Whistle, on Shudder

Honestly, no Gen-X’er would ever put their lips on a macabre pre-Columbian artifact they found in a dead classmate’s locker. As for Millennials and Gen Z? Yeah, maybe they would. That’s why the 1980s generation will outlive them all and save our nation. To prove the point, another batch of high school kids inadvertently summon an ancient evil in Corin Hardy’s Whistle, which premieres this Friday on Shudder.

After rattling in the winning basket, Mason “Horse” Raymore burned to death in the showers. Weird, right? Lucky transfer student Chrys Willet, fresh out of rehab, inherits his locker, which dos not sit well with his jerky friend, Dean Jackson. Awkwardly, Willet’s cousin Rel Taylor has long carried a torch for Jackson’s popular girlfriend, Grace Browning, who is duly embarrassed by her boyfriend’s behavior. Perversely, the incident earns them all a session of Breakfast Club-ish detention, along with Ellie Gains, the would-be mediator, for whom Willet immediately starts carrying her own torch.

She also brings the creepy “death-whistle” thingy she found in her locker. Arrogant Mr. Craven recognizes it is a potentially valuable pre-Columbian artifact, so he confiscates it. He also blows through it. Okay, actor Nick Frost is Gen X, but he only did it to test the condition, for re-sale purposes. Our generation is even more enterprising than cautious. Of course, he dies just the same. By that time, Taylor had already stolen it back and brought it to Browning’s cozy pool soiree, since they are all friends now (except Jackson). And what do you think she does?

The nature of the Aztec death demon is somewhat interesting, but for the most part, Whistle plays out like a bland imitation of Bishal Dutta’s vastly superior It Lives Inside, in which a beleaguered teenager also lugs around a demon-bound knick-knack. Unfortunately, Whistle is not nearly as distinctive or scary.

Frankly. Hardy’s cast is just underwhelming bland. The only exception is Frost, who is amusingly and appropriately snarky and dismissive as Mr. Craven. In fact, the skull-like design of the death-whistle is more interesting than any of the teen characters (indeed, it is satisfyingly sinister-looking, so why would anyone in their right mind want it anywhere near their mouth?)

To the credit of screenwriter Owen Edgerton, the death-whistle’s Aztec backstory intrigues and the two potential co-final girls’ survival strategy is rather clever. However, the character and cast are all quite commonplace. It simply isn’t sufficiently special to recommend Whistle when it starts streaming Friday (5/8) on Shudder.