A simple "be careful what you wish for" premise transcends the sum of its parts by making us fear being the perpetrator even more than being the victim.
We are fast approaching the point where the surest path to becoming a horror film director is to start a career in short-form comedy. Jordan Peele shocked the world with *Get Out*; Zach Cregger turned this into a trend with *Barbarian* and *Weapons*; and Danny and Michael Philippou jumped on the bandwagon with *Talk to Me* and *Bring Her Back*. Now, YouTube prankster Curry Barker has released one of the best horror films of 2025.
Director: Curry Barker
Writer: Curry Barker
Stars: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson
*Obsession* kicks off with the simplest of horror premises: Bear (Michael Johnston) is a shy, sensitive music store employee who can’t seem to muster the courage to ask out his coworker and childhood friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Instead of being honest with her and confessing his true feelings, he wanders into an esoteric crystal shop and buys a "One Wish Willow"—a vintage, kitschy toy from the 1960s that promises to grant its owner a single wish if they snap one of its branches in half. The shopkeeper warns him that most customers who have purchased the object have complained about the results; but, of course, it wouldn't be a horror movie worthy of the name if the protagonist actually heeded the warning.
After dropping Nikki off at her home following a trivia night at a bar with their other coworkers—and having made her uncomfortable with his attempts at flirting while simultaneously insisting that they are "just friends"—Bear snaps the willow branch and makes a simple wish: that Nikki would love him more than anything else in the world. It isn't long before she steps out of her house and asks to leave with him; Bear believes, then, that he has just bought a one-way ticket to permanently exit the "friend zone."
We are fast approaching the point where the surest path to becoming a horror film director is to start a career in short-form comedy. Jordan Peele shocked the world with *Get Out*; Zach Cregger turned this into a trend with *Barbarian* and *Weapons*; and Danny and Michael Philippou jumped on the bandwagon with *Talk to Me* and *Bring Her Back*. Now, YouTube prankster Curry Barker has released one of the best horror films of 2025.
"Obsession" kicks off with the simplest of horror premises: Bear (Michael Johnston) is a shy, sensitive music store employee who can't seem to muster the courage to ask out his coworker and childhood friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Instead of being honest with her and confessing how he truly feels, he wanders into an esoteric crystal shop and buys a "One Wish Willow"—a kitschy vintage toy from the 1960s that promises to grant its owner a single wish if they snap one of its branches in half. The shopkeeper warns him that most customers who have bought one have complained about the results; but it wouldn't be a horror movie worthy of the name if he actually listened.
After dropping Nikki off at her house following a night of bar trivia with their other coworkers—and having made her uncomfortable with his attempts at flirting while insisting they were "just friends"—Bear snaps a willow branch and makes a simple wish: that Nikki would love him more than anything else in the world. It isn't long before she steps out of her house and asks to go back to his place with him; Bear then believes he has just bought himself a one-way ticket out of the "friend zone." Suddenly, Nikki is constantly hot for Bear, eager to show him affection in public, and spends so much time with him that she practically ends up moving into his house. For Bear, this new situation is fantastic 99 percent of the time... the only catch is that, occasionally, Nikki reverts to her old self and screams in terror for a few seconds, only to immediately resume her barrage of affection.
*Obsession* serves as proof that the "Cregger-ization" of 2020s horror cinema is in full swing, as its blend of sadistic violence, ironic musical cues, and humor—derived from the pathetically self-centered ways people react to tragedy—will undoubtedly invite numerous comparisons to *Barbarian* and *Weapons*. Likewise, it aptly continues the recent trend of allowing inexplicable forces of evil to simply exist within their fictional universes, finding its social commentary in how human beings react to what they cannot comprehend, rather than reducing the evils themselves to mere metaphors.
The film’s most fascinating and unpredictable aspect lies in Barker’s decision to tell a story about something objectively heinous—in this case, a man who steals a woman’s entire soul, transforming her into a psychotic replica of herself solely to have sex with her body and pretend they are in a romantic relationship—told exclusively from the perpetrator’s perspective. Navarrette delivers a brilliantly twisted performance as what remains of Nikki; however, since her true self remains trapped—screaming in a sort of call-center purgatory from which she can only briefly emerge for a few seconds at a time—it is through the eyes of Bear, the male lead, that we witness the entire story unfold.
The vast majority of works in the horror genre are built around men committing heinous acts against women, yielding results that range from the deeply misogynistic to the cathartically feminist. *Obsession*, however, is structured around a far more contemporary male fear: the fear of becoming that "problematic" guy—the one whose entire social circle knows he took advantage of a girl and, consequently, refuses to have anything to do with him.
When we first meet Bear, he is not a monster waiting to snap. He is a sensitive young man, frustrated by his lack of success in his romantic life; his romantic disillusionment drives him to prioritize his own desires over his friend's autonomy—albeit only for the brief span necessary to ruin both their lives. He stops short of physically assaulting her, yet he ventures into morally ambiguous territory for purely selfish ends, evidently tormented by the guilt stemming from the irreversible chain of events he himself has set in motion.
Furthermore, he loathes the fact that his friends are entirely justified in the criticisms they level against him. The very fact that a film like *Obsession* can even exist serves as proof of at least some social progress, as it would only resonate in a society where men perceive that there are real social consequences for inappropriate sexual conduct. Barker shows him no mercy whatsoever for his actions, yet leaves the door open for a darker form of introspection. For most viewers, the terrifying question should not be: "Could I end up like Nikki?" Rather, it should be: "Could I—or someone I know—be tempted to do what Bear did?"
This does not imply that what happens to him is worse than what befalls her (at least initially); however, Barker almost seems to challenge his audience to ask themselves how many "good men" in the room would be capable of committing a similar error in judgment under certain circumstances. Men and women will experience two very different types of fear when contemplating the answer; nevertheless, *Obsession* should keep everyone awake long after they have returned home from watching it.
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