If Wishes Could Kill Review: Netflix’s YA Horror Has a Killer Concept That Falls Short of Expectations

If Wishes Could Kill Review: In this chilling, simple and somewhat obvious Korean horror thriller series, audiences are asked a simple question: Would you give your life to make your deepest wish come true?

Following five students in high school, the series showcases their lives spiralling after a haunted app agrees to grant their wishes at a deadly cost.

The YA horror series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 45 minutes.

If Wishes Could Kill Review

Plot & premise

The series follows five teens who come across a fairly simple, silly app called Girigo, which promises to grant their wishes. Although starting quite silly, the app, of course, gets right down to mu*der as a wish granted comes at a cost of their lives. Now the group has to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out the app’s origins to save themselves and others.

The premise is quite similar to Countdown, Wish Upon, or even the Unfriended franchise, focusing on a curse spreading through technology and finding its origin, ending it. The blend of supernatural horror, teen drama and psychological thriller keeps things interesting and fresh as there’s a lot to focus on throughout the runtime of the series.

Direction & tone

Director Park Youn-seo creates a thrilling and immersive experience, and the tense storytelling balances horror and character-driven storytelling quite well. The atmosphere is stunning, and the series plays & light and dark and reality & fiction so well that viewers will find themselves trying to figure out whether this is a demon’s doing or if reality is truly this scary! The ticking countdown makes the story even more tense, as time is of the essence, and the rising body count adds to it.

Moreover, the ritualistic imagery and the occult lore in the storytelling are fantastic. It adds to the creepiness of the entire thing, and the way it is presented is extremely realistic. However, considering this is a teen drama, it isn’t able to hold on to the pacing or the tone consistently. The emotional beats are stretched out instead of key mythological explanations, which should’ve been the more important thing to focus on. This makes the story in general feel underdeveloped, as petty drama doesn’t have the same weight as demons coming to haunt you.

Themes & writing

The themes in If Wishes Could Kill feel realistic. Focusing on desire, consequences and teenage angst and vulnerability, the series does a great job of showcasing the real problem at the bottom of the madness. From the impulsiveness of youth and the insecurities that are amplified in the teenage years, the series tries to keep things real even when showcasing ghosts and whatnot. It also explores how far people are willing to go to get validation, which is an important topic of conversation in today’s age.

However, the wish for a price concept is nothing new; if you’re a horror fan, you might be able to figure out what’s going on from the first minute. The show grounds itself with friendship and guilt, but is never able to really terrify viewers because, at its core, the concept is quite stale. That being said, its themes are what are compelling, even though the series stumbles to explore the deeper philosophical implications of its premise. It’s interesting, but just on the surface.

Performances

Jeon So-young and Kang Mi-na are both great in their roles. All five protagonists are surprisingly vulnerable, although Mi-na’s Na-ri has a complexity that should’ve been explored more. She’s the only one who finds herself at a crossroads and is also the reason why this teen drama has some depth to it. The other actors are great, but their characters fail to bring any complex emotions to the surface. They all fit a mould that you struggle to get out of, considering there’s very little outside the box.

What works

The series looks and feels quite addictive and terrifying. It’s easy to get hooked and binge the entire series in one go. The effective atmosphere adds to the tension, and the performances hold viewers’ attention on the screen. The emotional stakes and the characters’ vulnerability are believable, and viewers will find themselves rooting for the kids to succeed in the end.

What doesn’t

Despite a strong premise, If Wishes Could Kill is unable to get beneath the surface and stops itself from being anything more than a wish for a price thriller. It has bursts of layers, and the themes are interesting, but it sometimes focuses too hard on the drama and less so on the mythological backstory. The latter is one of the most interesting parts of the show, but it goes by too quickly. The characters, other than Na-ri, feel underdeveloped and one-dimensional, which also takes away from making viewers think too deeply.

Final Thoughts

In the end, If Wishes Could Kill is engaging and does what it sets out to do. However, it is cliched and horror fans will be able to figure out where it is going from a mile out. It doesn’t reinvent the genre by any means, but there’s enough suspense and eerie intrigue to hold your attention and keep you binge-watching.

What are your thoughts on If Wishes Could Kill? Let us know in the comments below!

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