2023 SCREAMFEST REVIEW!
A chef, Ryan (Nick Stahl), who has had issues with gambling, flees to South America where he takes on another man’s identity. However, this man’s life comes with more baggage than Ryan could have anticipated, and he’s now found himself trapped within a dangerous organization. Ryan had wished for a new life, but it’s important to be careful What You Wish For.
There are a ton of The Menu vibes. The Menu is a brilliant satire that uses the food industry to express the issue both within the industry as well as around the rest of the world. What You Wish For effectively does the same thing, throwing the film’s protagonist into a series of precarious situations that are eerily reminiscent of the harrowing details of that aforementioned film. However, while the film definitely takes into consideration the themes of last year’s hit film, it separates itself, creates something new, and effectively develops a narrative that is quite unlike anything that I’ve seen before. Writer-Director Nicholas Tomnay is riding the coattails of that aforementioned film, but he creates something so distinctly different that What You Wish For ultimately has the chance to entice both fans of that film and an entirely new audience.
I love the brilliant balance of levity and horror that exists throughout the course of What You Wish For, as it never relents, never falters, and constantly finds ways to intrigue viewers from beginning to end. It’s important that Tomnay finds this balance and that he employs it throughout the entirety of the film. Too much horror and the film becomes too heavy, too much comedy and levity and the integrity of the film begins to unravel. What You Wish For brilliantly conveys the importance of its themes, but it dials back the intensity just enough that those on the fence about the horror genre can find their way in and stick around for a while.
While Stahl is effectively the main character of What You Wish For, in a lot of ways this is an ensemble cast. The film relies on a lot of different characters for emotion to make its way to the surface and for the story to work as well as it does. Characters such as Imogene (Tamsin Topolski), Detective Ruiz (Randy Vaqsquez), and Alice (Penelope Mitchell) play pivotal roles in the development of What You Wish For, and even the smallest roles are of great importance to the overall film. Everyone exists in a different place in society, essentially allowing no one to be equal–and the actors’ ability to bring this idea to life and do exactly what was asked of them makes everything clear and enticing from beginning to end.
The decision to use this particular house to shoot the majority of What You Wish For just might be the most important decision of the entire production. The house is massive, and it possesses so many intricate details and hidden spaces that it allows the film crew to constantly find new places to shoot, new ways to create emotion (and even claustrophobia), and effectively draw viewers into the story and Ryan’s world.
ScreamFest has quickly become one of my favorite film festivals to cover, and it’s films like What You Wish For that have allowed my love for it to develop so quickly. Not a second passes in this film where emotion isn’t felt, where the story isn’t being effectively developed, where the characters don’t resonate with viewers–and, again and again, this film found ways to appeal to me. What You Wish For comes just in time for spooky season, and it just might be one of the most intriguing films of the year. Tomnay takes advantage of every opportunity to propel his film forward and achieve new heights–and every moment of this film, even the most inconsequential ones, resonate with viewers.
Written & Directed by Nicholas Tomnay.
Starring Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, Penelope Mitchell, Juan CArlos Messier, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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