We wanted an unforgettable and unique horror film and we had exactly that with “ obsession ”

Just when you think you saw all the premises imaginable for a horror film, someone offers one that is so simple, so perfect, so sneaky, you cannot believe that it has not been done a million times before. With ObsessionThe writer-director Curry Barker tells the story of Bear, a young man who is madly in love with his good friend and colleague Nikki. Bear means to Nikki what he feels, but he cannot bring together courage. So, when he performs on a gag gift that promises to grant you a wish, he thinks that it could not hurt. But oh, how wrong he is.

Using the trinket called “One Wish Willow”, Bear (Michael Johnston) wants Nikki (India Navarrette) to love him more than anything in the world, and he realizes himself as if by magic. Almost instantly, things become embarrassing. From nowhere, Nikki begins to act incredibly strange, almost as if there were two people who fight in her. Bear agrees with that, however, because she is finally in him. Soon things are starting to degenerate, degenerate and degenerate. Their interactions are funny, then frightening, then violent, then Really scary, then Really violent, then really Really… You have the idea. For the whole film, Barker keeps us on our guard by constantly varying the level of intensity. Each scene changes wildly from one to the other, but, thanks in part to the great performances of Johnston and Navarrette, the film never feels tonally clumsy. Everything fits perfectly together.

The two tracks are incredible in the film. Johnston begins like a guy Aw -Shucks, nice who lacks confidence – from first of all, he seems to agree so that his wish responds. But as things become stranger, more clumsy and more frightening, we see him having trouble how far he is ready to push this and how ready to forgive. The film simultaneously wants you to love and hate Bear, by catching up on his dreams but repressing him for what he did to his friend, and each scene, Johnston transmits all this in his being. Then there is Navarrette, who, as Nikki, is simply surprising. She has a huge range with which playing in the role, of course, but she is constantly captivating, terrifying and also incredibly adorable. It is a balance similar to the objective of the film on Bear himself: you understand why he would like him so much, but feels more and more terrible for what is happening while she puts her body through ringing and vice versa.

And while Barker could have kept this story as the only orientation, Bear and the two best friends of Nikki, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), offer an essential perspective on all this. Just like a real relationship, sometimes when you are inside, you don’t really know what it looks like everyone. Ian and Sarah very quickly discover that something is very, very bad with the relationship of Bear and Nikki, and this point of view offers even more twists and turns.

There is even a line line on the tradition of this mysterious wish, which is called “One Wish Willow”, which we would have loved to see even more explored. But maybe it can happen if we visit this world again. Because the idea that these “Wish Willows” are there in the real world, ready to screw up someone’s life, is just as mature, if not more, than the story that we see taking place.

But the real shine of Obsession– And don’t be mistaken, it’s great – it’s its simplicity. Bear wanted Nikki to love him more than anything in the world. Nothing: It means more than it. More than his friends. More than, well, anything, and the film pushes these limits and plays with the notion to an incredible effect. It is never going too far, but it also does not allow you to forget how the limits of these words can go.

Sometimes during ObsessionI laughed aloud. At other times, I was legitimately terrified. And there have been many moments along the way with shock and disgust. He has everything you might want in a horror film. And the fact that it provides such a unique new rotation on the idea of ​​wishes or love makes it better.

Obsession I just passed his first in the United States to the Fantastic Fest 2025 and was recently recovered for the distribution by Focus Features du Toronto International Film Festival. Which is excellent news. This means that at some point in the future, you will be able to see our last obsession with horror: Obsession.

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