THE FORCE FIVE BLOG.

5 REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH THE WHISTLER (2026)

I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you 5 reasons you might want to watch the 2026 folk horror film The Whistler, directed by Diego Velasco and written by Esteban Orozco, Carolina Paiz and Nacho Palacios.

If you like movies about myths and local legends or you like folk horror, The Whistler might hit the spot. The story revolves around a Venezuelan religious folk legend named Maria Lionza, who in real life is revered as the goddess of nature, love and water who was eaten by an anaconda and exploded out of it. While that doesn’t happen in this film (which is too bad because that would have been rad), it does delve into cults, possession, souls and spirits, so if that sounds like something you’d be into, The Whistler will certainly scratch that itch.

Continuing that theme, reason number 4. The possession scenes are really well done, specifically the first time Nicole, our protagonist, sees this happening. Without spoiling anything, a voice comes from the subject who’s been possessed and I found it really creepy, so if you’re a sucker for a good body takeover scene, you’ll find them here.

Reason number 3, Nicole is played by Diane Guerrero and she does a really great job of portraying a grieving mother who’s trying to hold on after a tragic occurrence just a few years earlier. I knew Diane from her role in Orange is the New Black - and there are a lot of Orange is the New Black DNA here, from the director to the writers, but while I thought she was really good in that show, she never got the chance to really show her acting chops. Here she does the heavy lifting and does it really well. And this is a film about grief at its core, so keep that in mind.

Reason number 2, the movie looks incredible. Credit needs to be given to the film’s cinematographer, Camilo Monsalve, whose composition is really striking in The Whistler. Whether we’re panning shots of sugar cane fields or just flying over the Venezuelan jungle, it looks like a place you’d want to visit, even if people are being disembowled. Much of the film takes place at night and even then it looks really visually arresting. Props to the color grading as well.

Reason number 1 you might want to watch the Whistler, it’s not gory. Despite me saying people are being disemboweled, almost all of the bloody stuff happens off screen, so if you’re super squeamish or you’re just getting into horror films, this could be a good jumping on point. There is blood that you see splattered amongst the sugar cane and onto headlights, stuff like that, but most of the actual gore happens off screen.

If any of those reasons tickle your fancy, check out The Whistler, which you can find in theaters right now. If you’ve already seen The Whistler, what did you think of it? And what’s your favorite folk horror film?  Let me know in the comments below or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com

5 REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH SNIPER: NO NATION (2026)

When I was 12 years old, I rented Sniper from the local video store and I loved it, but I never expected that it would turn into a series, and I certainly never expected that series to be going strong in 2026.

I’m Jason Kleeberg and this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you five reasons you might want to watch Sniper: No Nation.

Reason number 5 is one I already alluded to, but this is the twelfth film in the Sniper franchise, and that alone is wild. Very few franchises make it this far, especially without massive budgets, theatrical releases, or rebooting completely.

But here’s the thing about the Sniper series from the films I’ve seen - these sequels don’t feel like phoned in direct to video films that are just using the name recognition to trick unsuspecting grandpas at the one Red Box still standing outside their neighborhood grocery store. Instead, there’s an effort to evolve the story, to grow the characters and to really construct some well made action scenes. More on that in a bit.

Reason number 4? The cinematography. This movie looks great, way better than most modern direct to video films do, and obviously most of that has to be credited to the cinematographer Brendan Barnes. The camera moves with purpose, the action is clearly shot and while most of the film takes place indoors or in tighter locations, it still looks good. It doesn’t hurt that the director, Trevor Calverley, was the cinematographer on the previous Sniper film, Sniper: The Last Stand.

Reason number 3? The film has some really cool bad guys. The armor they wear is really badass, it reminds me of G.I. Joe and Cobra figures I used to play with when I was little. The aesthetic when they don their helmets is really cool. Immediately they’re shown as being formidable, easily dispatching of several armed soldiers and things obviously ramp up from there when they take several of the GRIT members hostage. They’re only one side of a two sided evil coin, however, and the political aspect featuring the Prime Minister is far less interesting. That being said, they’re not in the movie that much.

