Wish Upon

This movie has it's ups and it's downs. There were some really great suspense scenes, while others where painfully obvious. I feel like they should've spend just a little bit more time on it, to work out the kinks.

Overall I would still recommend you to see it and don't give up on it too soon. There is some really great stuff in there. It's been a while since a movie genuinely had me on the edge of my seat, which completely made up for the bad parts.

Wish Upon is a typical teenager horror movie. High school kids will probably enjoy this flick more than adults. The only thing I liked about it was the different ways of dying in it. That was creative. But the problem is that there is no element of surprise at all. You all see it coming and that makes a movie without any suspense. And for a good horror movie you need a bit of suspense. The acting is what it is, just average. The story isn't that bad but with the lack of suspense it all feels a bit boring. I would probably have liked this movie more when I was sixteen but unfortunately (or not?) I'm not anymore. But there are way worse movies than this one that's for sure, but also way better, luckily!

Wish Upon is a horror tale that tells the story of a mysterious Chinese music box that grants seven wishes, but at a price.

Starring the adorable Joey King alongside Ryan Phillippe and Elisabeth Rohm it's an original piece, though clearly influenced by the classic tale of the monkeys paw. Thankfully I like that old tale so was excited to see what new twists they brought to the table, and quite frankly I walked away happy though some influence came from Final Destination (2000) as well.

It's a well constructed, suitably paced movie with a fantastic cast and more than a sprinkle of good ideas. I find Joey King very likeable, not only the fact that she's adorable but she's a competent actress with hopefully a great career ahead of her and it's about time Phillippe returned to form.

If you like alternative horror that doesn't rely on a dude with a knife, ghosts, big scary monsters or demonic themes then this may well be for you. There were elements that left me scratching my head but nothing that wasn't forgivable.

Well worth a watch.

The Good:

Fantastic cast

Solid concept

The Bad:

Dreadful cover art

Couple of loose ends

'WISH UPON': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new supernatural horror flick about a girl that gets a strange music box from her father, that she realizes will grant her seven wishes. She also later learns though, that there's a very violent and horrific price for every wish. The film was directed by John R. Leonetti (who's also helmed other horror flicks like 'ANNABELLE' and 'THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2'), and it was written by Barbara Marshall (who also wrote the horror flick 'VIRAL', from last year). The movie stars Joey King, Ryan Phillipe, Elisabeth Rohm, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Shannon Purser, Mitchell Slaggert and Sherilyn Fenn. The screenplay was voted to the 2015 Black List, and the film was made on a budget of just $12 million. It's received mostly mediocre reviews from critics, and viewers, but I enjoyed it.

Clare Shannon (King) is a high school student that's constantly picked on by the popular girls at school, and she's also severely embarrassed by her 'dumpster diving' father (Phillipe). Her mother (Rohm) committed suicide too, when Clare was young, and Clare is still traumatized by it. Then one day her dad brings her home a mysterious music box, that he found in a dumpster, which says it will grant her seven wishes. Clare decides to entertain the fantastical idea, and then she's amazed when her wishes start coming true. Then Clare becomes haunted by the box though, when people start dying (seemingly) as a result of her making wishes.

I enjoy horror movies, especially really good quality thrillers, but even B-horror flicks too. This is definitely a B-horror movie, but for me it was a lot of fun. I could really relate to Clare, and the concept of the movie is really interesting to me as well. I'd even go see a sequel (which the film is definitely set up for). The death scenes also reminded me a lot of the 'FINAL DESTINATION' franchise, which I also liked (at least at first). I think this is a horror movie that most B-horror fans can enjoy (like I definitely did).

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I dug around for this movie because it has Joey King in the lead role and I think she is one of the better young actresses today. I got it on BluRay from my public library.

Early on we see that the mother apparently hung herself. No explanation why. The daughter (King) grows into a high school teen with usual teen difficulties. But her dad is a "picker" and brings home some sort of ancient Chinese box, it looks like a music box but she can't open it. We soon find out it grants wishes, as many as seven. But there is a price, for each wish a loved one dies.

Eventually this creates all kinds of problems for the girl and she has to figure out a way to undo them. It turns more difficult than she ever imagined.

I enjoyed this movie, King of course does a great job, and the last scene was quite unexpected. Then there is another short scene during the credits. Overall a bit better than its current IMDb rating would suggest.

Of note, it was written by a woman.