First teaser for Whistle starring Dafne Keen is released

Whistle, directed by Corin Hardy, is an upcoming teen horror film that follows Dafne Keen as one of the high school students who find an ancient, cursed object. It haunts them as they go about their daily lives. IFC Films has just released an official teaser for this project, offering a glimpse into its terrifying world.

Before diving into its details, here's an official plot synopsis for the film:

"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."

Apart from Dafne Keen, the cast also includes Sophie Nélisse, Nick Frost, Sky Yang, and Percy Hynes White in central roles. Let's unpack what the first teaser reveals about this unsettling horror film.

Whistle: The teaser for the new Dafne Keen film revealed

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The teaser opens with a shot in the wild. It's pitch black. Dafne Keen's character walks out to see a figure slowly moving its hand to point at her. It instantly sets up the film's unsettling tone, backed by a thumping musical score.

The next moment, we see Keen's character in a high school. She walks past a wall that features graffiti, which reads, "Death lives." Once inside, she finds a strange object inside a locker. She opens its lid to find a creepy skull inside.

After this, the teaser features a few clips of students across the campus witnessing something strange around them. It looks like they witness someone slowly losing their life in front of their eyes. They also notice some mysterious figures standing close by or approaching them.

It all seemingly foreshadows their own death, which they cannot stop if and when they hear a particular sound. Through a voiceover, one of its characters says,

"If you hear a whistle scream, dying is not an option."

The quote refers to the high-pitched sound of an Aztec death whistle, revealed in the synopsis. It sounds almost like a scream. So, as the lore suggests, the characters cannot escape their deaths once they hear it. That's why the teaser hints at an experience that unfolds almost like an eerie survival thriller as its teenage characters run for their lives.

More details about Whistle, the horror film

Whistle, the horror film, is the latest project from Corin Hardy, the English film director and artist behind films like The Nun (2018) and The Hallow (2015), as well as the Sky original series Gangs of London. The script is penned by Owen Egerton, known for his work on horror projects such as Blood Fest (2018), Mercy Black (2019), and Follow (2015).

Logan star Dafne Keen and Yellowjackets star Sophie Nélisse were present to speak about the film at the 2025 Comic-Con in San Diego. The film will soon be brought to screens by the Independent Film Company and Shudder, who hold the film's US rights. It currently doesn't have an official release date. More details are expected soon.