OBSESSION: Horror Worth the Hype

OBSESSION (4K + Blu-ray)

2025 / 109 min

Universal

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Having seen thousands of horror movies over my life, I’ve generally become immune to hype and box office numbers (and Obsession has had plenty of both). At the risk of coming across as snooty or arrogant, there have been too many times over the years when a movie touted as some kind of gamechanger has left me shrugging. A recent example would be Longlegs, which I thought was pretty good, but hardly a groundbreaking masterpiece. 

Though I did eventually plan to see Obsession, I was already sick of hearing about it a week after it was released.

However, when my 22 year old daughter, Lucy, came home gushing over Obsession after seeing it in a theater with her boyfriend, I had to take notice (especially when she went and watched it again the following weekend). We generally share similar tastes in horror, and despite her years, she also tends to avoid the hype train. So a glowing endorsement from Lucy carries a lot more weight than a Rotten Tomatoes score.

She also did me a solid in refusing to give me any details about it - not even the basic plot - for which I was grateful because horror movies are generally more fun when you have no idea what to expect. And I’m gonna do the same here because Obsession is definitely one of those dishes that’s best served cold. What I will say is that this might be the most deliriously entertaining variation of “The Monkey’s Paw” I’ve seen in years. Maybe ever.

When your order comes with free bread sticks.

Does it live up to the hype? In many ways, yes. Considering it was written and directed by a relative newbie (YouTuber Curry Barker) for less than a million bucks, it’s extremely well made, both technically and narratively. After a fairly benign opening act, the film grows increasingly and methodically creepy. Though never flat-out terrifying, Barker does a tremendous job building dread throughout the story, which is occasionally punctuated by scenes of shocking violence (not necessarily in terms of what they show, but that they come without warning). 

In addition to effectively building tension and throwing in welcome doses of black comedy, Obsession’s success as a horror film lies in its characters, most notably Bear (Michael Johnston), whose morally questionable actions - despite his emotional sincerity behind them - renders him more complex than your average protagonist. However, it’s co-star Inde Navarette who steals the entire film as Nikki. By turns, she renders the character endearing, funny, sympathetic, unpredictable and menacing. In fact, much of the actual horror in Obsession stems from Navarette’s performance.

Though one particular scene sort-of foreshadows how things will turn out, the climax still manages to subvert expectations with an ironic (and morbidly amusing) turn of events that I personally didn’t see coming. While I’m not yet ready to declare Obsession a gamechanger within the genre, it’s the most wildly entertaining horror film I’ve seen so far this year. I’m still sick of hearing about it, though.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

FEATURETTE - Obsession Unleashed is a solid 20 minute documentary, with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with writer-director Curry Barker and the main cast.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director Curry Barker.