Film Reviews

May 15, 2026

When we think about horror movies, strong acting and craftsmanship are generally not at the top of our minds. "Obsession" puts them there. Here is a horror movie that is economical, visceral, and effectively performed, and it pays off handsomely. Much like the movie's doomed hero, we get from it what we asked for, and then a whole lot more. Writer-director Curry Barker, still under 30 at the time of this review, is not only an inspiration to the most seasoned filmmakers for the way he pulls no punches, but also because the punches he delivers are so striking and well executed.

What's ironic about the powerful "Obsession" is that it has such a basic, familiar premise, and yet it reminds us that even the most tried-and-true concepts can be reinvigorated with the right tools and talent. In the film, Bear (Michael Johnston) is a twentysomething who is hopelessly in love with his friend and co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Bear has known Nikki for a while, but he hasn't quite mustered up the courage to profess his romantic feelings for her. The other friends in their circle, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), who all work at Sarah's dad's (Andy Richter) music store, are on the fence about whether Bear should make a move. They think it could backfire.

Backfire ends up being an understatement. While searching for a gift for Nikki, Bear finds a novelty product called "One Wish Willow," which is essentially a small plastic stick that resembles a Chinese finger trap. The instructions tell users to make a wish by breaking the stick in half. In an offhand, "Oh, what the hell?" type manner, Bear does just that and wishes for Nikki to fall in love with him. To his amazement, his wish comes true, but to a nightmarishly obsessive degree.

Odds are you will already know about the fable-like, "be careful what you wish for" quality of "Obsession" going into it, and you'd rightly expect the movie to traverse the same kind of territory as other cautionary tales about the dangers of trying to force someone to fall in love. But where the movie catches us off guard is in its relentless pursuit to rattle us and makes us feel uncomfortable, which it does skillfully and old-fashionedly through pure filmmaking.

Take, for instance, the pacing. Horror films typically sprint from one scary scene to the next, with a slight reprieve in between, but "Obsession" takes a different approach. It's slower and more methodical. We expect Barker, who also edited the film, to establish what he needs, dish out a creepy moment or two, and then cut, move on. Instead, he stays with his scenes and keeps them going. One example happens shortly after Nikki has begun her descent into maddening fixation with Bear. We've already spent several minutes with just the two of them, and to fully grasp what Bear's wish has done, the scene continues. Without letting up, there comes a moment when cinematographer Taylor Clemons's camera pans across the shadows in Bear's room and, well, I'll let you find out. The point is that Barker is very good about letting tension build naturally, and yet the movie never drags. The result is the audience acquiring the same uneasy and perplexed feelings as Bear, and these gradually become more terrifying.

There are at least two more drawn-out scenes like this, one of which involves an awkward game of Jenga, and each one reaches its own boiling point. Barker and his cast are mindful about not going from 0 to 60, instead allowing the horror and suspense to grow and intensify. When Bear and Nikki's impossible situation gets to its most extreme and over-the-top, we feel like the movie has earned its outrageousness.

The performances are stellar, especially Navarrette, who, with Barker's direction, walks a tightrope of transforming Nikki from the happy-go-lucky girl next door into a manic girlfriend who is possessive and self-harming. On paper, Nikki's behavior is cartoonish and histrionic, but Navarrette makes it credible and sells it, avoiding cheap antics, and she sends chills down our spines. She explores and leans into how someone might actually behave if, against her own will, she was forced into infatuation. Johnston deserves credit too because he doesn't just play the sympathetic victim. Bear must genuinely react to what's happening to Nikki, and by extension, himself. We sense the fear Bear has through subtle changes in his breathing and in his eyes. It's likely that both Navarrette and Johnston will look back on "Obsession" as the film that launched their careers as full-fledged, important actors.

And Barker, being a deft storyteller by way of filmmaking, proves that he knows the difference between showing and telling. Through classic strategies and resources such as depth of field, rack focusing, costumes, props, sound effects, etc., "Obsession" is like a filmmakers' playground, and we appreciate all the practical tools he and his team have utilized to create a sense of real fear and dread. It's sort of a blessing that the movie's budget was less than a million dollars, as it forced the filmmakers to get creative and do a lot with a little, and we notice their efforts.

One of the lasting marks of "Obsession" is that it taps into the discomforting feelings we've all likely experience(d) in our own relationships, albeit not to this level (hopefully). The fear it evokes centers around the universal feelings of anxiety of uncertainty, and specifically those times when we've said to ourselves, "Oh man, what did I just do?" or "What have I gotten myself into?" It gets us to recall those worrisome moments when we're unsure about what's wrong with the people we care about, and whether we played a role in their mental distress. "Obsession" may not be "pleasant" (what horror films are?), but it's ceaselessly watchable, and believe it or not, semi-relatable.

Despite being a genre picture, "Obsession" never gets too ahead of itself, and the filmmakers are conscious about not clueing us in on where it's going. Indeed, it tosses a handful of interesting and somewhat humorous twists into its dark, macabre mix, which distinguish it from other movies cut from the same cloth, including "Fatal Attraction," "The Crush," and "Obsessed" (to be fair, "Obsession" has the luxury of its supernatural element, which these other films do not). It ultimately presents a horror experience that feels familiar on the outside but has a fresh and unique delivery system on the inside, making this raw, low-budget film a haunting and memorable one.