Whistle director breaks down the gory horror movie's surprisingly sweet ending: "I wanted it to be gentle"

1. Entertainment
2. Movies
3. Horror Movies

Whistle director breaks down the gory horror movie's surprisingly sweet ending: "I wanted it to be gentle" News By Amy West published 6 February 2026

Exclusive: Corin Hardy says Whistle's hopeful ending was a big reason why he signed on to direct the death-filled horror

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: IFC Films)

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Email

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter GamesRadar+ Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

Want to add more newsletters?

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

Signup +

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Signup +

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

Signup +

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Signup +

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

Signup +

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

Signup +

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!

Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter

Almost every character in Whistle dies before the screen cuts to black and the credits roll. Hell, even the ones who actually survive pass over briefly in the final act in an attempt to confuse their murderous fates and stop 'em killing them for good.

Before we delve into the specifics, you should be warned that this article contains major spoilers for Whistle – though you've probably already guessed that. Turn back now if you've yet to watch the movie and don't want to know what happens!

So, considering the body count, I'm not sure we could justifiably claim the horror movie has a happy ending, but it was important to director Corin Hardy to wrap things up on a more hopeful note. 'Bury Your Gays' is a notorious trope in which a film's queer characters are killed off prematurely, often to propel another character's storyline forward or play into the harmful idea that LGBTQ folk are predestined to live tragic, doomed lives. Fortunately, Whistle bucks that trend; with its leads Ellie (Sophie Nélisse) and Chrys (Dafne Keen) not only making it out alive but ending up together, too.

You may like

• Whistle director says he's "never known chemistry" like Sophie Nelisse and Dafne Keen's in the new queer horror
• The Nun's Corin Hardy reveals the "three things" that drew him back to original horror with new scary flick Whistle
• New horror Whistle features a death scene so "insane", its director had never seen anything like it on screen before

"It was as important as the whole script. I mean, it was something that attracted me to want to tell the story," Hardy explains to GamesRadar+, when we commend him on the ultimate outcome.

"I wanted to make horror with heart. So it was important to nail that balance; to make sure there's as much heart as horror," he continues. "That you care about the characters. And I wanted to protect this love story, I wanted it to be almost quite gentle in some ways, amid all the terror around them. They're finding each other, they're finding strength in each other and learning about themselves through each other, too."

(Image credit: IFC Films)

Written by Owen Egerton, Whistle follows a group of high-school students who find themselves outrunning Death after one of them blows an Aztec death whistle. Turns out, the instrument doesn't "summon the dead", as their teacher Mr. Craven (Nick Frost) claimed, it summons "your" death... and it's bad news for anyone unlucky enough to hear its sound.

After their friends meet their makers in increasingly gruesome ways, and Chrys' cousin Rel (Sky Yang) gets ground-up by an invisible piece of machinery as his future factory accident catches up to him, Ellie and Chrys plot to pull a Flatliners and "die" before resuscitating themselves. If they can trick the Grim Reaper into thinking their time is up, they suggest, they might just be able to evade the curse. Things go pear-shaped, though, when local drug dealer Noah (Wednesday's Percy Hynes White) shoots Ellie before she can bring Chrys back to the land of the living.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Fortunately for the loved-up pair, Chrys manages to fight her demonic self and wake up, while Noah unknowingly stands in Ellie's blood and marks himself as her sacrifice. With that, the ghoul that was after her sets its sights on him instead – and the twosome live to tell the tale.

"It's a shame that this death whistle got blown and Death came to get these two, because if it hadn't, they would have had the same – well, maybe they wouldn't have had the same relationship," Hardy smiles, as he recalls Whistle's final scene in which Ellie and Chrys share a kiss at school and walk down the hall hand-in-hand. "That's what's interesting. It almost helped force them to come together. To fight together, and all that was very important. I just love that last shot, when they're walking down the corridor and you see [their] hands together and the tattoo that Ellie's got now – the chrysanthemum. It was just a lovely detail."

Whistle is in US theaters now. It's set to release in UK cinemas on February 13. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Amy WestSocial Links Navigation

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

View More

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Whistle director says he's "never known chemistry" like Sophie Nelisse and Dafne Keen's in the new queer horror    The Nun's Corin Hardy reveals the "three things" that drew him back to original horror with new scary flick Whistle    New horror Whistle features a death scene so "insane", its director had never seen anything like it on screen before    Creepy new trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine star's upcoming horror movie looks like a mix of Death Note and Talk to Me    The Long Walk is one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time – and the saddest movie of 2025    Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny is a weird and wonderful tale with one important lesson: "Believe children"    Latest in Horror Movies Sam Raimi thanks Stephen King for helping The Evil Dead when nobody would go near it “with a 10-foot plague pole”    House of the Dead movie is reportedly a "top Sega priority", with The Last of Us breakout Isabela Merced now onboard    Horror fans will be able to purchase Iron Lung in one week, but the director still plans to release it "independently"    Kill Bill star's bloody new thriller movie about a killer ballerina gets its first images    The Matrix and John Wick star Laurence Fishburne has joined the cast of Mike Flanagan's new Exorcist movie    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has been pulled from theaters after a significant box office drop    Latest in News Baby Krypto captures our hearts in Puppy Bowl's new Supergirl teaser    All-Star Superman writer Grant Morrison has some issues with James Gunn’s take on the character    Strange and excellent Morrowind-like RPG with 90% positive Steam reviews is finally coming to PS5, Xbox, and Switch 2    New Overwatch actor addresses the "elephant in the room," says she had to "mourn" her character's redesign    Ex-Mass Effect devs know "there's a hunger" for big RPGs, so there's an "unbelievable amount of pressure" on Exodus    Fallout co-creator showed the engine that would eventually power the RPG at a secret after-hours pizza party    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1Mewgenics review: "The Binding of Isaac collides with Into the Breach in a smart strategy roguelike"
2. 2Odin's Ravens review: "Perfect for two-player matches on the go"
3. 3Nioh 3 review: "Brutal clashes across wide maps avoid retreading Elden Ring – this is all demon killer, no filler"
4. 4This Lord of the Rings card game is a puzzle-solving masterclass
5. 5Highguard review: "A fresh but muddled FPS genre mashup that needs refinement if it's to have any staying power"

1. 1Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
2. 228 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
3. 3Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
4. 4Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
5. 5Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"

1. 1Wonder Man review: "A low-key gem that's up there with the MCU's best"
2. 2Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
3. 3A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
4. 4Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
5. 5Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”