By Matthew Moorcroft

Highest Recommendation

• Directed by Curry Barker
• Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless
• R

Feeling like something of a minor miracle in theaters, Obsession is yet another of the many horror films of the past several years brought to us by online talent turned professional filmmaker. It’s becoming increasingly clear at this point that, with the advent of the digital space, the next big filmmaker in horror is very likely going to come from that online space rather then traditional methods.

If Obsession has anything to say about it, then it’s very likely that person might actually end up being Curry Barker himself. Twisting the knife as soon as it starts in with it’s most uncomfortable edge and then never stopping until the credits roll, Obsession is unrelentingly creepy and disturbing in a way that most movies simply aren’t and it’s all due to Barker taking it’s ickiness up to 11 in how it portrays it’s other simply conceit.

That simply conceit, in which our lead character Bear makes a wish for his childhood friend Nikki to fall head over heels in love with him, is brought forth less as a “wish gone wrong” scenario (though there is plenty of that here) but instead a dark, twisted cautionary tale about what happens when you refuse to view prospective romantic partners as people rather then ideas or figments of our own imagination. Bear himself starts out reasonably sympathetic, with an understanding fear of rejection that many of us have and a seemingly genuine crush on Nikki, but that sympathy slowly devolves the further then movie goes as he continually undermines Nikki’s own personal agency.

Nikki herself, trapped within herself in a hell of Bear’s making, is played effortlessly by a brilliant Inde Navarrette in a revelatory performance that plays into the uncanny valley effortlessly. Her physicality here, which goes into an almost stop motion esqe puppet like crawl at one point, is only matched by both an equally expressive face and a sing song voice that crawls under your skin until it turns into the voice from hell. If anybody outside of Barker is going to walk away from this as a star, it’s her and she will likely get much well deserved flowers come later in the year during awards season.

But what really sets Obsession apart from others of it’s ilk is how interested it is in examining our current culture in regards to relationships, friendships, dating, and just how we present ourselves. Barker’s own experience in the online space has likely given him a ton of understanding about how authenticity and vulnerability is something that has mostly faded away in current dating spaces and Bear’s own wish – one where he wants to skip that vulnerable stage and just get straight to the good stuff – is emblematic of that. He just wants her, or the idea of her, and the consequences be damned. That should fix his sadness and his miserable outlook, right?

Except it doesn’t, and when Obsession begins to play it’s full hand it gets very clear that this lack of true communication and honesty, which also extends to a dysfunctional friend group that is slowly revealed to have hid crucial information, is leading to disaster. Obsession really can only end one way and Barker makes sure to take advantage of that by cranking it up to 11 with as much nastiness, gore, and scares as you can think of. The final act of Obsession is some of the best horror craftsmanship on the market right now, with a mean spirited edge that both works as a karmic destiny for our lead character but also a deeply saddening tragedy for the people around him.

Helps that Barker takes his time as well building to that point. Despite only having directed one other small feature prior to this (the viral hit Milk & Serial) and this being his first real big theatrical venture, he shoots it like a master of the form out of the gate. An oppressive, boxed in aspect ratios and impressive, moody lighting at the real keys here, as much of Obsession is caked in the small things we see in the background or the things we can’t see. You never know if they are going to be around the corner, and by the time you do it’s probably too late.

It’s easy to say that Obsession lives up to it’s enormous hype but it’s one of the rare horror films in recent memory that actually surpasses it; it’s both a wickedly good time at the movies but also a deeply complex, nuanced take on relationships that has you chewing on it’s implications for long after it’s initial viewing. As likely the first true Gen Z horror classic out of the gate, it’s easily one of the best films of the year and certainly will go down as one of the most impressive filmmaker debuts of the past decade. Would say it’s a must watch, but it’s likely you’ll be watching from behind your fingers.