Behind the Scenes
I have a special place in my heart for indie
films—particularly indie horror films. The Obsession movie falls
right into place for me, especially due to my familiarity with Curry Barker,
who wrote, directed, and edited the film. I know Barker from his That’s a
Bad Idea comedy skits, which he does with his partner, Cooper Tomlinson.
Whenever I run into one of their reels on Instagram, I’m always left laughing
or rolling my eyes (in a good way) and sharing the video with my friends.
In 2024, I remember Barker and Tomlinson sharing news about
their debut film, Milk & Serial, a found-footage horror movie
available on YouTube. Though I loved the idea of the comedy duo taking their talents to filmmaking,
the release of a movie with an $800 budget on YouTube wasn’t quite enough to
reel me in to watch it. And I largely forgot all about it.
Fast forward to May 2026, and I heard about a new movie
called Obsession that’s out in theaters and causing quite a buzz. Just
based on the premise and the reviews, I decide to check the movie out, before
even realizing it’s directed and produced by Barker, and features Tomlinson as
a lead actor. I found that out only a day or two before I went to see it. But
having Barker and Tomlinson involved in a movie that actually made it to the
big screen lit a fire under my ass to get myself to the theaters. And so I went
to see Obsession, and here I am to share my thoughts on it.
The Premise
The story follows our protagonist (an unlikeable one, if you
ask me), Baron “Bear” Bailey. Bear has strong romantic feelings for his
childhood friend, Nikki Freeman, who also goes by “Freaky Nikki.” Actually, no.
Don’t call her that. She hates that name.
Anyway, despite Bear’s feelings for Nikki, he’s never had
the courage to tell her how he really feels. But that’s fine, because they work
together at a music store and surely he’ll gather the nerve to ask her out eventually,
right? Wrong. Nikki is tired of working at that store, and she’s putting in her
two-week notice. So, this could be Bear’s last chance.
Bear has a meetup planned with Nikki and a couple of
friends, and on the way there he picks up a One Wish Willow—a toy that claims
it will grant a person’s wish after they break it. As Bear finds himself yet
again unable to divulge his true feelings for Nikki, he desperately makes a
wish for Nikki to love him more than anyone else, and he breaks the toy.
And so begins a classic story of “be careful what you wish
for.”
The Scares
Obsession does a great job of crafting a disturbing aura.
Once Bear breaks the One Wish Willow, Nikki instantly changes. To the audience,
it’s clear that she’s under the control of the wish, but to Bear, she just
appears a bit off. Well, this off-putting appearance devolves gradually as
Nikki becomes more and more unhinged. And eventually, Bear has no choice but to
face what’s he’s done to Nikki.
The movie doesn’t rely on jump scares, which I appreciate. Horror
films that can scare you without necessarily surprising you are a rare breed,
and Obsession is one of them. Barker shows his finesse with his ability
to craft scenes that make you just inch backward in your chair, or turn your
face ever so slightly to the side. It’s awesome.
The Pacing
The movie is paced really well. The reported runtime is 1
hour, forty-nine minutes, and that’s just about perfect for a horror movie like
this one. I will say that I felt the beginning dragged a bit, and I feel like
we could’ve just jumped right into the action with minimal exposition. The
characters are pretty flat and I think we understand what’s happening right
away. Perhaps shaving five to ten minutes off the beginning of the movie would’ve
made it just about perfectly paced for me.
The Acting
Obsession is having worldwide success as I’m writing
this blog post. However, it’s still an indie film, and so it has a low budget of
roughly $1 million. Acting is an aspect that indie films tend to do poorly in, and
though the cast does a fair job of portraying their characters, I did find the
acting to leave something to be desired. It’s not bad by any means, but when
you have a small cast and only three actors get a lot of screen time, one or
two of them not pulling their weight becomes noticeable. Michael Johnston, who
plays Bear, and Cooper Tomlinson, who plays Bear’s best friend, Ian, are both
fine. But Inde Navarrette’s portrayal of Nikki is excellent, and it easily
overshadows the other actors’ performances.
The Cinematography
Cinematography is where an indie film needs to shine. The creators
have a small budget to work with, so they need to be creative to be able to
produce a beautiful product, just like the big-budget films, but they still
want to deliver a product that is markedly different from the mainstream ones. Obsession
delivers with its cinematography. The scenes are creatively shot in a way
that makes them feel dark, edgy, and puts you in a mindset where you’re anticipating
what comes next with bated breath. I especially like the way lighting is used
to make Nikki’s face appear indiscernible in many scenes where she’s going
particularly insane. Kudos to the lead cinematographer, Taylor Clemons.
The Verdict
Obsession is a great movie, and not just as an indie
horror film, but also when compared to any mainstream film. This is going to
forever be the movie that really put Curry Barker on the map as a serious
horror director, and I see his career skyrocketing from this point on. I highly
recommend Obsession for all fans of the horror genre.
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
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