When a lovesick teen uses an enchanted toy to wish his crush loved him more than anything in the world, he gets a lot more than he bargained for.
Following in the footsteps of horror filmmakers like Jordan Peele, Zach Creggar and Osgood Perkins, who made their breakthrough in comedy, Curry Barker, one half of internet sketch channel ‘That’s a bad idea’, emerges as the next director to watch with this astoundingly accomplished debut feature.
Obsession stars Michael Johnston as Bear, a shy, rather awkward teen, who’s been Friend-Zoned by his pretty workmate Nikki (Inde Navarette) but is desperate to take their relationship to the next stage and make her his girlfriend.
He spends his off hours with best mate Ian practicing lines in order to one day ask her out.
However, after driving her home one evening and again failing to find the courage, he turns to a mysterious trinket he’d bought for Nikki. Breaking the willow branch inside the ‘One Wish Willow’ is said to grant the user a wish, so in frustration Bear does just that, and wishes Nikki loved him more than anyone in the entire world. Immediately his would-be girlfriend stuns the self-conscious teen by reappearing at her front door and inviting him in.
At first Bear is overjoyed to finally get the kind of attention he’s been craving, but as his relationship with Nikki escalates, he finds to his horror that you should always be careful what you wish for. What follows is a fantastic blend of horror and jet-black comedy as Nikki’s newfound obsession with Bear is taken to all new levels.
The film is awkwardly funny, but also disturbing and downright frightening in places, as Barker delicately balances the differing tones to fabulous effect.
Although not newcomers per se, (both have varied TV credits on their resume) the film acts as a big screen breakthrough for its leading actors and if justice prevails will propel them onto much bigger things. Both are excellent, But Navarette in particularly catches the eye with an astounding turn as Nikki. Her performance swings from needy girlfriend to full on shrieking bunny boiler and back again, with her stillness and sudden jolts of movement providing some really effective jump scares while her long drawn-out fake smiles are the stuff of nightmares.
Barker fills his script full of relationship red flags and the film could be read as a warning for the dangers of modern dating. As good as Bear’s intentions are at first, there’s no getting around the fact that he forces his will onto an unsuspecting Nikki. Then once under the spell Nikki displays some textbook controlling and coercive behaviour, refusing to let Bear have any life outside of their relationship.
Basing your film around a cool and creepy premise is one thing, but doing so much with it, is all together another and that sets this film apart. A thoroughly engaging debut from a fresh new director with exhilarating performances from it’s two lead actors. Obsession is this years ‘not to be missed’ horror hit.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Paul Steward
X @grittster
31/05/26