‘Obsession’ Review: The Year’s Most Terrifying Horror Film

Dubbed “the Gen-Z Fatal Attraction” by its male star Michael Johnston, Obsession’s debut director Curry Barker has been equally open about his creepy, quirky chiller’s influences. From Hitchcockian suspense thriller Hereditary to the The Invisible Man reboot, by way of classics like Misery and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is genre geekdom at its nerdiest.

The film begins in a familiar setting: a grotty diner. Johnston’s character, Bear, is practicing a confession of love to a waitress across a sticky table. It is awkward, intense, and ultimately a rehearsal for his real target, Nikki. Barker excels at pulling the rug out from under his audience just as they begin to feel comfortable.

As the story progresses, Bear drives Nikki (Inde Navarrette) home through a suburban, Stephen King-esque neighbourhood. After failing to confess his feelings, he impulsively breaks a “One Wish Willow”—a magical trinket from a local apothecary—and wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world. What follows is a descent into a nightmare that feels like a modern, twisted take on The Twilight Zone.

While the central conceit draws from gothic short stories like The Monkey’s Paw, Barker manages to make it feel entirely fresh. Much of this success is owed to the performances. Johnston makes the anxious Bear sympathetic, but it is the largely unknown Inde Navarrette who truly carries the film. Her transformation from a cool, confident girl into a terrifyingly obsessive presence provides both dark humor and genuine dread.

Barker’s direction is equally impressive. His dialogue is sharp and pithy, while his use of sound design—often acting as a jump-scare in its own right—is masterful. Terrifying shadows emerge from dark corners to send your stomach into your oesophagus. Obsession is a film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible with the loudest sound system available.