Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Nixon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, self-harm, swears in tech-centric teen K-horror.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
If Wishes Could Kill
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Starring a cast of up-and-coming Korean actors, IF WISHES COULD KILL is a horror-themed K-drama about an app called "Girigo" that grants wishes…too bad the cost is the user's life. A group of teens at Seorin High School is rocked to their core when their goofy friend Kyeong-Wook (Lee Hyo-je) shows off the app, innocently wishing to ace his math test. He makes top marks, all right—only to have an inexplicable knife-slashing, foaming-at-the-mouth freakout in class 24 hours later, an event that ends with him in a pool of blood, dead by his own hand. From there, the others have to figure out where this app came from and how they're going to stop it.
Is It Any Good?
It's a familiar formula: something terrible is about to happen, and there's a countdown on how long you have to end it (see: The Ring, Saw). If Wishes Could Kill needed a little more of the "terrible things." It's billed as a YA K–horror, so it's no surprise that teen drama abounds—but the spooky, eye-popping occult-curse stuff is a bit more compelling, and it would have been cool to see more. If you're expecting Train to Busan-level intensity, forget it, but this is still a pretty well-made entry into the "cursed technological object" genre.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about media depictions of teen bullying. Can you think of other movies and TV shows where this was a focus? How did they handle the subject?
Talk about the use of "jump scares" in horror. Do you think they're effective, or a cheap trick? Are there any jump scares from other horror shows you found particularly effective?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 24, 2026
- Cast : Jeon So-young , Hyun Woo-Seok , Jeon So-nee
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : May 11, 2026
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