Obsession

Released 2026. Director: Curry Barker

WHEN YOU CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT another person, you might think you're in love. When you become an object of fixation and the two of you cling like blood-sucking leeches in murderous possessiveness, you know you're living in a horror movie.

Obsession takes the idea of possessive control to the extreme, painting a gory picture of a toxic relationship that screams for personal space. It's mostly unnerving, occasionally funny but always dark and foreboding with a supernatural charge.

The couple in this maniacal union is Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarrette), co-workers at a music store. Nikki treats Bear as just one of the guys at work and has no special feelings for him. Bear on the other hand, has a huge crush on Nikki but he's too shy to take it further. In an unthinking moment of frustration, he snaps a “One Wish Willow” novelty toy wishing Nikki would love him more than anyone else. Before you could spell abracadabra, Nikki is all over Bear. Her demeanour and personality has changed; she's a love-sick puppy who wouldn't let go; her whole world now revolves around Bear.

In a romantic comedy this premise would be mined for its cringe value. In writer-director Curry Barker's vision this obsession is neither romantic nor comedic but a hair-raising and skin-crawling nightmare. Obsession is a riveting psychological horror that wastes no time unravelling the emotional and mental states of the two lovebirds into a blood-curdling anti-Valentine.

Remember that big hit from the 80s Every Breath You Take? “Every move you make, every step you take, every word you say, I'll be watching you...” is the unsung anthem for Nikki, as her obsession goes beyond irrational. Her neediness for Bear is so severe she's unable to function without him being physically within sight. This opens the door to some icky and excruciating moments too vile to describe.

Nikki's jealousy whenever another woman comes close to Bear leads to a grisly outcome. This scene happens so suddenly its bone-crunching shock will glue you to your seat just like it does to Bear, helpless in the face of unstoppable evil. Except for this outburst, Barker has styled much of the movie as a slow descent, letting the audience sink deeper as Bear's wish ensnares him further in a living hell, the sinister atmosphere underscored by his cluttered and under-lit home where Nikki is often seen in shadows or silhouetted.

Not all the scary scenes involve jump scares, screams or violence. One of the most effective sequences has Bear talking with his other workmate Ian. At a corner of the screen, Nikki is out of focus but you can tell she's watching Bear, her creepy smile never fades for the entire time.

The most infamous epitome of obsession onscreen has long been Glenn Close's bunny-boiler in Fatal Attraction. Nikki's destructive blend of emotional distress and psychological aggression requires the O word to be redefined. To her it's genuine love. To Bear it's just pure terror. You don't want to know what she does to his dead cat.

While Bear goes to pieces and Nikki ups her terrorising, it's interesting to consider what role they represent. On the surface he's the victim and she's the villain. It's true that it all began at a harmless, innocent place where all Bear craved was Nikki's affection, yet he's responsible for the act that unleashed the subsequent horror. Nikki is accountable for doing some truly nasty things but she's been turned this way without her consent or knowledge. The absence of defined culpability brings a layer of ambiguous sympathy not usually found in a horror movie. Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette are both outstanding: Bear's vulnerability elicits our sympathy as much as Nikki's unpredictable craze never lets us forget she's a woman in desperate need of rescue.

Obsession is a twist on the demonic possession sub-genre, mixed with very dark humour about being careful what you wish for. It's also a flip side to romantic comedy, being a romantic horror that explores desires pushed to its extreme, a realm where the definition of love and carnage can no longer be distinguished.

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