‘Obsession’ review: Curry Barker puts an incisive, schlocky spin on the wish fulfillment horror

Dir: Curry Barker. US. 2026. 110mins

The path of true love never runs smooth – and when black magic is involved, the journey becomes more twisted still. Curry Barker’s astute horror takes the simple, familiar premise of a love-sick man attempting to win the object of his affections and shapes it into an incisive, entertainingly schlocky study of romantic co-dependency, patriarchal entitlement and the all-too-easy subversion of good intentions.

An incisive, study of romantic co-dependency and patriarchal entitlement 

Barker has already amassed a large following on YouTube, as one half of comedy duo That’s A Bad Idea with Cooper Tomlinson (who stars here), and his 2023 short film The Chair and 2024 mid-length feature Milk & Honey also became viral hits. Obsession marks a confident step to the big screen, and should appeal to genre fans when it opens in multiple territories, including the US and UK, on May 15, following a Toronto premiere and festival berths including SXSW, Golden Horse and Moscow. Solid word of mouth should also help it travel, as will the fact that Barker has been tapped to direct A24’s upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.

The seemingly-ironically named Bear (Michael Johnston) is a quiet, unassuming, decent man. We know this because, in the first few minutes of the film, we see him passionately rehearsing a speech telling friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) that he loves her, then crying over the death of his beloved cat. From the outset, Johnston plays the character as a slightly dishevelled, sympathetic everyman, a nice guy who can’t seem to catch a break. Not least that Nikki, who he has adored from afar for a long time, seems to regard him as just a friend.

Desperate to win Nikki’s affections, Bear impulsively buys a ‘One Wish Willow’—a toy that promises to grant a wish to the person who snaps it in half. Sceptical, Bear wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else on earth – and, suddenly, she does. Bear is confused and incredulous about her change of feeling, but isn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth; a soft-focus romcom-esque sequence charts their rapid shift from friends to soulmates. Throughout, Barker plays with romcom conventions – the dreamy music, the cute dates, the love-conquers-all narrative – but undercuts them with darker genre cues. Rock Burwell’s score underpins optimistic strings with an ominous, insidious low rumble.

Nikki’s behaviour soon raises alarm bells with their friends Ian (Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless) - with good reason, as she begins to behave increasingly erratically. Her affection for Bear soon borders on the obsessive – she stands weirdly in the corner of the room watching him sleep, gaffer tapes the door so he can’t leave the house. She also demonstrates physical anomalies –staring blankly into space, uncanny movements, weird grins, screaming declarations of love. It’s a layered, intense performance from Navarette, who pushed Nikki to her psychological limit while still keeping the character’s vulnerability intact. There’s no doubt that Nikki is absolutely not in her right mind.

Bear knows this, of course – how could he not – but manages to convince himself that he is supporting Nikki through her distress, rather than being the cause of it. And he certainly won’t admit to the use of the One Wish Willow. Even explicit warnings from Ian about how Bear is clearly using Nikki’s apparent breakdown for his own ends go unheeded. Bear may be a nice guy, but not nice enough to put aside his own needs and desires for the sake of the woman he supposedly loves. His final realisation and attempts to right his serious misjudgement comes far too late. And quite aside from the well-utilised scares and lashings of gore, it’s Bear’s easy ability and willingness to manipulate the bizarre situation for his own satisfaction that is Obsession’s most chilling aspect.