Obsession – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 14th of May 2026
RialtoDistribution by Curry Barker
Written by Curry Barker
Produced by James Harris, Haley Nicole Johnson, Christian Mercuri, Roman Viaris
Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter
Cinematography Taylor Clemons
Edited by Curry Barker
Music by Rock Burwell
Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: the 14th of May 2026
Obsession tells the story of Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee who harbours strong feelings for his childhood friend/co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). They have gone through thick and thin and supported each other through their hardships (including family deaths). However, Bear struggles to voice his love for her as he is afraid she does not feel the same way. This is much to the dismay of best friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless).
Despite Ian’s behests, Bear decides now is the time to tell her how he feels, through the guise of a gift he brought at a new age shop called a “One Wish Willow”. His nerves and anxiety get the better of him, especially when Nikki asks outright if he likes her. Consequently, he forgets to give her the gift and instead uses it for himself.
After he wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world, she shows affection and adoration for him. The same affection grows askew though when she grows possessive and anxious whenever Bear leaves her on her own or rebuffs her. This leads her to bouts of paranoia and being a danger to herself and others.
Obsession is the sophomore effort from rising horror filmmaker Curry Barker. He is part of a string of filmmakers who have earned their start from YouTube. He and Cooper Tomlinson collaborated on comedy and horror films together. Their first film was a found-footage effort called Milk & Serial, which gained huge buzz from critics and audiences after premiering on YouTube. Does Obsession continue the rise in potential for Barker as a filmmaker?
The horror genre and the comedy genre may seem disparate on paper. What makes the two mesh effectively is they both rely on build-up, timing, and delivery. Even familiar jokes can be successful if all three targets are hit. With Obsession, Barker plays on familiar genre tropes, including nice guys, deadly wishes, and unhinged women, in striking ways that make it one of the year’s best horror films.
Like the best horror films, Obsession’s tension and suspense is from something inherently truthful, rarely discussed, and always occurring: the darker side of co-dependency. Barker mines horror from behaviours incited through incel culture and self-serving attitudes that mask vulnerabilities never healthily communicated.
One inspired example is how Barker portrays projection, including how people project the very idea of a person and how much we pander to it. In many scenes, Barker and cinematographer Taylor Clemens shoot Nikki in shrouds of darkness. By playing with our fear of what she looks like and the idea of projecting who our significant other is, Barker delivers his ideas with a horrific wit that subverts horror storytelling in ways that screw with his audience. The editing (also by Barker) is also hauntingly disarming in how well-timed it is. The moments of frivolity and dark humour peppered throughout the film accentuate the ridiculousness of the scares, which makes them darkly funny.
He also pays homage to early horror examples, such as Twin Peaks (Rock Burwell’s score is stirring in emotional clarity and sudden terror, much like Angelo Badalamenti’s work). Meanwhile, there are visual cues from the works of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (especially from Pulse, 2001) and elements from Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt with its “be careful what you wish for” story tropes. Yet the story never feels derivative or pandering for nostalgia’s sake. Barker dispenses with exposition dumps and deftly introduces character elements in the opening sequence, defining characterisations swiftly and efficiently.
The succinct characterisations lead to the pitch-perfect performances. Johnston engages in his role of the cleverly-named Bear, as he capably conveys the anxieties, self-serving, self-hatred, and longing of his character vividly all without coming off as wholly human and not histrionic. Tomlinson is amusingly obnoxious, blunt, and believable as the best friend of Bear’s, while Lawless is sympathetic and warm as Sarah, who harbours unrequited feelings for Bear. Eclipsing them all is Naverrette, who taps into Barker’s vision with her go-for-broke performance allowing for nightmarish glee, unbelievable physicality, and unforgettable vulnerability.
Overall, Obsession is a fantastic cinematic calling-card for Curry Barker and an amazing showcase for lead actress Inde Navarrette. Both convey horror and comedy with unapologetic enthusiasm and acute skill. Highly recommended.
Summary: With Obsession, Curry Barker plays on familiar genre tropes in striking ways that make this one of the year’s best horror films.
5
Excellent
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