Movie: Wish Upon

 

Production Year: 2017

 

Tubi Provided Summary: After she’s given a mysterious music box, Clare soon realizes that all her wishes are coming true. But there’s a dark cost associated with each wish.

 

Film Can Be Accessed At: https://tubitv.com/movies/563177/wish-upon?start=true

 

Does This Movie Pass The Bechdel Test: Yes

 

Character Analysis:

  • Clare: Main character, very indecisive, emotional
  • June: Levelheaded, smart, kind
  • Meredith: Stubborn, masculine, impulsive
  • Jonathan: Sweet, loving, lonely

Minor Characters

  • Ryan
  • Paul
  • Darcie
  • Tyler
  • Lola
  • Carl
  • Mrs. Deluca
  • Gina
  • Uncle August

 

Death Analysis

  • Uncle August: First to die, moderate death scene, hist his head twice in the tub, killed bu Clare’s wish
  • Mrs. Deluca: Second to die, extended death scene, hair stuck in the garbage disposal and pulled until she died, killed by Clare’s wish
  • Gina: Third to die, quick death scene, trips and is skewered through the face by the horn of a bull statue, killed by Clare’s wish
  • Meredith: Fourth to die, moderate death scene, crushed in an elevator, killed by Clare’s wish
  • Jonathan: Sixth to die, quick death scene, decapitated with a chainsaw, killed by Clare’s wish
  • Clare: Seventh, final, and only character to stay dead, quick death scene, hit by a car, killed by Darcie via the spirit of the wish box

 

Survival Analysis

*Due to Clare wishing everything would go back, all deaths preceding hers are reversed*

  • June
  • Meredith
  • Jonathan
  • Ryan
  • Paul
  • Darcie
  • Tyler
  • Lola
  • Carl
  • Mrs. Deluca
  • Gina
  • Uncle August

 

Final Statistics:

Character Sex Ratio: 7 Females: 6 Males

Character Survivor Ratio: 6 Female: 6 Males (not including ambiguous characters)

Character Death Ratio: 14.3% of Females to 0% of Males (not including ambiguous characters)

 

Final Takeaways: 

Wish Upon, while lacking in originality and non-cringeworthy characters, offers a fairly diverse cast of characters and deaths for each character. Deaths ranged in gore, gender, and even race. Characters were a range of races, body types, and masculine or feminine traits. Most deaths were either just off-screen or less gory than other films. This gave the deaths more meaning than simply the scare factor. This made Wish Upon stand out from other films that warn of the possible effects of dreaming for something more in life. 

Clare falls victim to the trope of getting in too deep and letting the box control her even when she finds out what her wishes are doing and what the box has done. In addition to this, most feminine characters were reduced to their relationships with men, were written as overly catty, or had gruesome death scenes. This was not the same for more masculine characters who were depicted as having lives outside of their relationships with women such as school and friends. Because of this analysis through the Sex Role perspective, as well as Wish Upon passing the Bechdel Test, this film offers an interesting film but falls slightly flat when it comes to progressive representation. 

Shared by: Ariana Nichols
Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video