Writer/director Nicholas Tomnay’s What You Wish For caught me off guard several times, and for best results, I recommend going as cold as possible into this horror feature that also serves up social commentary. I certainly won’t spoil any of its intrigue here.
Ryan (Nick Stahl), deep in debt to the wrong kind of people to whom to owe large amounts of money, flies to rural Latin America to meet his friend and roommate from their culinary school days, Jack (Brian Groh), after not seeing each other for 12 years. Jack is currently seemingly living the high life as a private chef, being flown from one country to another by his bosses and given lavish places to live as he prepares event dinners for high-end clients. Although Ryan envies Jack’s extravagant lifestyle — including his bank balance, at which Ryan gets a peek — Jack seems to be in a rather gloomy state of mind, and when events lead to Ryan filling in for Jack at an upcoming dining event, Ryan soon finds out why.
Although the social issues at play, which include the rich exploiting the poor, are somewhat obvious in their presentation and have been similarly examined in other films, What You Wish For still packs a wallop as it blindsides viewers at first and then dishes out some intriguing twists as it unfolds. Tomnay paces the suspense well, and he is aided by note-perfect performances from Stahl, Groh, and a sizable cast that also includes Tamsin Topolski as no-nonsense event coordinator Imogene, Juan Carlos Messier as her assistant Maurice, Penelope Mitchell as globetrotter Alice, and Randy Vasquez as Detective Ruiz.
What You Wish For is a nailbiting chiller that delivers its social commentary and its philosophical message — at which the film’s title hints — with dashes of dark humor. Strongly recommended for fear-fare fans of all stripes.
WHAT YOU WISH FOR screens as part of A Night of Horror International Film Festival, which runs September 28–October 1, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit http://www.anightofhorror.com/.
Magnet Releasing will release WHAT YOU WISH FOR in theaters and on VOD May 31, 2024.
