Obsession

2026 Ranked Midwest premiere at the Music Box tonight! I mean this as the highest of compliments possible: I am so glad that movie is over. What an incredibly exhausting watch. The adrenaline is still pumping as I write this review. I have never been more on edge watching a movie in my entire life. It feels like Obsession has revolutionized the traditional jumpscare. It’s flipped on its head horror elements that you claim you’ve seen thousands of times before. It takes from some films, and certainly isn’t embarrassed to do so, but it operates with so much confidence and charm that you will be left in complete awe when the exhilarating 100minutes is over. There’s a scene in here that quite literally had people flying out of their seat. It’s the most in awe, jaw on the floor, just in complete shock I have felt in a movie theater in quite some time. I’m left truly speechless by this film. There’s definitely a couple hallmarks of a first time director here, and that’s fine, but what separates Curry Barker from the rest is how he manages everything else. Things unfold in such a brilliant manner, the level of uneasiness is felt unbelievably strong throughout, the blocking is superb and downright devious at times, tricking you or guiding your eyes somewhere every chance it gets. The cinematography is utterly insane for a small budget, directorial debut such as this. The way they lit Nikki in several scenes deserves its own award. Theres one scene where I genuinely could not even tell where the hell she was. The scene with her dress had some of the best use of lighting I’ve seen. It’s an incredible first effort and for a lot of people, nobody would think of it as a debut. Performances are often flaky when it comes to something like this. Rest assured, Barker gets incredible performances out his leads. I want to be very clear with what I am about to say because I mean this with 100% sincerity, truth, and genuineness. Inde Navarrette’s performance as Nikki will and should be held in the same regard as the horror performances of those such as Toni Collette in Hereditary, Mia Goth in Pearl, Amy Madigan in Weapons, etc. The brilliant display of wit and charm, then pure psychosis, to being straight up wicked to having you in either emotional tears or stitches. What a magnificent performance and CLEARLY the star of the show here. Just an absolutely fantastic job by the entire cast, but specifically her because I was just blown away at how good she was. Blown away is really the best way for me to describe my experience. It’s the classic “be careful what you wish for” trope dialed up to 11 in both the horror and the comedy. Make no mistake, Obsession might be the horror movie of the year, but it’s without a doubt the comedy of the year. This movie is hysterical, devilish, insane, amazing, brutal, suffocating, and brilliant.