'Obsession' Review: Be Careful What You Wish For
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Shauna Bushe - May 21, 2026
With Obsession, director Curry Barker showcases generational talent, delivering a masterclass in psychological dread, taking the classic "be careful what you wish for" trope and twists it into a disturbing lust affair. The film strips away the comfort of the supernatural to focus on something far more grounded and unsettling: the toxic desire for control masquerading as love. It is a tragic, and deeply unnerving horror that lingers under your skin long after the credits stop rolling.
What is 'Obsession' about?
Bear (Michael Johnston) is a shy guy with a secret crush on his co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He thinks his prayers are answered when a magical novelty stick promises to make her love him above all else. The wish works, but with a horrific twist: Nikki’s personality vanishes, replaced by a grotesque, suffocating obsession. Driven by pure, unyielding selfishness, Bear chooses to ignore her damnation and keep his new "perfect" girlfriend. However, when concerned friends attempt to step in, the entity inside Nikki turns ruthlessly violent, culminating in a tragic, blood-soaked finale where Bear’s desperate grasp at love completely destroys them all.
Curry Barker’s direction is incredibly deliberate, as he rejects the lazy trend of loud jump scares, choosing instead to let the camera linger on uncomfortable silences and claustrophobic framing. Thematically, the film cuts deep. It serves as a brilliant, razor-sharp critique of entitlement and the illusion of romance. Barker forces the audience to confront the selfishness inherent in wanting someone who doesn't want you back, and the violence of overriding another person's free will. The lighting is genius work, and the most effective nightmare inducing experience. Shifting alongside Nikkis mental state, from warm romance to hues of coldness. When the light catches her eyes, it exposes the exact moment she loses her soul to the inescapable prison Bear put her in.
Obsession wouldn’t be what it is without the talent of its cast. Navarrette is the absolute heart and terror of the film. She delivers a powerful, sad performance that feels eerily suffocating. Her ability to move strikingly unnatural elevates the moments on screen where you see her engulfed in darkness, her dead eyes bury under your skin. She shifts seamlessly from an independent, vibrant young woman into a possessed force of nature driven by a manic, involuntary devotion. Navarrette plays the tragedy of the character just as beautifully as the menace, reminding the audience that beneath her terrifyingly unhinged actions is a person who has completely lost her own agency.
As for Johnston, he plays Bear with an anxious, damp-eyed vulnerability that initially makes you pity him. He captures the essence of the self-proclaimed "nice guy" perfectly, wearing a mask of soft-spoken innocence. Watching Johnston's performance is an exercise in escalating discomfort; he expertly charts Bear's transition from initial romantic triumph to sheer panic, and finally, to a deeply toxic complacency. He handles the character’s pathetic, selfish choices with a subtle realism that makes the final act all the more devastating.
In supporting, we see Sarah (Megan Lawless) and Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) as the groups best friends. Sarah harbour’s her own quiet, unrequited affection for Bear, which allows Lawless to play her scenes with a beautiful, understated heartbreak. What's more, she injects a profound sense of sanity into the increasingly chaotic narrative, making her character's ultimate vulnerability in the face of Nikki's wrath incredibly difficult to watch. Stepping into the role of Ian, Tomlinson provides a crucial tonal contrast early on, trying to coach Bear through his romantic woes while trying to preserve their weekly trivia nights. Yet for all his grounded scepticism when Nikki begins acting strange his hands are far from clean, ultimately paving the way for their downfall by complicity.
Where Obsession truly shines is its thematic weight. Barker cleverly flips the script on the classic obsessive-stalker trope by making Bear the catalyst. The movie becomes a brilliant, biting metaphor for the toxic undercurrents of male entitlement, the horror doesn't stem from a faceless monster, but from the realization that Nikki has zero agency left; she is a passenger in her own body, trapped by a man's fragile ego. Additionally, Barker cleverly relies on lingering, centre-composed wide shots that emphasize the sheer loneliness and discomfort of the characters. The pacing allows the tension to curdle naturally, transforming ordinary locations like a local music store or a backyard party into claustrophobic arenas of dread.
Overall, Obsession is a dauntingly intense, deeply original psychological thriller that handles a sensitive concept with lethal precision. Powered by a powerhouse performance from Inde Navarrette and backed by a phenomenal ensemble cast in Johnston, Lawless, and Tomlinson, Curry Barker delivers one of the most vital, conversation-starting horror films of the year.
'Obsession' is out now in cinemas.
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