Obsession

Curry Barker has crafted something mostly special for an almost non-existent budget. The story is compelling, the acting is solid, and Obsession feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison to similar horror films. However, it’s disappointing that one shrill character trait nearly ruins the entire film. It’s because of this that Obsession will have to settle for being a well-made, well-written film dominated by one aggressively irritating character, which will hinder future rewatches much like Frank Darabont’s The Mist. https://bit.ly/1WishWillO

CinemaSerf

2026-05-17

⭐ 7

"Bear" (Michael Johnston) has a crush on his pal "Nikki" (Inde Navarrette) but it's a love that dare not speak it's name. He hasn't the courage to even ask her out! When she decides that she has had enough of their two-horse town and wants to move away, he decides to buy her a gift and alights on a "make a wish" toy. Make your wish and it will come true as surely as if it were rubbed out on that lamp of "Aladdin". Well he gives her a lift home, but their parting is a bit wobbly and so in a fit of pique he snaps the gift and makes his wish after she has gone. What he doesn't expect is that it w…

James Berry

2026-05-20

⭐ 8

Full Review: aisleseatreviews.com "Waking up in the middle of the night with the eerie sense that you’re being watched, only to look down and see your kid standing pitch-black next to your bed staring at you. That is the exact level of visceral dread this movie locks you into." Obsession is one of those rare, deeply unsettling horror films that doesn't just want to jump-scare you—it actively wants to get under your skin and suffocate you. You get about 15 minutes of relative safety at the start, but the exact second that One Wish Willow snaps, the air is completely sucked out of the room…

Obsession is an supernatural phychological horror film directed by Curry Barker, a youtuber turned filmmaker and what a crazy film he had made on a budget 1 million dollars. The concept itself is so interesting but terrifying at the same time that will make you think that why and how would Curry had come with such an idea. The film is so layered and deep in it's narrative that after watching the film every time you think about it, you will come across a new perspective and shade of every character. Technically the film is solid, may it be the sound design or the costumes or the prosthetics wor…

Dean

2026-06-13

⭐ 10

Curry Barker’s feature debut is a flawless, deeply unsettling masterpiece that takes the classic "be careful what you wish for" trope and turns it into a relentless nightmare. The film centers on a music store employee who uses a supernatural trinket to force his longtime crush to love him, unleashing a wave of horrifying, unhinged consequences. Visually striking and meticulously paced, the movie keeps you completely locked in from the opening frame to its devastating conclusion. What elevates this psychological horror film to absolute perfection are the phenomenal acting performances from Mi…

Sierbahnn

2026-06-25

⭐ 8

Creepy and lovely. There's a movie called Smile which shares some of its constituent elements to this movie in that the creepiness of it builds over time and then becomes unimaginably violent towards the end. This movie does that quite well and it is very effective at building its tension. So when the mind-numbing violence does happen, it Hogan impact and a significance. Smile sort of front loads all of that violence, which means that the tension doesn't have time to build and you have to rely on other things to make it scary. This movie is simply better at it. The main plot is just another l…

A well-acted take on an age-old monkey paw trope. For a low-budget debut, Curry Baker has made quite a splash. However, any 'horror' here was through cheap audio cues, and the narrative will require you to do advanced gymnastics with your willing suspension of disbelief. A poor narrative, with unimaginative cinematography and choppy audio, the stellar acting by the cast is the only thing keeping this movie alive.

A chilling reminder that the shortest route isn’t always the fastest; in Obsession, it becomes a deadly psychological trap where the journey ends and the traveler vanishes.🫠🤫

I know I'm supposed to say I love this movie and it's the best thing I've seen this year (cause, for some reason, it seems to be the current movie fad among White audiences) but I'm gonna be real: Obsession is a mess of a rag doll strewn up with overused clichés and age-old literary and movie tropes. Like, for instance, the use of wishes to weave a "be careful what you wish for" cautionary tale is a centuries old literary trope. So is the "crazy woman" trope. Yet, even if one chooses to ignore this, the movie is haunted by numerous other problems that are impossible to igore: pacing issues,…

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/obsession-2026-inde-navarrette-gives-the-horror-performance-of-the-decade/ Rating: B+ There's a version of OBSESSION that lives up to its own hype, and the version that I watched. What bridges the gap is Inde Navarrette's lead performance, which is so dedicated, so physically all-in, that I genuinely believe it's the best horror breakout of the decade! Curry Barker's direction is patient and confident, favoring dread over noise. The story, though, plays it safer than it should, gesturing at real ideas without fully committing to the…

The Fixate & Binge Podcast, w/ Joe Curdy

2026-07-29

⭐ 9

Writer/director Curry Barker’s leap from YouTube viral fame to the big screen is one of the best success stories in Hollywood, and Kane Parsons’ **BACKROOMS** for A24 later this month appears to be further proof that the road from YouTube to Hollywood — while still less traveled — can make all the difference. The viral success of Barker's [**MILK & SERIAL** (2024)](https://letterboxd.com/fixateandbinge/film/milk-serial/) showcased enormous potential and a natural instinct for low-budget horror filmmaking, making his transition to the big screen feel like a well-earned graduation. In **OB…

Vinicius Monteiro

2026-07-31

⭐ 7

There’s a fine line between genuine affection and possession, and horror movies usually thrive when crossing it. I went into *Obsession* expecting a psychological deep dive into emotional dependency, but what we actually get is an experience that violently swings between brilliance and frustration. Directed by Curry Barker, the film swings big in its attempt to show toxic masculinity and the loss of free will. The first thirty minutes are genuinely suffocating, doing a great job of making you feel trapped. But while Barker takes huge risks for his debut feature, the movie stumbles trying to ke…