The Final Wish

The Final Wish is a 2018 mystery-horror film directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. and written by Jeffrey Reddick (who also co-produced), William Halfon, and Jonathan Doyle. The cast includes Lin Shaye and Michael Welch. Cinedigm Entertainment Group handled distribution, and the movie premiered on October 17, 2018 at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival.

The story centers on Aaron Hammond, a law school graduate struggling with his finances and his father’s recent death. While sorting through his late father’s belongings, he finds an antique urn. Unaware that it contains a malevolent spirit that grants wishes, Aaron accidentally releases it. His offhand wishes trigger a chain of horrific events. For example, he wishes his mother, Kate, would forget his father to help her move on; instead, she loses all memory and is found dancing with her husband’s corpse. Aaron later learns from an antique dealer that the urn may be a Dybbuk box from Jewish folklore. A previous owner, William, who killed his wife and cut out his own tongue, warns Aaron not to make a seventh wish or he will lose his soul. The spirit taunts Aaron, leading to further tragedy: his mother hangs herself, his friend Jeremy is revealed to have died a year earlier, and a wish meant to protect his friend Lisa results in her accidental death. In a final attempt to undo the damage, Aaron wishes he had died the day a friend’s car hit him. He wakes up the next day, but soon realizes his soul is trapped in a mirror. The film ends with Kate giving the urn to Lisa at a yard sale, suggesting the curse continues.

The cast includes Lin Shaye as Kate Hammond, Michael Welch as Aaron Hammond, Melissa Bolona as Lisa, Spencer Locke as Lynette, Tony Todd as Colin, Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau as Derek, Jonathan Daniel Brown as Jeremy, Jean Elie as Tyrone, Christopher Murray as Yates, Douglas Tait as Jinn, and Larry Poole as Chester Hammond.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 67% approval rating from 12 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10. Frank Ochieng of SF Crowsnest gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it a psychologically contemplative horror that explores death and estrangement. Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times felt the effective suspense and twists came too late. Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising it as a well-crafted psychological horror with broad genre appeal.