Whistle, the latest film by The Nun director Corin Hardy, has been acquired by Independent Film Company (IFC Films) and Shudder. Whistle stars Logan’s Dafne Keen,
, as well as Nick Frost, Sky Yang, Sophie Nélisse, and Percy Hynes White. Although there’s no release date yet, the film is set to play in theaters, and after that, it will likely stream on Shudder, the horror-exclusive platform.
Per the report by Deadline, the film was acquired for U.S. distribution by Shudder and IFC, two of the most important companies in terms of horror distribution today. Adam Koehler, Director of Acquisitions and Productions for IFC, Shudder, and RLJE Films, expressed his excitement about signing the deal to bring Whistle to audiences:
“Corin Hardy is a master of his craft, and we’re overjoyed to be bringing this horrifying vision to audiences across the country. With Whistle, he’s created a vicious and bloody treat that will stand tall among the best and scariest horror films in recent box office history.”
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Hardy is no stranger to the horror genre. His 2015 debut, The Hallow, is a superb tale of folk horror that earned rave reviews from critics and paved the way for the director to seek something bigger on the Hollywood circuit. A couple of years later he was selected by Peter Safran and James Wan to direct The Nun. Even though it was panned by critics, audiences dug Hardy’s take on the spin-off from The Conjuring universe. It made $366 million at the box office, and it became the highest-grossing film in The Conjuring series. After this, he directed a few episodes of the action show Gangs of London, before diving deep into Whistle. Hardy also showed his excitement about landing the distribution deal:
“Whistle is made with the same heart-on-sleeve, disenfranchised-teen-spirit found in my favorite genre movies that I grew up watching. I was drawn to the mysterious mythology surrounding the Death Whistle and how it presented me with the opportunity to create a variety of cinematic, imaginative and terrifying deaths. This film is built for the big screen experience, so I can’t wait for audiences to blow the whistle with IFC and Shudder in cinemas!”
Whistle is based on the screenplay by Owen Egerton, who drew inspiration from his own short story. The film was shot between 2023 and 2024, and since then, producers have been trying to find distributors. The official plot synopsis reads:
“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.”
Shudder and IFC Films Lead the Way in Indie Horror
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While companies like A24 and NEON are considered leaders when producing and distributing films that the big companies care little for, Shudder and IFC Films have pioneered the art of finding horror gems that otherwise would get lost in the festival circuit churn. Films like The Ugly Stepsister, The Rule of Jenny Pen and Azrael are recent examples of films that would have probably vanished away from the public eye if it hadn’t been for the invaluable support of these companies, which still believe in the power of horror storytelling without the massive budgets that big studios can provide.
Source: Deadline
Birthdate
January 4, 2005
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