Bear decides to confess his love to his co-worker "Freaky" Nikki. But he's a bit of an insecure person, and messes up the situation. Out of frustration over his failure, without much thinking, he resorts to the little present he wanted to give to her: A "One-Wish-Willow", a toy that's supposed to grant a wish. Exactly one - no more, and certainly no less...
A woman's obsession can sometimes be freaky. "Obsession" takes a somewhat default setting involving some young people and their dating habits, and turns it into a real tour-de-force.
On first sight, it looks a bit like a romantic twentysomething low-budget movie - which it is, in a way - but after just minutes of runtime you realize there's something brooding beneath the surface, in both form and function. This is most obvious in Inde Navarette's stunning acting performance as Nikki, effortlessly shape-shifting back and forth between very nice and not so nice. But Michael Johnston's performance is equally convincing, and it applies to the entire production: Few times, if any, before, has the rushed energy of generation social-media mixed so well with a serious implementation. "Obsession" carries a bit of the quickly shot, just-your-average-buddy, snappy, casual approach of many internet videos, but it doesn't get lost in that kind of appeal. The production quality is flawless, and it takes its time, using such moments just as a starting point for some quite astounding developments. "Obsession" could easily be just 15 minutes long, and still contain the same amount of material. But director Curry Barker fleshes out the characters and connections so nicely and tastefully, it becomes way more than just going through the motions. Nikki is way more than just her funny faces, Bear is way more than just a crybaby. It all leads somewhere, it matters, in the context of the movie.
A nice example of this is the color palette of the film. It's mostly toned down, a somewhat muted indoor atmosphere, the kind that's often used to convey exaggerated bleak realism. This is easy to achieve, and perfectly in line with nowadays' casual approach. It has been done thousands of times before, it could've looked boring or even bad - but thanks to some extra tricks with lighting and in post-production, "Obsession" delivers some really creepy, unsettling visuals, turning the cliche into individual style.
The same goes for the dialogue. It could've been just some chatter, unhinged or politically correct, whatever required to get some attention. But it's the quality of the implementation, in writing and delivery, and how it's placed in the film, that makes it so much more powerful than the mere shot or scene.
Regarding the function, the content, "Obsession" can be read in multiple ways. Who's the obsessed one? Where did it come from? What was the actual intent? It doesn't give a definitive answer, partly because it doesn't want to, partly because it just can't. But it is still nuanced, it has actual depth and provides enough hints for you to chew on for a good while. Many viewers will be able to relate to both Nikki's and Bear's actions, both actively and passively.
And so on. "Obsession" is anything but dumb. If you dig a little deeper into the production, you'll find out that it has a certain degree of improvisation. Not every little detail in it was planned, or works out perfectly. You may find a little plot-hole, it looks a bit juvenile here and there, and Meryl Streep is still the better actress, but it's also proof that Gen-Z isn't a generation lost. Something has evolved underneath the flashy, hectic, short, and short-lived doom-scrolling videos flooding the internet these days. If used with care, eye-popping facial expressions, meme-ready voices, nervous youngsters, and a little bit of short-sighted chaos can be effective in a horror movie. "Obsession" uses the aforementioned to outstanding effect, embedded in a tragic story about love (obsession?), set in a charmingly authentic environment, with a handful of proven working horror tropes thrown in, and a couple of previously unseen ones.
"Obsession" could've easily been a failure, but it works brilliantly, it has soul and purpose. Thanks to thoughtful writing, sensitive directing, amazing acting, stunningly effective moderate lighting, camera work and special effects, and last but not least great sound design, it's a tremendous success. Oh, and is it scary? You bet.
Verdict: You'll love her. 8/10
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37287335/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession_(2025_film)
Trailer video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMC8kkwbIQQ
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