‘Whistle’ Exclusive Interview: Dafne Keen

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dafne Keen about her work on ‘Whistle’, her first reaction to the screenplay and the movie’s extensive gore, falling in love with the horror genre, her character’s traumatic past, working with actors Sophie Nélisse and Nick Frost, and director Corin Hardy’s vision for the project.

Related Article: Dafne Keen Talks ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and Returning as Laura / X-23

Dafne Keen as “Chrys Willet” in the horror film, ‘Whistle’, an IFC and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of IFC and Shudder.

Moviefone: To begin with, this is a super gory and violent movie. What was your first reaction to the screenplay and did the gore read on the page?

Dafne Keen: Absolutely. The way Owen Egerton wrote it was so descriptive and wonderful. That was something that really sold me on it because I’d never done horror and I was very scared of horror before I did this film. But I really loved how beautiful the deaths were. They were very gory, but they were described in a poetic and stunning way. Then the way that Corin brought it to life was so wonderful, because Corin comes from an art background, so he was very much focused on making it as practical as possible. I really enjoyed the whole gore aspect of it, even though notoriously, according to all my friends and my family, everyone knows that I’ve never been a horror girl, but I was loving it.

Director Corin Hardy on the set of ‘Whistle’. Courtesy of Michael Gibson. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release.

MF: Since you were not a fan of the genre before you made the movie, are you now, and was it fun making a horror movie?

DK: Yeah, it was so fun. I had the best time. I’m now a huge fan of horror. I would like to credit a lot of my love for horror to this film. A lot of it to one of the actors in it, who’s a good friend of mine in Percy Hynes White, who heard that I didn’t like horror and he was like, “We’re going to give you a horror crash course”. So, we had a little movie night and we watched ‘The Exorcist’ and he gave me a whole list. He was like, “These are the gold standards of horror films, and you need to watch them.” Since then, I’m now a huge horror fan. But the reason why I really loved the project was because it felt so character driven, and I loved Ellie and Chrys’ relationship. I thought it was such a beautiful love story and it really stuck out to me. I think it so important to write queer stories that aren’t focused on the queerness of it. It just felt like it was a love story and they happened to be queer. But they could have been straight, and it would have been the same story. There was something so beautiful about the queer joy in it and Chrys is such a beautiful character. I thought that all the characters were so defined and special that I read the script and it was a no brainer.

Dafne Keen as “Chrys Willet” in the horror film, ‘Whistle’, an IFC and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of IFC and Shudder.

MF: Can you talk about the trauma that Chrys is dealing with at the beginning of the movie and how it literally haunts her throughout the film?

DK: I think that is a great question because that’s a huge part of who Chrys is and how we meet Chrys. I think at the beginning when we find her, she thinks that that history is detrimental to her. She’s kind of a worse person for it, like she’s worse for wear. I think falling in love with Ellie makes her realize that that’s made her grow and that that’s made her into so much more of a wonderful and compassionate person because of it. I think that’s so important. It was so interesting to dive into it and I had so many conversations with Corin about what that would look like and how did we want to portray Chrys’ drug addiction and her grief in a way that wouldn’t feel exploitative or overt. I’m a big fan of not telling the audience things and just showing them. I think it was important to me to not be so like, “She’s ruined because of it.” But instead, be like, “There is hope and you can come out of it.” As someone who lost someone very important to them quite young, I know that it’s very tough and it’s very grueling, but you do come out of it, and I feel so much better. I think death really gives you a perspective on life in a way and those first few years are tough, but eventually you find an expression for all that love that you had for that person. I think what’s so beautiful about this film is that Chrys discovers that love and that pain that she’s feeling inside her hasn’t just gone to waste because she’s lost her father, she can still feel love for someone and still have that love for her father and not have it be detrimental to her as a person, you don’t have to be self-destructive. That was an important thing for me to tell. Owen wrote it in such a beautiful way, and filming all that stuff with Sophie was beautiful and cathartic and wonderful.

