Obsession 2025 - Honest Public Reviews

Obsession is a great horror movie that excels at getting big reactions from a packed theatre thanks to impressive and deliberately erratic tonal shifts which have the film constantly moving between being really funny, scary and properly cringe worthy. It's one of the most effective cautionary tales about being careful what you wish for that's adapted perfectly for the modern age of dating and male loneliness. It stagnates in the middle but recovers nicely by properly escalating for the unhinged finale.

Michael Johnston gives a vulnerable leading performance, making him empathetic at first as he struggles to open up so much but he quickly becomes an increasingly frustrating protagonist whose lack of urgency only makes everything worse. He always has impressive reactions too. Inde Navarrette is incredible in a role where she achieves so much flawlessly, especially her movements. She completely changes her energy in a second and remains terrifying even when obscured in darkness or other similarly creative filmmaking choices.

Writer & director Curry Barker maintains a masterful tonal grasp whilst delivering some beautifully staged scares that revel in their uncomfortable buildup for the right amount of time and the release can be just as haunting. The cinematography by Taylor Clemons prioritises precise framing and camerawork which is a natural fit for this genre. Rock Burwell's ambient score is a real highlight and a consistently stable presence when a lot of other elements are shifting throughout.

Obsession is one of the first genuine surprises in a movie I've seen in really long time. It's adds creepiness and comedy and mashes it into a terrific horror film. Inde Navarrette was in her acting bag, genuinely award winning, and Curry Baker needs to be given his flowers. This is an absolute recommendation. Only downside is it can be a little slow, however it never feels like it's dragging.

This movie doesn't change the landscape on how we see horror movies. It's enjoyable from start to finish with a few suprise and shock elements here and there, but thats about it. The main actors was excellent and made the movie what it is. Obsession tells its own story, while keeping the mystique (one wish willow plot) unexplained for a potential sequel. It does it's thing, but nothing more.

Overall the movie had some good acting scenes...Horror scenes and the audio video jumps were good.

However, missed almost the whole backstory of what happened and why did this happened? Which is a big part of the horror and thriller movies core. A lot of open questions with no answer (Don't want to add spoilers).

Maybe this will be justified is there's a sequel for this movie. But overall the bar for a good movie. Went down over the past years so the hype on the movie is understandable.

Watched this movie tonight, enjoyed it. Excellent performance from Inde Navarrette. She successfully portrayed a deeply disturbed malevolent character. This is a non conventional story on the theme of being careful for what you wish for! Progressively build up the sense of impending doom for the main protagonist.

However somewhat predictable ending.

This movie completely deregulated my nervous system - not in a meaningful or impactful way, but mostly because of the constant yelling and loud jump scares. This movie is LOUD.

I do understand that part of the challenge is that the movie's scare factor relies on a young woman, which naturally limits how far they can push the horror without leaning into other tactics.

It's a decently creepy with an interesting premise and good performances, but nothing particularly terrifying or groundbreaking. (Creepy- not horror movie scary though).

That being said, there were a few genuinely funny moments, which I appreciated as a break from the overall bleak and depressing tone.

Disclaimer- it simply wasn't my taste and didn't deliver on the scares.

Although I'm aware that this film is a "Thriller" film and could Maybe pass as a Horror Film too with the minimal amount of jump scares,

But this film all has its limits of seriousness.

I think....

Let's just say it was more funny than it was scary in certain situations.

Now when it comes down to the nitty gritty, toxic relationships never survive, not even forced wished ones. Bear was a coward and a jerk, Vicky suffered his consequences because of his selfish behavior and of course obsession.

Ok movie, will I watch it again? Probably not, but other than that it was...ok

B+

Curry Barker's comedic sensibility shines through a prevalence of dark shadows in his studio debut, Obsession. In no way does that mean the tale of one man's foundational Make-A-Wish moment gone terribly wrong is a comedy. Obsession doesn't even deserve the dreaded Horror Comedy moniker. This is straight horror with wince inducing whiplash splattered all over the screen. You'll be laughing because you don't want to cry or scream.

We are immediately introduced to Michael Johnston's Bear fixating on his super crush Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. Movies of this nature often lead the audience to understand the object of the preoccupation is undeserving. Not our Darling Nikki. She is equal parts beautiful and cute, with the tomboy attitude to seem obtainable and sufficient come hither glances to be desirable.

One night Nikki lowers her guard and offers our sad sack protagonist the opening he so desperately longs for. It isn't a split second. There's a sizeable pause. One may even call it pregnant. He fumbles the opportunity entirely in an inexorable display of diffident indecisiveness. At that point Bear commits an even larger gaffe.

