Obsession

Don't read if you want to go into this film blind.

I had been eagerly awaiting the release of Curry Barker's feature length film Obsession since a favorite YouTuber of mine, spookyastronauts, uploaded her review of the film after it premiered at Fantastic Fest in September of last year. Her review of it made it sound like it was going to be one of the most intense horror films released in a while. While I had seen Barker's hour-long YouTube horror movie Milk & Serial and enjoyed it, nothing could have prepared me for the bloodcurdling roller coaster that is Obsession.

The premise of the film is a very familiar one: be careful what you wish for. Or, "the monkey's paw". Baron "Bear" Bailey (Michael Johnston) is a young man with a crush on his coworker Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette). While Bear is certainly a cutie, he is also unfortunately a bit of a passive wimp who is too afraid to just tell Nikki how he feels--even with given a clear and open opportunity. 

While visiting a New Age-y store to buy Nikki a necklace, Bear spots a novelty "One Wish Willow"--a piece of willow wood that purports to grant you one wish--and one wish only!--by breaking the willow stick. After once again failing to tell Nikki how he feels, Bear impulsively wishes that "Nikki Freeman would love me more than anyone in the world" and breaks the stick.

What surprised me is how Nikki expresses this love. She doesn't come to Bear all gooey and happy and lovey-dovey, as one might expect. Instead, she acts very, very off and erratic. She tells Bear that she's acting weird because her cat died...but actually, it was Bear's cat that died and when reminded of this, she corrects herself and immediately goes into sympathy mode. But then she tells Bear that her dad is dying and begs to come home with him. Later, in the middle of making out, Nikki seems to snap out of it and screams in horror--almost like she woke up from a coma to realize she was in a man's bed. But within two seconds, she's smiling and apologizing and saying "she thought she saw something".

Nikki's transformation is BEYOND creepy. And it becomes clear very quickly that perhaps this isn't even Nikki at all--but something wearing Nikki's face. *Full body shivers*

Bear's friends, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), are concerned about this enormous change in Nikki. Ian reveals to Bear that he did a little research and Nikki's father is, in fact, not dying. And Bear is obviously put off by Nikki...but not so much that he won't take her home and fuck her even after finding out she lied and confronting her, only for her to act extremely scary in public until he backs down to pacify her. Does this man not know that you don't stick your dick in crazy?

Obsession is aware that Bear is not a good guy. While he's not aggressive, his inability to take ownership of his feelings not only hurts himself, but hurts others around him. It is pointed out multiple times by his friends that Nikki is not well and that Bear is taking advantage of whatever is happening to her. Bear protests that Nikki is throwing herself at him. But what Bear is not revealing is that what is happening is much, much scarier. It's hard not to have sympathy for the poor guy when he wakes up in the middle of the night to see Nikki standing in the shadows of his bedroom, watching him sleep. 

I can't convey how truly and genuinely terrifying Inde Navarrette's performance as Nikki is in this film. When I say that this is an Oscar worthy performance, I mean it. It's not just that she's a hot chick "acting creepy"...it's that the way she walks, the way she arranges her facial features, the way she screams when she doesn't get what she wants--but also how she switches on a dime--feels downright demonic. Going into Obsession I didn't expect to be truly scared by it. But there are scenes in this film that are among the scariest things I've seen on screen. A few movies that come to mind are The Ring (especially in certain scenes where Nikki walks in a strange way) and Talk to Me. Curry Barker has a knack for using shadow and darkness in exactly the right way to maximize terror. That combined with Navarrette's unhinged performance makes for a nerve-shredding and blood chilling film.

Another aspect of the movie that I thought added to the horror are the hints we get of the real Nikki, who appears to be in some kind of hellish purgatory or "sunken place" while whatever this thing that is pretending to be Nikki takes center stage. There are a couple scenes that are devastating when the real Nikki is allowed to peek out and beg for help, only to be ignored by Bear. 

My only criticism of Obsession is that it had a difficult time committing to how it wanted to end. A lot happens in the final 15 minutes of the film and there are multiple directions Barker clearly envisioned as possible endings. Instead of committing to one choice and going all in, Barker crams a couple endings in there at the last minute before finally landing on a resolution. It's hard to explain without just giving away what happens, but if you see the movie you'll know what I mean.

That criticism aside, Obsession is a near-perfect horror film. The cinematography, the acting, the misdirections and surprises---all of it works harmoniously to tell a that is truly nightmarish story. Obsession lived up to and exceeded my expectations. It surprised me, much to my delight. Any horror fan absolutely needs to see this film.

Grade: A+