Obsession Review

A Small-Budget Horror Film That Turns Love Into Something Terrifying

One of the most impressive things about Obsession isn’t just the film itself but rather it’s the story behind it. Written and directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, Obsession proves that you don’t need a blockbuster budget or an A-list cast to make a horror film that sticks with people long after the credits roll.

Starring Michael Johnston as Bear and Inde Navarrette as Nikki, the film has quickly become one of horror’s biggest breakout hits of the year. While Barker’s direction has earned plenty of praise, it’s Johnston and Navarrette who ground the story emotionally, making the horror feel far more believable than supernatural.

At its core, Obsession is about toxic love, loneliness, and the dangerous line between wanting someone and believing you’re entitled to them.

I think almost everyone has had a crush where all you want is for that person to like you back. We’ve all imagined the “what if.” But Obsession takes that very human feeling and twists it into something deeply unsettling.

Bear makes one simple wish: for his longtime crush Nikki to love him back finally. What starts as a fantasy quickly spirals into a nightmare, forcing both characters into a relationship built not on choice, but on control.

That’s what I found so effective about the film. It’s easy to laugh at internet jokes about “manifesting your crush” or people refusing to take no for an answer, but Obsession strips away the humour and asks what’s actually underneath that mindset. When does admiration become obsession? When does love stop being love and become possession?

Bear isn’t someone I found myself rooting for, but he’s also not written as a one-dimensional villain. His loneliness and insecurity help explain why he makes the choices he does but they never excuse them. That’s what makes the story so uncomfortable. Rather than accepting the possibility of rejection, he looks for a way to remove Nikki’s ability to choose altogether.

Ironically, that’s what makes the film so heartbreaking. Everything could have been different if Bear had simply accepted the risk of vulnerability instead of searching for a shortcut. Obsession reminds us that real love always requires choice and once that choice disappears, it stops being love entirely.

The film also feels incredibly relevant. At a time when conversations around dating, loneliness, and emotional dependency are everywhere, Obsession taps into fears that feel very real. It explores how isolation can distort someone’s thinking and how obsession often begins with something that initially seems harmless.

There are definitely moments that horror fans will appreciate. The film doesn’t hold back when it comes to the gore, and some sequences are genuinely shocking. But what stayed with me wasn’t the violence it was the sadness underneath it all. Beneath the scares is a story about insecurity, rejection, and the unhealthy ways people sometimes try to fill emotional voids.

For such a modestly budgeted film, Curry Barker delivers something remarkably confident. He understands that the best horror isn’t just about making audiences jump, it’s about making them reflect. Obsession uses horror to explore themes of consent, identity, loneliness, and modern relationships in a way that feels both unsettling and surprisingly thoughtful.

It’s rare for a horror film to leave you thinking long after it’s over, but Obsession does exactly that. It isn’t simply about a wish gone wrong and it’s about the consequences of confusing love with possession, and why the scariest monsters are often the ones we create ourselves.

Watch the trailer for Obsession below

Obsession is available on digital June 30th to watch at home (available to own or rent) and is available on 4K ULTRA HD Combo Pack, BLU-RAY™, and DVD July 14 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

For more information on OBSESSION, please visit:
Website: https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/obsession-2026
Press Release: https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/press-release/obsession-press-release
Trailer: https://uni.pictures/ObsessionTrailer 
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