What follows is Nikki's shockingly quick descent into manic monomania. The film plays on stereotypes of the crazy girlfriend without allowing the commentary to overwhelm the good times. Obsession has a number of standout scenes but nothing that quite compares to Navarrette doing her best impersonation of someone who is determined to make a scene of her own at a house party. It is an unforgettable snippet of acting bravado that is bizarre yet grounded.

Obsession intentionally telegraphs its ending but adds several small twists and turns to keep the audience engaged. Barker's screenplay is delightfully demented. It is littered with scary quiet moments (Nikki watching Bear sleep) and scary loud moments (Nikki disfiguring herself). At its heart, Obsession is the story of a young man and a young woman that want to find connection with each other but don't know how.

Sounds familiar.

I went to see this in a VIP theater and it was a nice horror movie. I watch horror shorts every night on youtube so i knew Curry and Co from there and it was just as enjoyable as his other horror flicks. There isnt anything unique per sey in this movie but it manages to be a horror movie in the sense of creepiness despite having only 1 jumpscare. The actors all did a great job. The moral of the film being if you have a crush, better to tell them straight up and stop being scared and to be careful what you wish for.

The story begins quite ordinarily; a terribly shy bloke has a crush on a woman, Nikki, but never actually makes a move. Even at a perfect moment, when they're both alone in the car, he fails to express his feelings for her. Just as she gets out of the car, he resorts to a 'one wish stick', and makes a wish that she will love him more than anyone else. And that is the moment when the horror begins. Just the image of Nikki not going into her house, but looking at him in the car from her doorstep. The menace emanating from this simple image foreshadows the menace that awaits the viewer for the next hour and a half. 'Normal' conversations and situations take on a menacing quality, and are stretched to the breathtakingly absurd. She appears unexpectedly like a jump scare; whilst he is on the phone, she is sweet for a moment before turning into a hoarse fury, because he is not clear enough in expressing his love. Her behaviour escalates to the heights of horror.

There is never any real exaggeration in the film. I even think that some couples actually have a relationship like this. But the darkness, the fear, the suffocation, the menace make this film a horror masterpiece that remains firmly in the realm of fantasy.

Usually, there is a trend of reboots, remakes, prequels, and sequels. When was the last time you saw a creepy horror movie left you with full satisfaction? I think it was Get Out (2017). This movie, made from a mediocre budget of $750,000 and converting it to an overall box office collection of $225.2 million is incredibly insane!

Fast forward the timeline to 2021. I only knew Inde Navarrette from Superman & Lois. Since she was a side actor in the TV series, I did not expect much of her. In fact, after watching this flick, it seems that Inde and Michael gave the best performances in their career.

The director does not use 3D/4DX/IMAX 3D to make you "immersed" in the motion picture. Instead, it has all the elements of a horror movie - black comedy, blood & gore and creepiness blended together in equal proportions.

If it was kudos to Kane Parsons for his first feature film and becoming the youngest director for have a film to top the box office, then hats off to Curry Barker for his theatrical debut for Obsession. If it was Backrooms last week, its got to be Obsession this week! Don't be surprised it you see Backrooms v Obsession competing each other for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director at the 99th Annual Academy Awards next year!

OBSESSION ended up being way better than I expected. The trailer sold me instantly because it looked creepy as hell, but what surprised me most is how much the movie leans into its characters instead of just throwing horror scenes at you.

The story follows Bear, a lonely guy who's been hung up on the same girl for years and can't seem to move on with his life. Right away you get the sense that something isn't quite right with him. He's awkward, desperate, and constantly making things harder for himself, but he's written in a way where you understand him even when you're sitting there questioning every decision he's making.

Nikki is the girl at the center of everything, and I liked that she actually feels like a real person instead of just existing to move the plot forward. A lot of movies with this kind of setup would make her a cardboard cutout love interest, but she has her own personality and presence throughout the film.

The movie does a great job taking a pretty relatable idea-wanting someone who doesn't want you back-and twisting it into something increasingly creepy and unnatural. It plays with themes of loneliness, obsession, insecurity, rejection, and the fantasy of getting exactly what you think you want.

What really got me was the tone. One minute it's genuinely funny because of how awkward a situation is, then a few minutes later you're completely uncomfortable. It constantly walks that line between dark comedy and horror without ever feeling like it's trying too hard.

The horror itself isn't built around cheap jump scares. It's more about dread, tension, and watching a situation become more and more disturbing. There's also some really solid body horror mixed in. Not enough to turn it into a gorefest, but enough to make certain scenes stick with you afterward.

