R/Horror/108 Mins
Directed & Written by: Curry Barker
Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Review: Curry Barker. This is the name of the young filmmaker behind Obsession. It is his first feature film. It is a terrifying film that shook me to my core. Simply, for how it REALLY f**ked me up. If this is what Curry Barker can do in his feature film debut? The world isn’t ready for what he could do next.
I’m obsessed with Obsession.
Obsession follows a young man named Bear (Michael Johnston) who is in love with his co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Hoping to steal her heart, he comes upon an old novelty toy called a “One Wish Willow”. Skeptical that this trinket could grant any wish he desires, he goes through with it anyways. Almost immediately, Bear notices something strange with his crush. Nikki starts to shower him with affection and becomes his girlfriend. Bear now has everything he wanted. However, Nikki starts to display some odd, unpredictable and violent behavior that their co-workers start to notice, yet Bear is in denial. What follows is a series of shocking/cruel events full of terror, violence and death. Is it worth it for the price of “love”?
I’ve been a fan of Curry Barker for a while. It started with the hilarious sketches from the comedy duo “that’s a bad idea”, which is created by/stars Barker and Cooper Tomlinson (who is also a supporting character in this film). Their videos usually follow them in unique/ peculiar and hilarious situations where Curry plays the weird/offbeat character and Cooper portrays the more “straight man” type. In the Q&A following the film, Curry talked a bit about how he finds human behavior fascinating and how he tries to elevate it to an exaggerated level in his sketches. He applied this uniquely in Obsession (in one of my favorite scenes involving Bear calling the customer service line for One Wish Willow) as well with his 2024 short film, Milk & Serial. This was a film that I came across through word-of-mouth and I thought it was fantastic. Here is when Barker started to showcase his horror filmmaking skills. Shot on a shoestring budget, Milk & Serial proved that as long as you’re creative and have great writing/acting, it can be highly scary and effective even with its limitations. If you want to read more about my love for Milk & Serial, the link to that review will be below. Obsession took what made that short effective and dialed it up to an 11.
In Obsession, the biggest highlight is the standout performance from Inde Navarrette as Nikki. At first, her character is caring and sweet towards her friends, giving off a sense of warmth and gentile demeanor. Which makes the shift very jarring when Bear’s wish takes hold. This is when Navarrette skillfully shifts her performance into something that’s eerie and compelling radiating a sinister presence. It is one of the best transformative performances in a horror film that I have ever seen. Hopefully this is not the last time we see Navarrette in a horror film. I also enjoyed Michael Johnston’s performance as Bear. He initially comes across as shy, soft spoken and innocent. Yet, as the film goes on, you start to see that maybe this guy isn’t as innocent as you thought. Also from the Q&A, Barker mentioned how this was intentional when casting Bear, as someone who’s innocence can be believed by the audience but is eventually deceived. Cooper Tomlinson stole his scenes as Bear’s friend Ian. He felt very relatable and authentic as the best friend while also delivering a few hilarious moments that reminded me of a “that’s a bad idea” sketch.
The tone of this film is just perfectly balanced. It reminds me of how Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger made the switch from sketch comedy to horror. Telling stories that are sinister, dark and terrifying, their twisted sense of humor still finds its way into their film’s DNA. I guess that’s why their attempts at the horror genre have worked so well. Timing is the key to it. The two genres of comedy and horror are versatile in a way where timing matters to get the desired audience reaction. Like with Obsession, there are genuine laughs from the conversations between Bear and Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) or Bear’s interactions with the clerks at the crystal shop. Then there are the uncomfortable laughs that occur whenever Nikki does anything creepy or off putting. Laughing then turns to screaming cause you just saw one of the most horrific things you ever seen in a horror film. I also wanna add how a lot of it is also due to the eerie atmosphere. Barker does a great job at lingering just enough on something disturbing which invokes a sense of dread that is hard to shake. There is also the impressive use of shadows where a character can be shrouded in darkness and even if they aren’t scary to look at, it’s the ominous presence that sends shivers down your back. As someone who is desensitized by most horror, if it manages to rattle me, it becomes a new favorite.
Curry Barker is the real deal. For someone so young to showcase the talent of a veteran filmmaker, on his FEATURE DEBUT FILM?! He can only go up from here. Obsession is a game changer of a horror film and is a film that heavily inspire me every time I watch it. Score: 10/10
Obsession is in theaters everywhere May 15th.
My 2024 review for Milk & Serial: https://www.dropthespotlight.com/nicks-cinema-verdict-milk-serial-review/
