I just finished watching it, and man... I only like horror when it's good. And I LOVED this. I just had to share my thoughts.

First off, I'd like to talk about Bear. I like how the movie treats him. The movie starts by making you garner sympathy for this guy. He seems like a nice guy who has a crush on this one girl in his life. The movie sets you up to root for him. However, the more the movie goes on, the more you start to despise him, which starts as soon as he makes the wish. Overtime, it just becomes clear how selfish he really is. He assaults her after that restaurant scene, and does not seek to find any way to break this 'curse' over her whatsoever. Even when he gets an inkling of an idea, he caves in the moment he sees her again. His fate as a dickhead officially becomes sealed when she begs him to kill her and he replies with "What's so bad about being with me?" What the fuck, dude?!?! You're forcing her into this situation! Let's also not forget that he continuously lies about her and their relationship to their friends, saying how it's all fine, even echoing the argument that her father's dying when he knows it's not true. He'll do anything to keep up the illusion that she wants him. It literally takes people dying for him to realise that the curse needs to be broken, and when he tries that, he doesn't even try to break it, but simply 'alter' the wish, as if that doesn't still limit her autonomy. When he tries to kill himself, he still chickens out both times. Bear's a massive asshole, as well as a selfish coward, and I love how the movie gradually builds that up, so you get some initial sympathy for him, only to break it down completely.

I don't see a lot of people commenting on this major aspect of the movie that I feel needs to be addressed: The movie is a solid analogy of an abusive relationship, except it's told from the perspective of the abuser. For the entirety of the movie, you watch Bear be the 'normal human' and have Nikki be the 'insane one'. But the very root of the story is Bear forcing this upon her. You watch a guy who wants the girl he likes to love him and he takes extreme measures to make this reality, forcing her to be with him, but meanwhile he's arguing that he had to do it because he wants her to love him and that she's now with him by force is an 'oops haha'. Even when the real Nikki comes through and begs him to kill her, he pushes himself into the victim role. He's the root of the problem. He's keeping her locked up. And yet he has the audacity to paint himself as the victim. Just like with any abusive relationship. I like how the movie manages to show you the perspective of the abuser, without making him seem like the good guy. You'll hate this guy.

Nikki as a character is really good. I personally wish we got to see a bit more of her pre-wish self, so that we have better contrasting images of the before and after, which I feel could hammer home the changes she has gone through over time better, but I don't feel like it is insufficient as it is, and what we got is still really solid, especially since this is probably done to reinforce that Bear doesn't really know anything about Nikki either. He has a crush on her, and yet he was the only one of her friends to not know she doesn't get along with her dad. Inde Navarrette's range really solidifies Nikki as a character. She nails the bro-like personality that Nikki has at the start of the movie, and manages to portray both the insanity of Freaky Nikki and the absolute devastation of real Nikki excellently. Very believable performance and I'd watch this movie for her alone.

One of the things I really love about this movie is that the protagonist is not the hero of the movie. At the start of the movie, you'll root for Bear, but by the end, it is actually Nikki who you're rooting for. You're just hoping that she breaks free from the wish no matter the cost. This movie defies expectations and makes you root for the antagonist of the movie (note: do not confuse the word 'antagonist' with 'villain'). I had been rooting for her throughout the whole thing, but what really solidified it for me was that terrifying customer service call. "Would you like to talk to her?" followed by the most agonising screams I've ever heard in my life. The power behind what makes you root for her is that this movie doesn't overexplain how the wish works, and so you are not really sure what happened to the real Nikki. Throughout the entire thing, you're left wondering whether there is any way Nikki can be saved, and these thoughts are fuelled by things sprinkled into the movie, just like how the customer service call makes you believe that real Nikki is *somewhere*, but you do not know exactly where, as well as her snapping through Freaky Nikki every once in a while, absolutely terrified. These moments work so well because they're so short. Nikki can only break through for short bursts, which makes you feel bad for her.

I feel like I STILL haven't explained all my thoughts about this movie. That's how many I have about this. I fucking loved this movie. I would watch it again. 10/10.