I also liked that the movie feels pretty modern without being obnoxious about it. The dialogue sounds natural, the characters feel like actual people in their twenties, and the whole thing avoids a lot of the clichés that usually come with relationship-based horror stories.

The best way I can describe it is that OBSESSION feels like a nightmare built around loneliness and wanting something so badly that you stop thinking about whether you should have it in the first place.

It's weird, funny, uncomfortable, gross, creepy, and surprisingly emotional at times. By the end I wasn't scared so much as deeply unsettled, and honestly that's usually the kind of horror that sticks with me the longest.

A very solid horror movie top to bottom. The "horror" aspect of it is top notch. Jump scares are shocking (I am a self admitted wimp when it comes to them so I was freaked), the suspense gets you and the gore is satisfying, if that's your thing (it's my thing). I think the acting, particularly Nikki, is quite strong. She plays her role extremely well and her performance makes you uneasy the entire time. Shoutout to makeup/ lighting team. They do an awesome job. The lighting in particular, combined with fantastic editing, really plays to the strengths of the movie. The combination of long shots (the smiling scene IYKYK) plus quick cuts is captivating. Really excellent cinematography all around.

Where the movie loses some points is in the plot. The A plot is good enough - it's a monkey's paw story. It's not revolutionary but it's intriguing and mostly done well. It suffers a little bit for lack of explanation. I almost never say this, but the movie could've been a little longer. Part of me kind of liked the ambiguity of why things happened, but part of me was itching for some more digging into what was going on with Nikki during the whole ordeal. It's soooooo interesting to think about and I just wanted some more. The B plots don't really do much. They open a bunch of threads and never really get into any of them. Although I like all the characters, they're mostly just fodder.

All in all, the movie is totally worth the watch. It's bone chilling at times and edge of your seat exciting. Curry has a lot to say, and this was an awesome first project. Excited to see what's the come.

To be honest, it's a good movie. However, I strongly feel that this movie didn't do anything extraordinary. It delivered a good idea, but the idea is simple and has very very few layers to it that there is not much to explore with it. It just doesn't have enough or do anything insane enough to warrant the high praise it's been getting.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I've seen a number of good horror movies over recent years. And while the quality has certainly been building over the past 2 years I'd say, there hasn't really been any that's "scared" or "creeped" me out. Smile 2, was decently creepy, but I was beginning to think that I was just desensitised to the genre. And while this still might be true, Obsession reminded me why I love horror.

This was the creepiest film I have seen in the past 5 years. Yes, it has some good characters and a concept that reminds me of old internet stories & creepypasta from the 2010s. But this film leans heavily into creeping you out, which of course I respect. It's about a guy who has a huge crush on a girl, he gets this creepy game that makes her fall in love with him, and it ends up going further than he originally wanted to.

My favourite thing that this new generation of horror movies are generally doing, is understanding that most ideas have been done before, so rather than making convoluted messes, they are picking simple concepts and executing them well. E.g. Smile, Weapons, Terrifier.

Huge shoutout to Inde Navarrette who smashes the creepy role here to perfection. The way she can act with her face is truly terrifying. GO WATCH THIS NOW!

The movie is stellar i was on the edge of my seat the whole 110 minutes however the ending is what dropped my review to a 7 i found it anticlimactic but fair. If you are looking for a fun movie too watch with some really good underlying tones about true love morality and consciousness this movie is definitely for you.

I went into Obsession because of all the hype surrounding it. People were calling it a disturbing, unforgettable horror experience, and after watching it, I can say one thing clearly... this movie definitely leaves an impact.

But is it the revolutionary horror film everyone is claiming it to be? Not really.

Obsession takes a very simple "be careful what you wish for" concept and turns it into a disturbing psychological nightmare about obsession, insecurity, love, and the terrifying consequences of trying to control someone's emotions.

The biggest strength of this movie is undoubtedly Inde Navarrette's performance as Nikki.

What she does here is not easy. She has to balance vulnerability, fear, obsession and pure terror within the same character, and she completely commits to it. Nikki is unpredictable, uncomfortable and genuinely frightening because the performance makes you believe there is a person trapped inside this nightmare.

Michael Johnston as Bear also deserves appreciation. His character is emotionally weak, desperate and flawed, but Johnston makes his choices understandable. The horror works because the audience can connect with the emotional desperation behind the supernatural situation.

Director Curry Barker also deserves credit. Coming from the world of YouTube sketches, delivering a feature horror film with this much confidence is impressive. He successfully mixes dark humor, tragedy and horror without making the movie feel completely disconnected.