At number 2 I’ve got Tom Berenger. I have always liked Tom Berenger on screen and he’s had some really great roles over the years. I’ve loved him as Barnes in Platoon, Jake Taylor in Major League, Shale in one of my favorite late 90’s films, The Substitute, I’ve basically liked him any time I’ve seen him on screen, even in the sequel to Turbulence, Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying. Also, if you haven’t seen the 1977 film Looking for Mr. Goodbar, do yourself a favor and check it out, he’s good in that too. Now he looks like the kind of guy who kicks his boots off, grabs a Coors and falls asleep to Yellowstone reruns in his easy chair - actually, the exact target audience for this movie, but don’t let that fool you. He’s still being Tom Bereneger and he even gets to be a part of the action, this isn’t a Seagal, sit in a chair and act like you’re acting kind of situation.

And the number one reason you might want to check out Sniper: No Nation is because the action scenes are really rad. It starts off a little small scale in my opinion but as the film goes on the action set pieces get bigger and bigger until a big action scene underneath a freeway overpass. Fight scenes feel like they have impact, there are plenty of explosions and sniper kills, and it doesn’t skimp on the gore either. There are several very rewarding moments for action fans here - if you’re interested in seeing some of the deaths, I’ve got a Top 5 Kills in Sniper: No Nation video out as well.

Sniper: No Nation knows the assignment and executes that assignment in spades. If you’re looking to fill an hour and a half with some military entertainment with some crackling action scenes and some fun characters, give this one a shot.

What did you think of this film? And is there a different reason you think people would want to check out Sniper: No Nation? Let me know in the comments below or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.

5 REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH RECKLESS (2026)

Reckless is the feature length debut from Elliott Montello and stars Scott Adkins as Devon, a goofball criminal who’s double crossed by his partners after a heist. After he does his time, he goes after his share of the loot, but finds himself on the run from the cops and the guys who stiffed him.

I’m Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you five reasons you might want to watch Reckless.

At number 5, if you’re a fan of modern British crime films, this one is going to scratch that itch. There’s one aspect that I’ll talk about in a moment that really reminded me of Snatch, but really this feels like it’s got a bit of Guy Ritchie in its DNA, so if you really like those kinds of movies, you’re going to like this one quite a bit. Unlike many British crime movies, however, which tend to look drab and a bit depressing, this film is bright and colorful.

At number 4, the opening heist is really well done. Long time Force Five listeners might remember I did an episode way back on Top 5 Movie Masks and I loved the British flag design of the blank face masks in this opening heist. It’s frantic, it’s kinetic, a bunch of guys shouting over one another as they try to get what they came for. It’s exactly what you want out of a heist scene.

At number 3, the movie has a really cool way of giving you a lot of information in a very short amount of time with these interstitials. I’m not sure what the style here is called but it’s like cut-out stop motion animation and instead of someone giving a voice over or doing it in a boring way, it’s a quick, entertaining way to convey crucial information. For example, the first time it’s used, we find out that Devon went to prison and we learn how he got to be such a good fighter in a funny and visually appealing way.

At number 2, as much as I love Vinnie Jones, I think the most entertaining villain in the movie is an actor I wasn’t familiar with named Mark Strange. He plays Bishop and has not one, but two fight scenes against Scott Adkins. The most memorable thing about him is his mace, which he uses in different ways to get the upper hand. I thought he was a really fun adversary.

And speaking of Scott Adkins, you probably knew it was coming. Any time Scott Adkins is in a movie, I’m excited for it. This movie doesn’t have as many fight scenes as you might be used to in an Adkins movie but that’s because it’s not a straight up actioner, it’s a crime movie. The fight scenes are well shot with a good sense of space and have small elements of comedy sprinkled into them, like a scene where Adkins slips a Build A Bear over a guy’s head to get the upper hand or Bishop fighting him while wearing a Go-Pro. 

So there you have it, five reasons why you might want to check out Reckless from 2026.

If you’ve seen it, what did you think of it? And what’s your favorite Scott Adkins flick? Let me know in the comments below or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.