I’m going to confess that usually when a film is hyped to the heavens, my expectation of it totally sucking is set pretty high. I only say this because, nine out of ten times, that’s literally the case. So as the hype grew around Obsession, I was thinking, “Yeah, nah… I’ll wait until I see it before I get excited, thanks!” However, here I am, gladly eating humble pie.**
Obsession is a cracker of an indie thriller/horror, and there’s a lot to discuss about this film.
Firstly, Obsession (2026) was written, edited and directed by a YouTuber… Curry Barker, to be precise. There have been films made by YouTubers in the past, but deeyamn if they weren’t… well, just horrible. However, here we have Curry Barker writing, editing and directing a $750,000 indie horror film that went on to gross $300 million worldwide. Say whaaaaaaat?!
For any filmmaker, those numbers are undisputably impressive. For a budget of just $750,000, the talent on display, from the production quality to the performances, is absolutely outrageous.
The basic gist of Obsession is the classic concept of someone secretly wanting to be more than friends with their bestie but never finding the courage to say it. I feel like a lot of us have been there. So naturally, a magical wish becomes the answer.
Effectively, this movie is Big, where a relatively innocent wish made through a kooky, implausible method comes true. Except instead of hijinks and riotous laughs, we get tension, gore, black comedy and cat sandwiches.
Our main protagonist, Bear (whose parental estrangement plays an important role), is presented as a socially awkward young man who has fallen for his best friend, Nikki. Unlike Bear, Nikki is full of confidence and charisma.
After Nikki low-key rejects Bear, he uses a cheap gimmick known as a “wishing stick” (think the Zoltar machine from Big, except it’s literally a stick) to wish that “Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world.”
Instantly, Nikki’s natural charm and confidence almost disappear. In their place is a woman who desperately craves Bear’s love and attention at any cost. Absolute insanity unfolds as Bear goes along with it, his friends begin noticing Nikki’s increasingly bizarre behaviour, and as the psychotic tendencies and violence escalate, it becomes painfully obvious that something is terribly wrong.
The tension mounts to epic proportions, leaving you genuinely wondering how this story could possibly end. Without spoiling anything, the conclusion is perfectly balanced, and the payoff feels completely worthy of the setup.
If I’m being totally honest, Obsession is a tad predictable at times. However, literally every other aspect of the film more than makes up for it. It’s one of those movies where you sit down, and two hours disappear in what feels like thirty minutes.
I didn’t even finish my popcorn.
This film grips you through its production quality, performances and script. Everything feels grounded and believable, and then, completely out of nowhere, extreme gore suddenly explodes onto the screen. The difference is that it has genuine context. It’s not violence purely for shock value.
It works.
Really well.
However, the absolute standout element of this film, in my opinion, is the social commentary. The writing contains subtle sprinkles of modern social issues without ever feeling preachy or forcing an agenda down the audience’s throat.
The abusive, non-consensual relationship that develops between Bear and Nikki will feel uncomfortably familiar to anyone who has experienced clingy, manipulative or aggressive people in their own lives. We could dig even deeper into that commentary, but things get very dark, very quickly.
Tie together the film’s highly relevant social themes, impressive production values and outstanding performances, all achieved on a wafer-thin budget, and Obsession becomes the horror film you simply cannot miss. It isn’t just entertainment. It’s entertainment wrapped around a message that genuinely deserves to be seen.
I think Blumhouse just out-A24’d A24.
A new kind of horror is born. This isn’t elevated horror.
It’s relevant horror.
Outstanding film.
★★★★★★★★★☆ (9/10)
James J