I recognize fully well that the writing and special effects of the movie within a movie are intended to be ham-handed and over the top. The thing is, this feature itself isn't too far removed from those same vibes. The plot initially impresses as purely an invention of movie magic, with no explanation given for why "the wisher" should latch onto protagonist Mary - and once the truth is revealed, it feels like it falls somewhere between Standard Slasher and Lifetime Original Movie. The characters and large swaths of the dialogue are customary, often juvenile High School pablum. I can forgive recognizable ideas borrowed from other stories, but beyond that, even as it throws a number of ideas at us - some of them very good! - it's a little familiar and predictable. Meanwhile, the dialogue, music, characters, direction, and overall tone all date very distinctly to the late 90s/early 2000s. Even smaller inclusions somewhat bewilder - why does the school counselor have a lava lamp in his office? Why does the school have a slushie machine that freely available to students? Why does the counselor meet with Mary in the school gym instead of his office? This is to say nothing of the attempts by the filmmakers to jump onto the bandwagon and emphasize the Internet as much as they can at a time when the web was first truly beginning to flourish as a cultural staple.
I don't think 'Spliced,' also known as 'The wisher,' is altogether bad, but this also doesn't make it easy to earnestly engage with. The blood, gore, and stunts and effects look great. I like the costume design for "the wisher," and in a more general sense I appreciate the hair and makeup work. I'd love to see the cast in other films, as I trust they'd prove themselves, though here it really seems like they're forced into a corner, whether by Ellen Cook's screenplay, Gavin Wilding's direction, or both. Suitable narrative ideas are at first thrown out somewhat haphazardly; I acknowledge that this may have been intentional, feeding the audience multiple concepts so as to throw us off from what the precise course of events may be - but it's still off-putting. When those ideas do come together, it's not entirely convincing, and the plot itself seems unfocused at times. The scene writing ably conveys tension and suspense more than not, but some moments altogether raise a skeptical eyebrow, definitely including the specific use here of a computer at the climax.
Ultimately I think this is passably enjoyable, but I hardly feel like I can give any particular recommendation. It's modestly fun if you stumble onto it, and utmost fans of the cast or of slashers as a genre will get the most out of it. Even at that, one should keep their expectations in check, for 'Spliced' is certainly not without its problems. Save this for a lazy day and have a good time, but just remember that there's plenty of other movies much more deserving of 90 minutes of your attention.