(L to R) Sophie Nélisse and Dafne Keen in the horror film, ‘Whistle’, an IFC and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of IFC and Shudder.

MF: What was it like working with Sophie Nélisse as a scene partner to make the relationship between Ellie and Chrys seem authentic on screen?

DK: It was the best. Sophie and I are now good friends, I’d say she’s one of my closest friends. She’s just so wonderful and it was honestly love at first sight. We were in this terrifying hotel that I’m convinced was haunted. We’d gotten each other’s numbers somehow and she’d messaged me being like, “Hey, I’m at the hotel. I’m terrified. Do you mind sleeping over?” I was like, thank God because I’d just acquired a knife to put under my pillow as I too, was terrified. So, we slept over and then basically we lived with each other. Like I low-key moved into her hotel room and she was my best friend throughout the whole process. I remember the next day we had a rehearsal with Corin and we went in there and we were rehearsing, but Sophia and I were just laughing back and forth. Corin was like, “We don’t need to be here. You guys already have all this chemistry. There’s no need to be doing this.” The whole way through we were kind of in love with each other and it was so easy. We had to do a kissing scene and we were like, “Can’t wait.” We had the best time on it. It was so fun.

Nick Frost in ‘Whistle’, an IFC and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of IFC and Shudder.

MF: You have a few scenes with Nick Frost. What was it like working with him and is he cracking jokes in between takes?

DK: Yes, he’s so funny. We were genuinely all dying of laughter. I remember specifically Ali Skovbye, who plays Grace, and I kept looking at each other and breaking because the way he would deliver his lines was so funny and in between takes, he was just cracking jokes. I was literally phoning my dad every five minutes because, obviously I’m British and my dad’s British, and I’m like, “Dad, you don’t understand, I’m working with Nick Frost.” But it was so cool and he’s lovely and he’s kind of normal and humble. He’s just chill and charming, and so good at what he does. He’s one of those people that you get on set and you’re like, “Wow, you’re talented. You’re just good at what you do.” Do you know what I mean? He’s such a solid scene partner and we had a fun time.

Director Corin Hardy and Dafne Keen on the set of ‘Whistle’. Courtesy of Michael Gibson. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release.

MF: Finally, what was it like collaborating on set with director Corin Hardy and watching him execute his vision for this project?

DK: He’s the best. Corin’s so passionate, which is special and kind of rare. He’s so detail oriented. He’s just so wonderful and he’s got a fascinating brain. I always loved going up to him when we were doing something and be like, “Hey, what do you think about this?” Because he was so passionate about the project that he’d have this whole thing thought through. I’d be like, “Oh, that makes complete sense.” He was so kind. He was so loving to all of us, and he was just a great leader. He tried to make us all feel comfortable and happy and to make this experience, which could have been intense and kind of grueling, as enjoyable for all of us as possible. So, he was just so perfect and he’s so good at what he does. He’s just so talented.

‘Whistle’ opens in theaters on February 6th.

What is the plot of ‘Whistle’?

A group of high school misfits inadvertently come across an ancient Aztec death whistle. Blowing it summons their future deaths to hunt them down. As the body count increases, they investigate the artifact’s history in hopes of halting the sequence of events they have set into motion.

Who is in the cast of ‘Whistle’?

• Dafne Keen as Chrys
• Sophie Nélisse as Ellie
• Sky Yang as Rel
• Jhaleil Swaby as Dean
• Alissa Skovbye as Grace
• Percy Hynes White as Noah Haggerty
• Nick Frost as Mr. Craven
• Michelle Fairley as Ivy Raymore

Dafne Keen as “Chrys Willet” in the horror film, ‘Whistle’, an IFC and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of IFC and Shudder.

List of Dafne Keen Movies and TV Shows:

‘Buy Tickets: ‘Whistle’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Dafne Keen Movies On Amazon