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Looking for the best horror movies on Tubi? Try Wish Upon.
It is one of those psychological, paranormal horror films that, for me, felt like a mind-bending experience informed by Final Destination, Donnie Darko, or even Hellraiser.
Like the latter, it’s also a cursed object story, and a movie of this kind is very nice to watch now and then.
The film effectively weaves together elements of supernatural horror with the increasingly popular multiverse concept, creating something that feels both familiar and refreshingly innovative.
I think I’ll give it credit as being one of the first horror movies based on the multiverse theory I’ve watched.
This approach to horror storytelling opens up fascinating possibilities for exploring consequence and choice, themes that run deep throughout the film’s narrative structure.
I don’t believe in the multiverse and infinite timelines idea. Still, we can’t deny that it’s an amusing concept and provides rich food for thought if you’re inclined toward that kind of theoretical framework.
The beauty of Wish Upon lies in how it uses this concept not as a gimmick, but as a genuine storytelling device that amplifies the horror elements rather than overshadowing them.
The Story That Hooks You
A girl, Clare (Joey King), lives with her scavenging father (Ryan Phillippe), a man whose life has been marked by tragedy and economic hardship.
The father finds a cursed object during one of his scavenging runs through affluent neighborhoods, searching through discarded items for anything of value.
He takes the cursed music box home and gives it as a present to his daughter, unaware that he’s introducing an ancient evil into their already troubled lives.
The music box, covered in Chinese characters that Clare can’t read, becomes her ticket to everything she’s ever wanted.
Repeatedly using the thing to fulfill all her wishes and becoming something that she wasn’t before—popular in school, wealthy, desired—Clare puts herself in a mess of multiversal proportions.
Each wish granted by the box creates a ripple effect that alters reality in ways both subtle and dramatic, but every gift comes with a price paid in blood.
What makes this premise particularly effective is how it taps into universal teenage desires while exploring the darker implications of getting everything you want.
Clare’s transformation from social outcast to popular girl feels authentic because Joey King brings genuine vulnerability to the role, making us understand why she’d be tempted by the box’s power even as we see the mounting cost of her choices.
Character Development and Performances
The cast plays a group of teenagers, and I think there’s something about young actors that makes a movie special when they’re allowed to bring authentic emotion to their roles rather than simply hitting typical horror movie beats.
The energy they bring feels genuine and unforced, which is crucial for a film that asks us to invest in teenage characters facing supernatural consequences.
The young actors playing the unlikable gang with whom the lead interacts portray a believably toxic high school clique.
They capture that particular brand of teenage cruelty that feels both casual and devastating—the kind of social dynamics that would drive someone like Clare to desperate measures.
Their performances avoid the cartoonish quality that often plagues teen horror films, instead presenting characters who feel like real people you might have encountered in high school.
The characterization of her love interest (Ki Hong Lee) is spot on. The skater boy he plays may appear somewhat generic on the surface, but the performance and attention to detail—the clothes are right, the mannerisms authentic—help with believability.
Lee brings a laid-back charm to the role that makes it understandable why Clare would want to impress him, while also showing enough depth to suggest there’s more beneath the surface.
Joey King herself delivers a compelling performance as Clare, effectively showing her character’s evolution from desperate outsider to confident popular girl, then to someone increasingly horrified by the consequences of her actions.
She manages to keep Clare sympathetic even as her choices become more questionable, which is essential for maintaining audience engagement throughout the film’s darker turns.
The Multiverse Concept and Horror Logic
The logic of the story is very nicely executed, and I liked the script in general.
The multiverse concept isn’t used as a way to excuse plot inconsistencies or create easy outs for the characters.
Instead, it serves as a framework for exploring how our choices create consequences that ripple outward in ways we can’t always predict or control.
The film demonstrates that with each wish Clare makes, she’s not just changing her immediate circumstances—she’s fundamentally altering the reality around her, often in ways that harm the people she cares about most.
This creates a mounting sense of dread as we realize that there’s no simple way to undo what’s been done.
The horror comes not just from the supernatural elements but from the psychological weight of realizing that our desires can become instruments of destruction.
It’s more movies like this that a horror-watching audience wants to see—films that use supernatural elements to explore deeper themes rather than simply providing cheap scares.
The movie succeeds in creating an atmosphere where the fantastic elements feel grounded in emotional truth, making the horror more impactful because it connects to real human experiences and desires.
Horror Aesthetics and Atmosphere
This movie is one of those stories with a big “what if” that is expressed in a way that gives great opportunities to incorporate horror aesthetics, and the filmmakers don’t waste those opportunities.
The visual design of the music box itself is particularly effective—ornate and beautiful, but with an underlying sense of wrongness that becomes more apparent as the story progresses.
The film creates genuinely unnerving moments through its exploration of how reality can shift in subtle but disturbing ways.
There are scenes where familiar environments become slightly wrong in ways that are hard to pinpoint but impossible to ignore.
These moments of displaced reality create a sense of unease that builds throughout the film, culminating in some genuinely creepy sequences that stay with you after the credits roll.
The horror works because it’s rooted in the psychological rather than relying solely on jump scares or gore. While there are certainly moments of violence and shock, the most effective scares come from the gradual realization of what Clare has unleashed and the mounting impossibility of stopping it.
Thematic Depth: Addiction and Consequence
The subtext of this movie deals with addiction and its hellish consequences.
The wish-granting box functions as a perfect metaphor for addictive behavior—it grants you what you want most, but it exacts payments that grow increasingly steep.
Clare’s relationship with the box mirrors the cycle of addiction: the initial high of getting what she’s always wanted, followed by the crash when she realizes the cost, and then the compulsive return to the source of both pleasure and pain.
Of course, even though more mature themes inform its narrative, this movie is not as crude, and its themes are not as mature as those found in films like Hellraiser or other adult-oriented horror.
The film maintains a teen-friendly approach while still exploring genuinely dark territory, which is a strength rather than a limitation.
Final Verdict
I endorse Wish Upon as being an above-average horror movie that deserves consideration from serious genre fans.
Those who love the multiverse theme should by all means watch this movie.
Like I wrote at the beginning, it has a lot of the conceptual complexity found in films like Primer, but is not as hard to understand as that movie.
The film makes its high-concept elements accessible without dumbing them down, which is a difficult balance to achieve.
Wish Upon succeeds as both a supernatural horror film and a coming-of-age story about the dangers of getting everything you think you want.
It’s a film that works on multiple levels and deserves recognition as more than just another teen-oriented horror movie.
In an era where horror cinema is increasingly sophisticated and willing to tackle complex themes, Wish Upon stands as a solid example of how genre filmmaking can be both entertaining and thoughtful.
Other Mindbending Horror Movies on Tubi?
Do you know any other horror movies on Tubi that pull the rug from under your feet like this one? Please let us know in the comments.
Media Credits
Netflix
Tubi
© Bholenath Valsan 2020-2025 — Wish Upon Review — Horror Movies on Tubi
