I'll be honest, short films usually aren't of utmost importance to me in my day to day life. Not that I don't respect the craft or anything, it's just not very often I view one that really stands out or sticks with me. Obviously, I'm writing this because Round Table Pictures and Jennifer Nicole Stang's The Whistler is one of the few short films that has stuck with me for over a year now, and I'm very excited to learn it's now streaming on Shudder!
Inspired by the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning, The Whistler tells the story of Lindsey (Karis Cameron) who is forced to babysit her younger sister Becky (Baya Ipatowicz) one night. After falling asleep, Lindsey awakens to find her sister missing. Someone has taken Becky and may be after Lindsey as well.
"Our intention with The Whistler was to portray a classic horror story of a night of babysitting gone wrong with an original Pied Piper like monster who has been stealing children since the founding colonies of America in the 1600s," said Stang. "It’s a suggestive piece that evokes questions about the time-old theme of purity and sin; a theme, that despite ideological changes, remains strong. I hope that viewers enjoy putting the pieces together and are surprised by a few jump scares as well."
Co-produced by Karen Wong and Sasha Filipovich, the film has been awarded accolades on the festival circuit as well as receiving great reviews from critics all around the web.
In my 2018 review out of Blood in the Snow, I wrote The Whistler is "a creepy little tale that deserves a feature film expansion," and I stand by that! Get on it Hollywood!
Check out the trailer below, and in celebration of Women in Horror Month, you can use promo code "WIHM20" at Shudder.com for a free month of premium horror streaming!