The cautionary tale of wish fulfillment is as old as storytelling itself. From genies in a bottle to an ancient monkey’s paw, humans have had a lingering fascination with people or objects that can grant whatever your heart craves — at an unknown cost. These are stories designed to twist the outcome of one’s desires and define the idea of being careful what you wish for. In the case of Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” if you wished that the girl you’re too afraid to confess your feelings for “loved you more than anybody in the fucking world,” what would happen?
After being consumed by Bear’s (Michael Johnston) wish, the film’s victim-slash-antagonist, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), becomes possessed, morphing into a vicious companion whose sole purpose is to ensure Bear loves her by any means necessary. Pursuing this, Nikki watches Bear sleep, stands in the same place for hours waiting for him to come home, acts scarily deranged when Bear expresses negative feelings about their relationship — and, of course, brutally kills anyone she perceives as a threat to Bear’s love. This film toes the line between parodying the oft-mocked clingy girlfriend and depicting a relationship that alters any sense of individuality.
Debut writer and director Curry Barker, best known for his sketch comedy YouTube channel titled that’s a bad idea, reveals exactly what makes someone with a comedy background like Jordan Peele such a powerhouse: by frequently switching between modes of horror and comedy. Nervous laughter rippled through the theatre periodically, viewers unsure whether or not something was a joke or a new, creeping terror. However, sometimes his stint on YouTube is a certain, unfortunate presence in scenes. The camera focuses on something serious before a hard cut to its comedic polar opposite, an editing punchline better left on a YouTube sketch. Horror stereotypes also muddle the film, and if you’ve seen a movie about possession, it’s not going to reinvent the structure in any particular way. Within the first 10 minutes, you know how the rest of the movie will play out: character arcs, story beats and all.
But despite this obvious roadmap, Barker keeps the movie engaging thanks to his gripping characters and performances. The few moments we see Nikki as a normal person are so pivotal; Navarrette’s mesmerizing performance in these early moments is crucial to Nikki feeling like a real person — quirks and all — which makes her transformation that much more tragic. Navarrette possesses such a beaming screen presence that it elevates the character into those different layers. If she were played poorly, then the film would very quickly morph into a corny portrayal of a demanding girlfriend, diluting the horror and any sense of commentary on modern dating culture.
Barker’s characterizations continue to hit home with Bear — a man consumed by his fear of rejection, and later his unwavering guilt. Seeing such a lowly character caught between the joy of finally getting what he’s always wanted and the fear of admitting what he’s done is both strangely compelling and abhorrent. The viewer may detest how he handles the situation and blatantly ignores Nikki’s obvious descent into madness, but he never quite loses his relatability. He’s a character rooted in the widely shared, modern fear of being utterly alone and persisting with something we know is harmful to ourselves and others. Bear is written as a funhouse mirror, letting the viewers see the most selfish version of themselves and how we sometimes act in our own relationships, making it a provocative piece of great writing.
There is a reason Generation Z coined the term “situationship,” and young filmmakers like Barker tap into this modern, evolved fear of the vulnerability of dating in ways that feel relatable and new. “Obsession” does a brilliant job of addressing this subject matter and confining it to a simple yet engrossing cautionary tale. Though the plot beats could be seen as formulaic in terms of horror cliches, the sheer power of its premise, the lights-out performance from Navarrette and its spot-on portrayal of younger generations elevate it well above the modern low-budget horror film.
Daily Arts Writer Sam Brown can be reached at sbrownie@umich.edu.
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