Obsession

I just rewatched it and I feel even stronger about it now than I did on the first watch, but this movie just does everything right. This is what horror can be at its best. I mean, the concept alone is brilliant and unsettling in so many ways. For starters, just the idea of losing your entire autonomy on a whim because of someone else is terrifying, and this is displayed incredibly in the sleep talking scene where the real Nikki comes out for a moment and begs for Bear to kill her. But of course, Bear’s insecurities cannot let him hear this. He makes it about himself rather than her and asks, “What’s so wrong with being with me?” But what really hits me is her response to this: “I was never with you,” because that version that is “in love” is not real. It does not exist. It’s really trippy stuff. Which leads me to the ending, which is phenomenal. I mean, you have Bear, who finally realizes this has gone too far and that nothing can be fixed, so he decides to kill himself to let Nikki be free. But just like before, one of his biggest flaws comes to light: his cowardice. He cannot even fully commit to this, which is also realistic. I imagine the will to live is always going to fight in a situation like this. But regardless, before he can throw up the pills, Nikki makes her own wish, which is so ironic and brilliant and weirdly funny. Bear comes out of the bathroom and for a second they are both fully and equally “in love,” but then reality comes crashing down, the pills take effect, and Bear dies. That leaves us with Nikki grieving her dead lover to the point where she is going to kill herself, but then clarity comes over her, alongside this deep fear and confusion, as the real Nikki takes back control. She is left with the aftermath of the chaos her “love” caused, leaving the audience with a Nikki who is completely scarred and trying to process everything that has happened. I loved it. It’s something you can feel deeply as she cries out desperately. I really believe this movie will be talked about years from now like other greats. I know I will.