The online world of social media and viewing platforms can often feel like it’s just a collective zoo of tone-deaf influencers, self-aggrandising celebrities, and numbskulls jittering around in front of a poorly pasted background whilst spouting conspiracy theories. Eurgh. But of course, there is also a thriving community of genuine talent that grabs the attention of those in business and entertainment. For instance, Dan Trachtenberg, David F. Sandberg, Danny and Michael Philippou are all (now) famous genre directors who began with short video projects on YouTube and the like. As did Kane Parsons, with the much-anticipated “Backrooms” feature-length adaptation coming out in a few short weeks. Add to that list Curry Barker, whose online sketches with Cooper Tomlinson morphed into a directorial debut with the found footage horror film “Milk & Serial”, which went on to become a viral video hit. This was quickly followed in 2025 by Barker directing “Obsession”, which screened in that year's Toronto International Film Festival and won the People's Choice Award. Not only that, but the showing led studios and distributors to fight over the movie rights, with Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions ultimately clinching a deal. Starring Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarrette (“Superman & Lois”) and his collaborator Tomlinson, the film is getting a significant theatrical release in the UK and US after a nice bit of hype from its pathway to the screen and some very glowing reviews (Spoiler: This is also a “glowing review”). So, is it a film to fall in love with, or are the red flags fluttering like mad?

 

It opens with Bear (played intuitively well by Johnston), an unassuming twentysomething who’s spilling his guts (emotionally, not physically) to Sarah (Megan Lawless) in a diner. Turns out that she’s just a willing test subject for him, as Sarah and Bear’s BFF (Tomlinson playing Ian) are helping him practice his romantic escape from the dreaded friendzone, as he attempts to express his love for longtime platonic squeeze Nikki (a spellbinding Navarrette) and ask her to become his girlfriend. However, despite fate throwing him several opportunities on a plate during a group night out and a good-natured Nikki being potentially open to the idea, Bear becomes BACON (Bear Always Chickens Out Nonsensically) as he wastes umpteen chances to declare his true feelings. Despondent at his own uselessness, he messes around with a novelty gift intended for Nikki, a cheap piece of tat called a “One Wish Willow”. He makes the wish that she would “love him more than anyone else in the world”. Being a horror story, the six-bucks “toy” turns out to be pretty effective, and there is an almost instantaneous change in Nikki’s demeanour with him. Initially delighted, her extreme devotion quickly becomes sinister, and he regrets ever making the wish as it becomes a relationship that makes “Fatal Attraction” look like “Sleepless in Seattle” in comparison. But how can you undo a single wish when the complaints service is so bad?

 

Yeah. This is good, and the positive reviews are for various reasons. You’d think the basic concept has been seemingly done to death in genre movies and tales. Because this is basically the same narrative framework as W.W. Jacobs’ classic toe-curler from 1902, namely “The Monkey’s Paw”. And if you’re not familiar, it’s the granddaddy of all wish-gone-bad stories. From “Wishmaster” to “Wish Upon” and “Bedazzled”, as well as a large proportion of the “Tales from the Crypt” platforms and other anthologies, they all owe their existence to that classic tale. Barker is upfront about this, saying that it was a riff on the story from “The Simpsons” (one of the Halloween “Treehouse of Horror” episodes, naturally) that inspired him. Hell, if you want to get really down to earth, you could say that the plot is very similar to Tom Hanks’ “Big”, but with a wish about making a crush fall in love with you, rather than growing up and having an inappropriate tryst with Elizabeth Perkins. But what Barker has done here, with a small budget (just around $1m), is produce something offbeat, unsettling, and (yes) brilliantly funny in parts. It’s both simple in execution and yet brimming with themes and nice flourishes that make it rise above similar fare.

