CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY WOODWARD / SCREENPLAY: JEFFREY REDDICK, WILLIAM HALFON, JONATHAN DOYLE / STARRING: LIN SHAYE, MICHAEL WELCH, KAIWI LYMAN, MELISSA BOLONA / RELEASE: MAY 25TH
The cursed artefact that promises happiness but delivers only disaster to its unfortunate owner. It’s a familiar horror premise that’s given another run-out in this new slow-burn MacGuffin-based horror. The Final Wish does not try to reinvent the template that this sort of tale relies on. But it does take a different approach in prioritising the persona and relationships of its main character over the complexities of its own ‘monkey’s paw’ mythos.
Breaking free of the binds of small-town America, Aaron Hammond (Welch) has been trying to build a life in the big city as a young lawyer. But in both his professional and personal life, his efforts have only been met with rejection and knock-backs. Learning of the death of his father, he returns home and reconnects with the people from his adolescence, while helping his mother (Shaye) adjust to her loss. Amongst the possessions of his antique dealer father, he finds a nondescript urn bearing a strange inscription. Then a series of dramatic events compel Aaron to recognise the memento’s true nature and the danger that he and his family are in from a vengeful, demonic entity.
The story is the work of Jeffrey Reddick, screenwriter for the first two instalments in the Final Destination franchise. But things here do differ from that series’ narrative style. After a pre-title bloodbath, things settle down as most of the first two acts are given over to the travails of Aaron’s life. Few of the people around him seem to value his presence, and he’s soon entangled with the same awkward situations that led him to leave in the first place. As the urn silently grants wishes to Aaron, he’s unaware of its role in the good and the gruesome things happening around him (with even the audience likely to be playing catch-up at this point).
It’s only when family friend and researcher Colin provides the backstory info-dump (Tony Todd delivering an on-point cameo) that the dots are joined, and the significance of the titular “final wish” becomes clear. After all of this preparatory work, the extended pay-off and coda are something of a let-down (Aaron has probably got used to his life under-delivering by now). There are a bellowing demon, some implausible set-pieces and a lot of wonky contrivances that do not stand up to any kind of scrutiny.
There are things to enjoy along the way. Genre stalwart Lin Shaye is predictably good value as Aaron’s emotionally unhinged mother; while Kaiwi Lyman exudes contempt and malevolence in a strong turn as a thuggish lawman. As Aaron, an everyman nursing his disappointments, and weighed down by a sense of obligation, Michael Welch has a quiet believability. There are also some genuine ‘gotcha’ moments in the unfolding plot. But the slow-paced character drama and the thinly rendered curse motifs never properly gel – which makes the plot holes less easy to forgive. The final verdict? It’s watchable. The final wish? Don’t make a sequel.
