Prime Time: Whistle (2025)

There are many fine examples of whistling throughout the horror genre. Okay, there's one, but it's one that casts a mighty shadow. That one is the great M. R. James tale, adapted a number of times (most notably with Michael Hordern in the lead role). And now we have Whistle, a film based around an Aztec death whistle. It causes very bad things to happen to anyone who hears it being blown. You would think that the easiest thing to do would be to just not blow it, but then we'd have no movie.

Written by Owen Egerton and directed by Corin Hardy, two people who should already be known to horror fans, this is a teen horror movie interested in doing nothing more than being a teen horror movie. It's not very good, but it at least clears the low bar that it sets for itself.

A group of students end up in possession with a skull-shaped whistle. They soon find out that anyone who hears it ends up dying, but not in a normal way. They are actually visited by an apparition of their future selves, and die in the way they were due to die in the future. And so begins a race against time, the teens eventually realising what is happening and then trying to figure out if there's a way to stop it.

The screenplay is the problem here. Egerton has a fun idea, but doesn't do enough to make the most of it. This should have been full of impressive set-pieces, blood and gore thrown around in lieu of any proper scares, but it's a disappointingly bloodless affair, for the most part. The one major highlight just serves to remind viewers of how weak the rest of the film is. It doesn't help that none of the characters are very interesting, not even the leads (played by Dafne Keen and Sophie Nélisse), and also doesn't help that the cast give such flat performances.

Neither Keen nor Nélisse manage to feel like the best casting choices here, but the same can be said of almost everyone in the cast, from Sky Yang and Jhaleil Swaby to Ali Skovbye and Percy Hynes White. Even the "star cameo" from Nick Frost feels like a role that could have had someone better there (perhaps someone with more of a presence in the horror genre).

I am happy to enjoy some dumb fun, not every film needs to be layered and deep. I expected to be an easy mark for Whistle. It's a shame that it couldn't do better when it comes to the simple pleasures I was hoping for. Considering how forgiving I often am, or am often accused of being, the fact that I can't even bring myself to rate this as anything more than average should serve as a warning to those who are a bit more discerning with their viewing choices. It should still just about work for those wanting a slick and mindless distraction for 100 minutes though. 

5/10

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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

You've got to hand it to Ryan Reynolds. He always knew he could portray the definitive movie version of Deadpool, and he managed to make it happen after some major setbacks (not least of which was his portrayal of a very mishandled Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine). And now we all get to enjoy the benefits of that long and bumpy journey, finally seeing a feature film that allows Deadpool and Wolverine to appear alongside one another.

Deadpool has been struggling. He has, in fact, hung up the suit, unable to find a way to actually matter. There is a way though. He is called to the Time Variance Authority, aka the TVA, by Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden). Deadpool can be part of something bigger, he can matter, or he can stay alongside the people he cares about until his universe is soon destroyed, a necessary measure due to it beginning to die after the loss of Wolverine. Deadpool thinks that jumping into various timelines to find any other Wolverine to bring back into his world may stop the pending destruction of his own universe, but things become even more complicated when our (anti-)heroes end up in The Void, a place full of discarded personalities, basically ruled over by the powerful Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).

While writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick return to work on the screenplay with Reynolds, they are also joined this time around by Zeb Wells and director Shawn Levy. Levy has worked with Reynolds on a few different projects I have thoroughly enjoyed (although I know that some others have not enjoyed any non-Deadpool content from Reynolds in years), but his relatively tame and safe style makes him an unusual choice for this. It ultimately doesn't matter much though, because it's still Reynolds seemingly driving this iconoclast-mobile right through the middle of Marvel Main Street. A better director might have improved this, which would have helped, but the many jokes and cameos, the many Deadpool one-liners, and the simple joy of seeing our merc with the mouth finally sharing the screen with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine will keep most comic-book fans very happy. It's still difficult to argue against the Deadpool movies being a series of diminishing returns though. I loved the first, really enjoyed the second, and enjoyed this extra-silly final adventure (well, I assume this is a final adventure . . . because I struggle to think of how you do a better send-off for the character).

That is how this film works best, a send-off to some beloved characters. Aside from our titular leads, there are many others who get some time in the limelight (some arguably more deserved than others). Both Reynolds and Jackman remain perfect in their main roles, particularly when doing what they do best, but it's only the latter who can really work with the fleeting moments of real pathos. Not that Reynolds is incapable, but he's hampered by the nature of the character as showcased in the previous two movies built to fit him. Corrin does well with what they're given, and holds their own in one or two great moments with Jackman, but the film only needs them as a supporting villain in between scenes that point the finger at selfish and inconsiderate suits, headed up by Macfadyen, who bugger things up by meddling with timelines and discarding elements no longer deemed profitable. As for everyone else, Rob Delaney is as enjoyable as he has been in almost everything he's done, but I won't mention anyone else in case that ruins the fun and surprises for other viewers. Rest assured, however, there are some fantastic little turns from some very familiar faces, and a scene-stealing dog.

Deadpool & Wolverine will be a smash hit (it already is, judging from the figures for the opening weekend), and I will certainly revisit it as much as I revisit the other films in the series, or maybe I'll just revisit favourite sequences, but it's an adorable mess. The opening sequence is fantastic, there's a great fight in the middle, and a fairly satisfying . . . climax (*insert wink at reader here*). I'm just not sure how much fun the cameos will be once you know who is due to appear though, and some of the gags start to feel a bit tiresome after they have been repeated so often.

Does this clean things up for Marvel, or does it ultimately make things even messier? Does it really matter at all? I don't think so, and that has always been part of the appeal of the Deadpool movies. It's about enjoying the company of people who relish playing in the particular sandbox that they've been allocated. And, whatever you think of the end result, Reynolds has always put in maximum effort.

6/10

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