Obsession Review

Do you even like me?

I feel like I’ve been in the wilderness when it comes to horror the past year. I loved Sinners and Weapons, but they felt more like mainstream genre movies with horror elements. Why does it feel like every other horror movie is someone stuck on an island being killed by an evil, wealthy cult? The crop of YouTubers-turned-filmmakers has been rather disappointing to me, especially recently, with Undertone, which I thought was quite awful. Almost a year ago to this date, I wrote this about the horror movie Bring Her Back:

“The Philippou brothers are back with a brand new horror film, following up on the success of their debut feature film, Talk to Me, to deliver something so weightless and lacking any feeling and mystery that I am genuinely concerned if this is what the future of horror looks like. Bring Her Back is taking major inspiration from the films Hereditary and Speak No Evil (2022) while missing the point of what makes those movies special. It’s trying its best to be “elevated” horror or whatever. Still, its supernatural and family drama threads are written so thin that the film becomes a forgettable mess outside of some shocking, gory scenes. You will endure and feel the bleak atmosphere that the Philippou brothers are trying to convey at times, but at the end of the day if I am being choked out by someone I don’t have a connection with, am I truly feeling anything?”

A year later, I am so happy to declare that our great national crisis of empty horror movies is finally over, and Curry Barker’s Obsession delivers the disgusting goods. Obsession is mean. A thrilling and unsettling dissection of the way “nice guys” perceive women and what evil can lie in the hearts of those who don’t recognize them as humans. It’s a hard look in the mirror for friends who don’t communicate. The film doesn’t hold back in the slightest and makes you sit with the discomfort, and you’ll be begging for awkward or horrifying scenes to end, which I couldn’t get enough of. Please choke me out, Mr. Barker. I’ve been begging for this. Obsession isn’t just good because it taps into disturbing subject matter about men’s dating and their outlook on a woman’s personhood. Still, it’s also just a fabulous-looking movie, with especially sublime lighting, especially in the darkness. Sound design is out of this world, so that even a shower handle turning abruptly will have you jumping out of your seat. Most importantly, Inde Navarrette delivers a brilliantly terrifying, physical performance that horror fans will be gushing over for years to come! God, nothing better than a great Monkey’s Paw movie, am I right?

Obsession follows Baron AKA Bear (Michael Johnston), who has a crush on one of his childhood friends and coworkers, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Bear, unable to confess his feelings one night after driving her home from trivia, uses a novelty toy called “One Wish Willow” in which he wishes that Nikki loves him more than anything in this world. Nikki snaps and immediately falls in love with Bear. Bear is taken back, but he gets what he wants, so he begins having what he believes is a blissful relationship with Nikki. Nikki’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic and unsettling, to the point that Bear starts regretting he even made the wish in the first place.

Inde Navarrette is a revelation as Nikki. Going from the girl next door into this Evil Dead/Possession form that’s like the crazy, obsessive girlfriend of your nightmare is quite the transformation. The way she shapes her movements and contorts her face is seriously so unnerving. Navarrette, while under this spell, becomes this demon of affection that will stop at nothing to make a point to express her deathly devotion to Bear. She kills the whole vibe at parties, watches you while you sleep, and will scream and pout until she gets the love she deserves. While this is all horrifying stuff, what’s most impressive is that under the surface, you can clearly see she is the victim under those eyes, screaming to be let out of this torture in which Bear has trapped her. Michael Johnston as Bear matches this manic energy that Navarette brings with this almost “oh shucks woe is me” nice guy persona that’s almost as off-putting as what’s happening to Navarrette. Johnston does something so interesting that we’re able to fully sympathize with someone who may be unable to understand that this wish he made was real, but be deeply unsettled by his cowardice and exploitation of Navarrette here. He’s constantly questioning if Navarette’s love is real and if he’s hurting her, and friends are even calling him out for taking advantage of her current condition. Still, in the end, he’s a selfish man who can’t see her as anything more than a piece of flesh or an idea, not a real person, which is a haunting look at the “nice guy” persona. He can’t accept that someone wouldn’t want to be him, and how bad could it really be? It comes to a head when the real Nikki speaks to him in a dream state one night, begging to end this, but he can only think about what he wants.

Did I mention that this film is funny? Barker, coming from a YouTube sketch background and bringing along his long-time buddy Cooper Tomlinson, who plays Bear’s best friend and coworker Ian, the film doesn’t shy away from the awkward or cringe laughs, which are balanced perfectly here with the horror. The scene where Bear calls the “One Wish Willow” 1-800 number to find out if he can reverse this wish-turned-nightmare starts as a great bit, with the guy on the other end of the line couldn’t give a shit what happens to Bear. This is his own mess, of his own doing, and ultimately ends with some cosmically dark horror at the end of the phone. Navarette brings some wonderful comedy here, especially with her expressions, a frown in particular that’s so pronounced it seems drawn on! The entire friend dynamic feels like a great introspection into modern friendship, its hollowness, how well we all get each other’s feelings, and how we live in our own bubbles even amongst our trivia friends. Like a lot of horror as well, I think the trapped feeling of capitalism in a small town, unable to escape and be stuck in a situation where you are being taken advantage of by someone you trusted, is interesting. Still, I’m not sure if I’ve fully formed my thoughts on the material aspects of Nikki’s victimhood—lots to chew on here, though.

If you were a fan of the look and lighting of Barbarian, then I think you are in for a treat because the darkness and shadows here are amazing. The way Nikki is cast into the shadows, only seeing her silhouette, is so terrifying, and the way your eyes dart around a bedroom trying to find her at times will have your skin crawling and pulling that shirt right over your face. Those warm amber lights throughout the film make you just a tad uneasy, wishing it were just a tad brighter for your own safety. Barker’s direction here is phenomenal, as well as the way he slowly moves the camera forward as you try to pull away from the insanity and thrills. I think some of his best work is in Bear’s apartment, where we are in this hell of Bear’s own making, and Barker makes you sit with it. Every awkward conversation, everything that Nikki is about to do, and every encounter you are stuck in, and I think Barker’s patience here to trust the audience to hang on to every second to a satisfying end should be noted. Sitting in a car has never been scarier, and the tension he builds in every scene, knowing it’s going to explode, is my type of bomb.

Barker has gifted us one of the finest horror movies of the 2020s. A cruel and bleak insight into some of the harsh social truths that I don’t believe have been fully tapped into by the recent crop of horror filmmakers. May we see the ones we love as people and call out those around us for their abhorrent, dissonant behavior, disguised as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I can feel the weight in this one. All Killer No Filler. Obsession rips.

Final Score: 9/10

Written by Kevin J. Pettit