Movie Review: ‘Obsession’

Plot: Twenty-something music store worker Bear (Michael Johnston) holds deep romantic but unspoken feelings toward long-time friend and co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). When Nikki reveals she plans on leaving the store, Bear fears his chance of developing a relationship with Nikki may never materialize. When given a chance to voice his true feelings, Bear backs off. Frustrated, Bear breaks a “One Wish Willow,” a tchotchke he recently purchased at a crystal shop. Wishing that Nikki would love Bear “more than anyone else in the world,” Bear soon discovers that his wish actually worked. However, as time progresses, Bear begins to realize that receiving his fondest wish may prove more sinister than he could ever comprehend.

Review: What is the nature of Hell? Various religions have offered their own interpretations over the centuries. Christianity depicts it as a place of unending punishment, often best represented by Dante’s Inferno. Islam refers to it as Jahannam, a vast or fiery pit. Judaism references Sheol, a shadowy neutral holding place for the dead. Daoists call it Diyu, which is conceptualized as a vast bureaucratic purgatory. (I actually connect with that last one. My idea of Hell is where I must fill out 57 forms to buy a Krispy Kreme donut, endlessly reset my Microsoft password, and be repeatedly bombarded by YouTube ads for Blue Chew.)

But what if Hell is something altogether entirely? What if Hell is all of the things I mentioned AND a complete loss of agency and body autonomy? What if Hell is having to deal with the horrible consequences of someone else’s actions?

Those are the questions that writer/director Curry Barker seeks to answer in his phenomenal theatrical film debut with Obsession. Obsession (which was made for $750,000 and, at the time of this writing, has made over $400 million worldwide and counting) is worthy of all the praise it has received. I haven’t been this knocked on my keister by a horror film since Hereditary. A searing indictment of Gen Z dating culture, a clever examination of toxic, abusive relationships, and punctuated by some truly horrific and shocking moments, this is a movie that’s lived rent-free in my head for days.

Masterful storytelling allows for context and nuance, and mature, adult storytelling recognizes that not everything is black and white. For example, it would be easy to paint Bear as the villain of Obsession. Many online have vehemently reacted against people who are sympathetic and feel bad for Bear, loudly contending that he is “obviously the bad guy.” Yet it’s not that simple, and Curry Barker’s writing and direction don’t make it that simple. Many of us have been in situations where we have unrequited romantic feelings for someone else and never dared to verbalize those feelings because we were afraid of rejection. Or worse, we’ve stated them outright, only to learn the other person doesn’t feel the same way, despite how much we wished they did. Bear’s circumstances make him relatable. If he were an out-and-out nefarious piece of trash, the horrific events that subsequently occurred wouldn’t have as much emotional impact. That impact is due in no small part to the superb writing of Barker and the first-rate acting performance from Johnston.

Please don’t misunderstand me. The fact that Bear willingly engages in a relationship with Nikki once he’s made his wish, despite knowing that her entire agency has been stripped, despite knowing that the essence of what comprises Nikki is literally in Hell, is a horrific and deplorable act. Nikki, despite the horrifying things she does, is 100% the victim here. That’s not in question. Bear’s actions undercut the fallacious Nice Guy Narrative that just because you are a “nice guy,” that somehow entitles you to a woman’s time, space, body, and emotions. It doesn’t. Indeed, Obsession highlights the heart of consequentialism. As Doc Brown says in Back to the Future, “Even if your intentions are good, it can backfire drastically.” The fact that Obsession makes you feel ambivalent about whether Bear’s intentions were even good in the first place (there’s a strong case to be made that they are not) is a testament to Barker’s writing and direction and Johnston’s talented performance. At the end of the day, whether Bear’s intentions were good or bad is irrelevant. The consequence of his action has a devastating and horrific impact on a very real person.

What floored me about Obsession was Barker and company’s ability to explore important topics through the lens of horror. Although I’m a 47-year-old, male Gen Xer, Obsession gave me a candid look into the wasteland of what dating is often like for Gen Z. (Side note: this movie never made me happier to be in a committed 20-year relationship with my wife. Love you, Megan!) I don’t want to paint an entire generation with a broad brush, but it seems like there’s a profound lack of authenticity in the Gen Z dating scene. Everything is carefully curated online to the point that people’s real selves take a backseat to who they really are. I felt like Obsession was saying that a lack of authenticity is Hell. It’s a searing indictment of Gen Z dating that’s as subtle as a face whack to a steering wheel.

Obsession is also clearly an allegory for toxic, abusive relationships. Because Nikki is compelled by the consequences of Bear’s “One Wish Willow,” she loses all sense of self. Her agency is stripped, and she must conform to what Bear wants. Indeed, the wording of Bear’s wish, “I wish Nikki Freeman loved me more than anyone else in the world,” demonstrates how words possess power. If you love someone more than anyone else in the world, that includes yourself. As clichéd as it sounds, if you don’t love yourself, you can never authentically love someone else. To completely lose your sense of self, to have your agency stripped and subsumed by someone else, is the heart of toxic, abusive relationships. It is literal Hell. The fact that Nikki’s surname is Freeman when she’s anything but free is fully intentional and the height of irony.   

Yet Curry Barker never commits the sin of putting these themes above telling a great story. These themes are just a natural extension of the narrative. If you ignore the themes altogether, Obsession functions as a wildly entertaining horror film. I don’t want to spoil the scares too much, but suffice it to say they happen at just the right moments to deliver the most impact. That’s not an easy task even for the most veteran directors. It probably helped that Barker was also the editor on this film, making it a true auteurist vision. It’s complemented by a solid score from Rock Burwell and some scintillating camerawork from DP Taylor Clemens.

If you’re wondering why I’ve taken this long to discuss Inde Navarrette’s performance as Nikki, it’s because, as the old adage says, I’ve “saved the best for last.” I was absolutely gobsmacked by Navarrette’s turn as Nikki Freeman. I say this with no hyperbole; this is the best female performance by an actor in a horror film since Toni Colette in Hereditary. She absolutely owns the screen. It’s such a riveting and bold performance that I was in awe at how vulnerable and brave Navarrette needed to be for Obsession. Four scenes in particular—one involving a dinner with Bear, one at a party, one in a car, and a conversation between Bear and a half-asleep Nikki–left my jaw on the floor. That last one is maybe the most terrifying scene in the entire movie, and it doesn’t involve a drop of blood. Despite all the horrible things Nikki does (I’ll never look at my cats the same way again), we feel profound empathy for her because it’s not her fault. As I stated before, she’s 100% the victim. Navarrette generates this pervasive sense of dread that suggests a possible Requiem for Dream-esque conclusion, despite our hopes that everything turns out all right. It’s not just a great performance for a horror film; it’s a great performance period and worthy of the recent Oscar talk.

I know that this review essentially reinforces the praise already bestowed upon Obsession, but I can’t help it. As the great French writer Emile Zola once said, “The truth is on the march, and nothing will stop it.” And the truth is that Obsession is a stunning achievement by Barker and company, and I eagerly anticipate where all of those involved go next.  

My rating system:

1 God Awful Blind Yourself With Acid Bad

2 Straight Garbage

3 Bad

4 Sub Par

5 Average

6 Ok

7 Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 A Must See

Masterpiece

Obsession: 9/10