Obsession

Note: Curry Barker’s Obsession was screened as part of the 45th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival and reviewed on May 5, 2026. Visit the festival’s site here.  

Obsession is a horror movie from Focus Features that, not unlike Michael Shanks’ debut with last year’s Together, explores its familiar premise with gnarly, gory scenes serving as punctuation. Its writing and execution recall several recent genre releases that thrive on effective marketing campaigns, which tend to be more compelling than the actual movie. Oftentimes, the filmmakers know precisely how to execute nightmarish moments, delighting in messed-up sequences that make the audience squirm in revulsion, while their characters remain lackluster in their one- or two-dimensionality. This is not to completely dismiss such films. They certainly have their moments and make for a fun trip to the theater. But the buzz around them often proves overblown next to the reality. Such is the case here. Obsession has one or two unforgettably shocking moments that will have horror fans talking. Memorable characters or resonant themes, though? They fade next to the movie’s gruesome displays. 

Obsession is the debut film of Curry Barker, who, like Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk to Me, 2023), started out making comic and horror shorts on YouTube. That’s a perfect place for aspiring filmmakers to experiment with crafting scary scenes, which sometimes have a joke-like structure—a setup and a punchline. In recent years, several comedians have transitioned to horror, including Jordan Peele (Get Out, 2018) and Zach Cregger (Barbarian, 2022), who weren’t YouTubers but configured their sketch comedy into similar short-form bites. However, Barker’s transition into filmmaking reveals that he’s less interested in a thoughtful narrative than in purveying fucked-up scenes in a scenario reminiscent of W. W. Jacobs’ short story The Monkey’s Paw. In Obsession, the device is a One Wish Willow, a trinket that promises to fulfill wishes. The protagonist picks it up at a New Age shop, thinking it’s some gag gift packaged in a vintage box. But it works. Just make a wish, snap the willow branch, and your wish comes true. 

Michael Johnston stars as Bear, a seemingly nice guy who lives alone with a cat, works at a music store managed by Carter (Andy Richter), and regularly attends trivia nights with his friends and coworkers, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless). Another member of their friend group is Nikki (Inde Navarrette), the young woman Bear has had a crush on since high school. His shyness prevents him from telling her how he feels, to the extent that he replies meekly, “I think we’re good friends,” when Nikki asks whether he likes her. Though he purchased the One Wish Willow for her, Bear uses it himself, declaring, “I wish Nikki would love me more than anyone in the fucking world.” And, indeed, his wish comes true. Despite some initially peculiar behavior, Nikki returns home with Bear, and they have sex. The only downfall: She occasionally snaps out of the spell placed on her, screaming in terror from wherever her true self has been imprisoned. 

The real Nikki has seemingly been replaced, and the behavior of Bear’s wish-Nikki grows increasingly weird. She stands in the corner of his bedroom at night, watching him sleep. She does some nasty things with the corpse of his dead cat. And her infatuation becomes possessive, resorting to extreme violence when she feels threatened or jealous. Others cannot help but notice her bizarre behavior. Their friends worry that she’s having problems with mental health or drug addiction. Nikki claims she’s behaving strangely because her father has cancer—a lie that’s quickly exposed, raising questions for Ian and Sarah about what’s really going on between Bear and Nikki. Moreover, there’s obviously a stronger connection between Bear and Sarah, which supplies the motivation for one of the most startling and gory sequences in the movie.  

Barker, who also serves as editor, presents Obsession with a moody, dark aesthetic and touches of humor that reflect his YouTube work. Shot for just $1 million, the movie looks quite good, with cinematographer Taylor Clemons lighting nighttime scenes in such a way that we never struggle to see what’s happening. Barker’s editing, too, is straightforward and refreshingly unflashy, though it’s overly reliant on ironic needle drops. Following in Peele and Cregger’s footsteps, this blend of humor and gristly terror is wildly entertaining, particularly in a packed theater at a late-night screening. And given the disturbing concept, the filmmaker’s sense of humor is welcome. Scenes in which Bear researches the One Wish Willow on Reddit or calls the distributor’s helpline allude to others who have experienced Bear’s nightmarish situation, while some seem to have gotten their wish without a hitch. 

Underneath Obsession’s surface lies the fact that Bear has taken control of Nikki’s life, ostensibly replacing her true self with the twisted product of his wish. It’s as though he had Nikki replaced with a robot à la The Stepford Wives, except the simulacrum malfunctions. Disturbingly, the real Nikki breaks through the façade at times, if only for a moment, reminding Bear (and the viewer) that his wish has resulted in a kind of captivity—a dynamic that reminded me of Passengers (2016). While the story punishes Bear for attempting to manufacture romance by forcing Nikki to love him, the movie presents Bear as a sympathetic protagonist. He’s done something horrible, and, I suppose, he realizes that, but I don’t know that he learns the lesson he should. Would Bear have regretted his choice had Nikki behaved in a normal way, apart from suddenly loving him? I think he wouldn’t. He probably would have settled into a relationship with her, never questioning that her love was fabricated. 

None of these themes hit as hard as Nikki’s many jarring and bloody outbursts. This movie is more interested in shocks. How unfortunate, since it comes very close to greatness. Barker’s setup might have benefited from exploring his characters more or perhaps spending more time inside Nikki’s trapped perspective. Instead, Barker places us in the villain’s subjectivity, and his comeuppance feels underwhelming next to his ethical offenses. And while Obsession isn’t everything it could have been, it’s nonetheless an effective movie and an auspicious debut from Barker. With any luck, Barker’s career will continue to follow those of Peele and Cregger, whose output has become increasingly ambitious. Regardless of its flaws, Obsession is a promising start to a directing career and is worth checking out for those with a strong stomach.