, and how it feels to be in the final girls club.

‘WHISTLE’: SOPHIE NÉLISSE & CORIN HARDY | THS INTERVIEW

“I was drawn to the project immediately because I thought it had such a beautiful balance of the gore and the thrill that we all want to see in horror but also, that profound connection between these characters,” Nélisse told THS during our interview. You can see our full chat below.

Whistle hits theaters on February 6th, 2026.