Wish Upon (2017)

“Be careful what you wish for….”

I was completely unaware of 2017’s Wish Upon until I decided to do a random “horror” search on Peacock one night. The film, which stars Joey King, tells the story of Clare Shannon (King) and her use of a sinister Chinese wish box that her father (Ryan Phillippe) unwittingly gives her as an early birthday present. Clare is granted seven wishes, each which comes with a deadly price. For every wish granted, someone that Clare is close to must die. After her final wish, the demon living inside of the box will claim Clare’s soul.

While it was little more than a blip at the box office in July of 2017, I really enjoyed Wish Upon. The film feels a lot like an amalgamation of the classic Wishmaster films (minus the Djinn) and the more recent Final Destination franchise. Like Wishmaster, each wish comes at a cost, and very much like Final Destination, almost all of the deaths feature a strange series of events that lead to the brutal death of a character.

Unlike a lot of modern teenager horror films, the cast of young characters is very likeable. Joey King does a really good job as Clare. She spirals into a sort of mad desperation once she realizes what her wishes are doing to others. Stranger Things alum Shannon Purser co-stars as one of Clare’s best friends, June, and The Walking Dead‘s Sydney Park co-stars as her other bestie, Meredith. Ryan Phillippe has a supporting role as Clare’s father and Twin Peaks star Sherilyn Fenn appears as Clare’s loving and friendly neighbor, Mrs. Deluca. Also appearing in the film are Josephine Langford, Mitchell Slaggert, Elisabeth Rohm, and Kevin Hanchard. Ki Hong Lee has a major supporting role as Ryan, a young man that attends Clare’s school who has a crush on her and helps her decipher the wording on the wish box by introducing her to his cousin, Gina (Alice Lee). Also look for a cameo by Jerry O’Connell.

The film was ill-received by critics, but I believe that is due to the fact that it heavily resembles Final Destination and also suffers in a few spots with bad dialogue. Other than those two misfires, this film is very enjoyable in my opinion. Give it a look if you currently subscribe to Peacock and enjoy films like Final Destination or other teen horror flicks.

Thanks for checking out my review!