I’m a little behind on new movies, but I managed to check out OBSESSION after missing it in theaters now that is available on Peacock. I’m really kicking myself for taking so long to see it as I would have loved to see how it all plays on the big screen with a crowd because it was amazing.
The movie tells the tale of a young man Baron “Bear” (Michael Johnston), an employee at the local music shop who has feelings for his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). With his other friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), they form a fun little group. Ian doesn’t want Bear to mess that up and Sarah has feelings for Bear so has a different reason for not wanting him to ask Nikki out. Fortunately for them, Bear lacks any sort of willpower or conviction and even with the perfect opportunity, he manages to avoid telling Nikki how he feels.
Unfortunately for them, when looking for a new crystal necklace for Nikki, he finds the shop sells something called a One Wish Willow, a novelty toy that looks like it is from the back of comic book in the 1980s. Instead of taking his shot the normal way after dropping her off at her house, Bear cracks up the OWW (a pleasant acronym) and wishes that Nikki loved him more than anything else.
The good news is that Nikki immediately begins to take an interest in Bear. The bad news is that something is clearly off about her and it begins to look like the relationship isn’t everything that he dreamed it would be. But Bear is determined to try and make it work. Will it end in a happily ever after, or will it end in terror and tears? Considering it’s a horror movie, I have a feeling you can guess the answer to that question.
OBSESSION is a hell of a ride and writer/director Curry Barker absolutely landed the plane on his first feature. I love that through it all, we are never really meant to like Bear, except perhaps at the beginning when we see he’s a bit of a sad sack. Every decision he makes is terrible and he just keeps doubling down on it, even though he knows something is messed up with the situation. I’m sure a lot of people out there have wished someone liked or loved them, and this movie shows how it would end up.
The real star of the show is Nikki. Navarrette is a force to be reckoned with and the way she flips a switch to change from normal Nikki to Freaky Nikki at the drop of a hat is amazing. A lot of her facial expressions remind me of Pearl in Ti West’s PEARL, but as good as Mia Goth was in that, Navarrette blows her completely out of the water. There’s even a “standing there smiling” scene that invites the comparison that goes even darker than it does in PEARL. The same was as I thought Goth should have gotten some awards for PEARL, I think Navarrette should do the same for OBSESSION as it is a tour de force of acting talent on display.
While most of the scares comes from the mounting dread that something is seriously wrong with Nikki, there is a decent amount of gore to be had, including one of the gnarliest kills I’ve seen in some time. I’m still thinking about that death even a few days later, that’s how good it was. I don’t want to go into too much detail because it would spoil the fun, so you’ll have to seek it out for yourself.
OBSESSION may not be for everyone, but it certainly hit the spot for me. Barker is going to be one to watch in the world of horror and I’m excited to see what he does next.
