It’s been a good year for horror films and we’re not even halfway through yet. Though the genre has been showing signs of change. We’re now seeing the rise of YouTubers and social media creators as horror directors. We saw it a few years ago with the Phillipou Brothers (Talk to Me, Bring Her Back), in a few weeks with Kane Parsons (Backrooms), and this week with Curry Barker.
Barker’s first feature film is Obsession. This story follows an introverted young man (nicknamed Bear) who secretly vies to earn the affection of his long-time crush, Nikki. When happening upon a trinket called the One-Wish Willow, he wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world. Unfortunately for him, the wish works and he gets a harsh and violent lesson in being careful what you wish for.
The principal cast in the film is incredibly small. It’s essentially about four coworkers, and for a few moments, their boss (played by Andy Richter). The highlight is on Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarette) and their burgeoning, horrifying relationship. But truly this movie belongs to Inde Navarette. She gets so much to do, as she bounces from nonplussed college-aged woman to smothering and unhinged, without flinching. This kind of role is truly a star-making performance.
Some of the best modern horror voices are comedians. We’ve seen this proven with Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, and now Curry Barker. Barker’s uncomfortable comedy sketches have always been worth watching, but he showed real promise with his YouTube horror short, Milk and Serial. And it’s clear that his work on Obsession and being tied to a remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that he’ll be around in the genre for a long time.
The story within Obsession feels like a modernized feature-length version of something out of Tales from the Crypt. It’s dreadful and punishing. Though, these simple-concept horror movies are nothing new. Why this movie works is that it’s delivered in such a unique package.
The look and sound of Obsession make this movie feel just as grim as its meant to. Most of the scenes are shot at night or within a dimly-lit home ripped straight from the 80s. There’s a shadowy orange-yellow feel that lights the characters and somehow it makes you feel just as trapped as Bear in his situation, or even Nikki in her own body. The score drones on and increases the tension through every unpredictable scene.
There are plenty of moments where you want to shake Bear and make him act rationally and get away from Nikki, but at the same time, he’s the product of his own creation. He truly is suffering with the weight of his wish brought on by a makeshift Monkey’s Paw. The growing frustration and tension I felt as an audience member, is meant to add to the growing dread that the movie unveils slowly.
While the movie doesn’t rely on bloodshed, there is one moment that had me covering my mouth and eyes. It’s geniunely disturbing and only adds to the impossible situations that these characters are in. I’m a bit broken, so anytime that a horror movie can surprise me, I take note.
Obsession is a great debut for what may become a potentially-consistent horror director. The concept of a wish-gone-wrong story feels like basic Blumhouse (the standard for mediocre horror), but Barker has created something that feels greater than the concept. Add to that, the stellar Inde Navarette commanding the screen and we’ve got a horror movie that adds to an already great year for fear. B+
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