Review of Wish Upon (2017) by E M — 14 Jul 2017

Stars, birthday candles, fine, wish away, but please, when it comes to suspicious & possibly cursed objects, KEEP ANY & ALL WISHES TO YOURSELF.

WISH UPON.

At 1.5 hours, the film establishes our characters, & moves them through the story at a nice pace, we get backstory when we need it, & nothing feels like filler. I was never board.

The characters were a mixed bag. The lead girl was amazing, she made looking shocked & terrified look really good! Her face was so animated, she felt like a horror comic character made flesh, but she still felt like a normal person. And she really captured how caustic & addictive the power she held was. At times, she looked like a druggy going through withdrawal, it was very powerful. I really hope she keeps getting steady work. The side characters were memorable enough & human enough, that it did hurt when someone died, & the tension between when a wish was made & when a character bit the dust was pretty palpable; I think everyone did a decent job.

The cinematography was the highlight of the film. It makes good use of light & shadow, color change, & outdoor scenery, it made it feel like the curse of the wishes had enveloped the entire town. The music was pretty generic, but it helped differentiate the "normal" world from the nightmare the lead was going through. The effects were simple, practical, & really helped portray the horror of the situation, without excessive gore.

3 stars out've 5, even though it was a pretty standard "be careful what you wish for" & "wishes come at a steep price" tale, it was really well made, entertaining, & left me wanting to know more about the mythology behind the story.