Rating: 10/10
Hype can be very annoying. The flavor of the month movies or TV shows start to plague your feed on social media platforms while fans won’t shut up about them or make exaggerated statements like “best movie I’ve ever seen.” More often than not I find myself giving in to the hype, only to be underwhelmed, and that isn’t contrarianism, it’s just that I’m either too picky, too critical, or just have shit taste. The most recent example of that is how I was the only person on the planet who didn’t like Weapons, but every once in a while a movie comes along that lives up to the hype, and proves itself to be something more than just the flavor of the month, and right now that movie is Obsession. OH.MY.GOD. Taking a familiar and rather outdated monkey’s paw trope, but elevating it to its most visceral heights, 26 year old director Curry Barker has struck gold with Obsession. This movie is terrifying, emotional, funny, unsettling, gross, anxiety-inducing, and will evoke just about every emotion known to man, and that’s due to impeccable direction, perfectly timed scares, phenomenal acting, and subject matter that looks surface level on paper, but executed in a way that provokes much thought and discussion. If you’re reading this, chances are you already know the premise. Our protagonist Baron “Bear” Bailey has feelings for his friend Nikki Freeman, but doesn’t have the courage to express his feelings to her, so when he buys a “One Wish Willow” novelty toy that claims to grant one wish per person, he breaks the toy wishing for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world, and that wish comes true, but backfires very horribly sparking a chain of horrifying acts committed by his now obsessed girlfriend Nikki. Now, I’m sure every possible interpretation of this film has already been expressed through countless reviews or think pieces, but allow me to express my interpretation. Underneath the truly unnerving and uncomfortable Horror scenes, this film comments on the problematic nature of how men view and pursue women. Bear starts off as a pitiful, but likeable guy. You want him to gain confidence and find true love, but when Nikki makes it perfectly clear she’s not into him, instead of moving on, he makes the wish out of frustration, and when he finally gets what he’s always wanted, it’s clear from the start that something isn’t quite right with Nikki. It’s clear she’s being controlled by some sort of outside force. Bear recognizes this, and even expresses how he’s worried about this to his best friend, but instead of taking that opportunity to help her in some way, he lets his personal desires get the better of him and takes advantage of this new version of Nikki who would do absolutely anything for him. This new version of Nikki isn’t the real Nikki he fell in love with, but she’s attached to him and she gives him the love he’s always yearned for. Who’s the real villain here? Is it Nikki, or the guy too cowardly and impatient to let things happen organically? It’s most certainly the latter. This raises the question, if given the opportunity would a lot of men skip the time and effort it takes to truly get to know their love interest and prove themselves to be a worthy partner, just to get what they truly want, sex and their own personal cheerleader? It’s almost as if Bear didn’t really love who Nikki was as a person, but was in love with the idea of being loved by her to fill an empty void. How well did he know her? Did he just love her because she was nice to him? When he realizes the new Nikki isn’t the Nikki he once knew, it’s too late, and now he’s suffering the consequences of his selfishness, because what ensues is some of the most horrifying events I’ve seen in a film in a very long time. Brilliantly portrayed by actress Inde Navarrette, Nikki is terrifying but far from being the villain, because she can’t control it, and though she commits many vicious acts, the fault isn’t hers, it’s Bear’s. That’s what this movie is about at its core, and those themes combined with some very grizzly images and Oscar-worthy acting from Navarrette makes for a Horror masterpiece. Every second of this film is captivating. I’ve seen just about every fucked up Horror film there is to see, so I’m desensitized, but this film truly gave me anxiety and made me jump a few times. That never happens to me. I haven’t been this impacted by a Horror film since 2018 when I watched Hereditary in theaters. Obsession is that damn good. I can’t recommend this movie enough.
Written By: Steven Sandoval
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