Director: Curry Barker
Writer: Curry Barker
Stars: Chloe Breen, Anthony Casabianca, Haley Fitzgerald
Synopsis: A hopeless romantic’s wish for his crush’s love triggers a dark enchantment in Curry Barker’s eerie directorial debut.
Curry Barker’s debut film Obsession understands just how all-consuming a crush can feel. It can have us acting all sorts of ways, all in the hopes of our true feelings being noticed by the person we’re pining after. In Bear’s (Michael Johnston) case, it’s his longtime friend and co-worker Nikki (a tour-de-force Inde Navarrette). He’s had a crush for years, and seemingly everybody in their friend group is painfully aware. Even complete strangers are clued into the fact after a humorous introduction which subverts expectations. The stresses of vulnerability when it comes to expressing our true feelings are instantly understood upon meeting Bear. It’s an immensely helpful tactic for setting up the foundation of Obsession. Because as important as the crush is to Barker’s film, so are the overwhelming nerves that come with the potential of imploding a stable situation. Bear’s dilemma on whether or not to reveal his true feelings to Nikki is where Obsession sets itself up for exciting genre success.
Bear is told all he has is time to confess his feelings, which brings him some comfort. But Obsession reaffirms the notion that sitting around and internalizing our emotions for years on end is beneficial to nobody. In a pivotal scene early on, Bear’s awkward inability to express himself properly in front of Nikki is endearing. But it also saddens the audience at the possibility he may never get around to it. After a night of trivia amongst friends, it feels like he’s perfectly set up for success. He brought a sweet gift along for Nikki, and Barker provides his central character the perfect scenario. This barebones set-up is simple enough to draw the viewer in emotionally before the genre elements fully kick in. And how exactly does Barker introduce the genre leanings of this film? Quickly and off-handedly; it’s as effective as it could possibly be.
Bear bought Nikki a One Wish Willow, a novelty toy which supposedly grants you a single wish. After again refusing the opportunity to reveal his feelings to Nikki, and impressively fumbling the interaction quite comedically, he snaps it with frustration. His wish? For Nikki to love him more than anybody else in the world. From here, Obsession is off to the races, and allows for Navarrette to take center stage for the remainder of the film. Hers is a fully committed performance that could easily fall apart in lesser hands. But she embodies this monkey’s paw nightmare scenario in a way that feels completely unhinged and unpredictable. Her facial expressions remain eerie as she randomly lashes out in public, utilizes a 1000-yard stare that chills when her and Bear are alone, and generally torments the friends they surround themselves with through painfully awkward horror. It’s a full-bodied performance that Barker utilizes to great effect.
Obsession is a menacing example of selling one’s soul for our deepest desires. But the fact that this horror occurs against a person’s will is what makes it particularly twisted. And it’s honestly a shame the film doesn’t grapple with Bear’s internal dilemma even more. Yes, he’s distressed and confused on how to handle the situation. But one might hope to see Bear’s true guilt clash with the relief of getting what he wanted all along. In addition to that, Obsession might have benefitted from examining the co-dependent relationship angle a bit more. What’s present is comical, but merely glosses the surface at what could be. As such, Obsession feels a bit hollow as far as these deeper ideas go, but it’s a fun enough vehicle regarding wish fulfillment that works really well as a midnight genre flick.
Obsession relies on a variety of deeply unsettling genre techniques to maximize its effect on the audience. Barker clearly knows what he’s doing here, never providing his characters the easy way out of his scenario. For starters, the internal logic of the film’s horror rules are quite twisted. It’s what makes the desire for more insight into Bear’s potential guilt all the more justified. There’s a torment within Nikki’s soul that shows itself in fleeting moments, making Navarrette‘s impressive performance all the more layered. In addition to that, there’s plenty of simple practical effects that are utilized so well. On more than one occasion, Nikki’s body movements feel puppeteered. Through a shuddering reverse effect in-camera, or just in the way Navarrette positions her limbs or contorts her face, something about her very person feels twisted. This makes way for the practical body horror that’s slowly being teased. Much of the film utilizes gruesome body horror sparingly, but when Barker wants to drive the nail home hard, he pulls it off wondrously. There’s several particularly brutal scenes that shock with how quickly they arrive in the film. It’s as harsh as can be, as Barker pulls no punches for any of his characters. Best of all, he caps Obsession off with an absolutely devious finale. With its deeply dark sense of humor, the final moments of this film will leave genre fans walking out of the theater eagerly anticipating Barker’s next foray into genre filmmaking.
Obsession is celebrating its world premiere in the Midnight Madness category of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