 

It’s already gained a rep for being disturbing and creepy, but “funny”? Yep, and without spoiling some of the highlights, this is down to the awkward social interactions and their sheer relatability. The humour is as black as night, and you will often feel uncomfortable as you succumb to a case of the sniggers. Examples of this include: an inappropriate outburst by Nikki at a house party, the slacker answering the “willow” complaints line (with a killer punchline), and the shop owner’s reaction to Bear returning to the gift store (which wonderfully plays with genre cliches to a huge degree). Another highlight that is weirdly funny and horrifying at the same time is the moment where a scared Bear tries to sneak out of bed beside a “sleeping” Nikki, only for her to suddenly scream “STAAAAAAYYY!!!!” before returning to dreamland. Yeah, it’s out there. But anybody who’s been privy to a toxic relationship will absolutely recognise the awkward silences and the forced interactions between the four friends.

 

What’s clever is that there are no “heroes” as such. Bear is actually a pretty pathetic character, so much so that it is hard to sympathise with him. Despite Nikki literally asking him if he “likes her”, he still bumbles around to the point that you wish the film were in 3D so you could slap the silly bugger. So, it’s infuriating that he takes advantage of the change in Nikki, even when he thinks it could be due to drink or drugs rather than a wish and only tries to resist her advances to a pitiful extent. Cue 3 minutes of rom-com happiness before the shit hits the “fam”. This is where the narrative echoes the extremes of toxic relationships and all of the baggage that can come with them. It plays up the frailties and silliness of human emotions and capers around showing what “obsessive love” would really be like. During one frenetic bout of lovemaking, the camera takes note of Nikki’s bland and indeterminate expression, rather than one of mutual adoration. This is a story that’s far more interested in the fact that she needs reciprocation and nonstop attention to acknowledge her emotions, rather than simper in an understated romance.

 

Absolute truckloads of kudos for Navarrette for her performance here, which is one likely to work as a calling card for other (hopefully genre) projects. Boy, she kills it! Literally on occasions. She starts as a hugely likeable character, playfully teasing and confiding in Bear, paying bar bills, and giving money to a homeless dude whilst actually taking time to talk to him. It makes his crush on her wholly believable, aside from his frustrating inability to actually open up to her (without magic wishes). Post-wish, however, Navarette channels a superbly unhinged and creepy persona. The mood swings move at 100mph. From crying and shrieking to a perky “Okay. I agree” in a heartbeat and always apologising when she does something horrendous… like cooking a domestic cat for a packed lunch! It’s a great performance that catches the walking-on-eggshells quality of psychopaths and abusers, with the actress dishing out multiple layers of quirks and eccentricities. Although there is some camera trickery, she realistically creates weird walking cycles and stances, whilst lurking in dark corners watching her beau sleeping. And she just simmers with rage and angst, showing skin-crawling expressions and postures. Seriously, just look at her face when Bear plays a kissing game at the party! You couldn’t make that expression any more funny or freaky at the same time. Jim Carrey would be proud of it!

 

So, whilst there is plenty of dark humour and creepiness, there is some very real horror and moments of madness that earn it’s 18/R certificate. Prepare for bloody and shocking violence at times, not to mention some gruesome acts of self-harm. As such, there is an underlying sense of horror and doom that permeates the scenes and really sticks with you. You just know this ain’t going to end well for most of the characters. Some of this is underlined greatly by a wickedly dark score from Rock Burwell that builds up some of the nastier moments to a satisfying degree. It’s not just the latter bloodletting that disturbs. There are incidental details, like Nikki standing in her own defecation and filth for hours, that just ram that “ick” button homewards and highlight the worst of her behaviour. In line with this, there is a very neat and understated mythology built up around the wishing method that just chills the bones. Nikki’s brief returns to “normality” are shocking and bring another layer of wrongness to the whole thing. Check out her pleas as she “sleeps”, which provides more finger-wagging fodder for Bear’s selfish desires.

 

For all of those reasons, it is well worth checking out “Obsession” when it visits your local big screen. It’s worth noting that, on top of all the plaudits that Barker has received for this piece of work, his upcoming projects also look to be offerings to get excited about. There’s “Anything but Ghosts” with Bryce Dallas Howard, Violet McGraw, and Aaron Paul and (as reported by the site already) yet another reboot for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” that he’s become involved in. Whilst that might sound unlikely, when you see how this filmmaker riffs on making the smallest details develop into the loudest scares, you can see why this might be a good idea. So, jump in at the early stop and see why he’s attracted this attention. You’ll wish you’d seen it sooner…