The smartest thing about Obsession is that the supernatural element is not really the main horror. The real horror is the idea of someone wanting another person's love so badly that they destroy everything around them.

The movie also proves that a big budget is not always necessary to create fear. It clearly looks like a low-budget production in many places, but Barker uses silence, uncomfortable moments and sudden bursts of violence effectively. Some of the jump scares are genuinely well executed.

And the ending deserves special mention.

The final moments, especially Nikki's reaction after everything unfolds, stay with you. The crying continues even after the movie ends, creating an uncomfortable feeling that many horror films fail to achieve.

But yes, the movie is not perfect.

The biggest issue is the concept itself.

The "wish gone wrong" storyline is something we have seen many times before. In fact, for Nepali audiences, the comparison with Kaagbeni is unavoidable because that film explored a similar idea years ago and handled the concept with a different level of emotional depth and atmosphere.

Because of that, calling Obsession something completely never-seen-before feels exaggerated.

Another problem is predictability. If you have watched enough psychological horror movies, many of the twists and consequences become easy to predict. The film is disturbing, but it is not as unpredictable as many people claim.

The cinematography is also a mixed bag. The low-budget approach itself is not a problem, but visually the movie often feels plain and flat. A stronger visual style could have elevated the atmosphere significantly.

The movie also chooses emotional violence over traditional horror. Instead of relying heavily on spooky atmosphere, it focuses on disturbing imagery, gore and uncomfortable situations. For some viewers, this will be effective. For others, it may simply leave a bad taste.

My theatrical experience was also affected by technical issues at QFX Jalma. I had to watch one important scene twice, first without audio and then with audio. Surprisingly, the second viewing showed how much the sound design added to the horror, but the interruption definitely affected the overall experience. I also noticed some scenes felt abruptly cut, possibly due to censorship.

Last Words: Obsession is not the greatest horror movie ever made, but it is a solid theatrical experience. If you enjoy disturbing psychological horror, uncomfortable emotions and intense performances, give it a watch. Just lower your expectations because the hype around it is bigger than the actual movie.

This movie is great, primarily because it doesn't lean on the clichés of modern horror. No cheap, loud jump scares to startle you, nor shows unnecessary, mindless gore just for shock value. More importantly, there is none of the frustrating tropes where characters make inexplicably dumb decisions that get them killed or completely blunder obvious chances to end the entire plot on the spot. Instead of focusing on a monster or demon the film plants a seed of mental horror that slowly builds up.

The execution here is amazing. The direction uses visuals and sound design not to startle the audience, but to build a layer of tension. The sound effects were pretty good in my opinion, while the framing and lighting add to the feeling.

Inde Navarrette's performance as Nikki is the driver behind the movie's psychological horror weight. She shifts between a grounded, independent person and an uncanny, distorted shell of herself, and does it rather well.

Michael Johnston's performance as Bear is also completely on point. No flawless hyper-competent hero. He grounds Bear in realistic, messy insecurity. His desperation, "passivity," and panic feel simply human. Even when his choices become hard to watch, his reactions remain believable.

Edit: Not saying his choices were good, They are questionable at best. But his terrified reactions and that 'shock' is human. That's what I meant with my last statement.

Ambiance: 9/10

Sound Effects: 8/10

Visual Effects: 7/10

Plot: 8.5/10.

I don't think Obsession is overhyped at all, I just think it was marketed extremely well. Focus Features and Blumhouse marketed this so well. Yeah it costs 750k to make it but it costs 30 million to market it. Curry Barker and Cooper Tomlinson and their social media management team also did an excellent job with promotion. Curry Barker comes out of Mobile, Alabama where these things only happen in dreams. It takes a lot of determination and focus to make something like this happen coming from a place like that, and I think that same drive is why Barker is going to become one of the best upcoming directors in horror and in cinema in general. The movie itself does really well with its premise, the acting felt natural and flawless, and good directing always makes performances stand out even more. You can tell there was real passion behind the production. At the end of the day, it's not the greatest movie ever made and people shouldn't expect that going in, but it is a really solid hour and. A half movie made by genuinely talented people. I could even see this becoming a cult classic. Overall, it's a good movie and a really strong start to what will probably be some great careers.

A Great warning type movie aimed at the younger naive generation it's 2026 & some of them out there are nuts & this plays on this premise so so so well, Its uncomfortable & funny all wrapped into one. Director/writer completely on point. Acting excellent especially the girl scarily realistic A cult classic on the lines of it follows enjoy.