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What it's about:
After her father presents her with a mysterious music box, Clare Shannon is surprised to find her every wish coming true. Her joy slowly morphs into terror as she begins to realise the bloody price of each new wish.
What we thought:
I walk into the cinema. I sit down, Wish Upon begins. I’m alone at the screening, oh well, I think. I’m watching, but also wondering what I’ll be making for dinner tonight, oh and I still need to prep questions for an interview I have to do tonight… Oh and this weekend, so the plans are…. You catch my drift right?
If you’re 13 years old and looking for something to watch while hosting a sleepover party, then Wish Upon is it. It’s not original, it’s not scary, but it will provide some mindless entertainment for a younger audience.
Directed by John R. Leonetti (Annabelle), Wish Upon tells the story of 17-year-old Clare Shannon (Joey King) who lives with her dumpster diving father, Jonathan (Ryan Phillippe). Clare is not popular, and of course the most popular girl in school bullies her, which we see in the first 15 minutes of the film when a fight scene in the cafeteria ensues between the two of them. Not a great life.
But then one day her dad discovers an interesting Chinese music box while dumpster diving which he gives to Clare. Clare knows a bit of Mandarin, so the only words she can understand on the inscribed music box are “seven wishes”. Of course, she jokingly makes quite a hectic wish, and that is that her bully Darcie rots. And darn it, the next day Darcie wakes up with rotting feet and legs. Following her wish, someone close to Clare dies.
Of course you can’t just go around wishing people should rot without any consequences, right? What follow are more typical teenage wishes: money, love and popularity. But they all come with a “blood price”, which Clare only discovers too late.
While the acting in the film isn’t all that bad, the characters are just too boring and one-dimensional for it to work. And the parts that are supposed to be “scary” are grosser than anything else to be honest. There are even some very over-the-top happy scenes in the film, which makes this film a bit confusing as well.
If you’re into wasting your time, then go ahead, but if not, then rather sit this one out.
