Obsession (2025) Review

“Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it” is an aphorism as old as time itself, that storytellers have spent decades exploring. In Penny Marshall’s ‘Big,’ a kid makes a wish to be taller and wakes up as a thirty-year-old Tom Hanks (whether that’s a dream or a nightmare is up to you), while in something like W.W. Jacob’s ‘The Monkey’s Paw,’ a granted wish is basically a guarantee of suffering to come.

‘Obsession’ is the latest film to explore the idea of wish-fulfilment gone wrong. Directed by Curry Barker, it follows Bear, a sheepish young man who is hopelessly in love with one of his best friends, Nikki. Never having the courage to admit his feelings, he purchases a magical toy that claims to grant a wish once broken. In desperation, wishing for her to love him above all else, he breaks it. Incredibly, Nikki does fall for Bear- but in a way that’s truly, madly creepy.

Barker’s second feature, it is a darkly funny horror that doesn’t break any new ground, but remains enjoyable nevertheless. Reminiscent at times of a Parker Finn or Osgood Perkins flick, it has some deeply disturbing moments that linger in the mind like the musk of decay. Nikki’s behaviour is consistently frightening- her macabrely forced expressions, how her attention to Bear becomes increasingly fixed, unblinking and inhuman. However, some may find the narrative a tad predictable, it following a trajectory that feels inevitable almost from the beginning.

Conversely, what sets the film apart from others of its ilk is its handling of questions of control and agency. Bear may initially come across as timid and sympathetic, but the film never lets him entirely off the hook for the situation he creates. Even after realising that Nikki may or may not be herself anymore, he continues to exploit the fantasy of her love for his own gratification.

That moral ambiguity gives the characterisation surprising depth. Barker resists turning Bear into either a straightforward victim or villain, instead presenting him as someone whose loneliness and insecurity morph into selfish lasciviousness. That said, the thematic undercurrent isn’t always as understated as Barker seems to intend. Certain moments in the third act underline the metaphor of control so directly that they risk flattening the otherwise nuanced character work.

The film’s technical execution plays a crucial role in sustaining its unease. Barker and his team adopt a largely restrained visual style, allowing performance and framing do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to tension. There’s a quiet confidence to Taylor Clemons’ cinematography, the camera lingering on characters just a moment longer than feels comfortable, letting small details in expression and movement become increasingly loaded.

This is complemented by Vivian Gray’s immersive production design, which shifts from ordinary to oppressive, turning familiar spaces into off-kilter nightmare realms. Further, the sound design and Barker’s editing work in tandem, stretching out moments of silence before puncturing them with carefully measured bursts of unease, whilst Rock Burwell’s original score maintains a constant undercurrent of dread.

Michael Johnston delivers a fine, nuanced performance as Bear, capturing the complexity of the character with aplomb, while Megan Lawless and Cooper Tomlinson both impress as two of his friends. However, it is Inde Navarrette who leaves the strongest impression. As Nikki, she is magnetically malevolent, dominating every scene and imbuing the film with a constant sense of volatile unease. Much like Alyssa Sutherland did in ‘Evil Dead Rise,’ Navarrette brings a sinister character to life with wicked glee; announcing herself as a major new presence in horror.

Ultimately, Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ is a slick, unsettling take on wish-fulfilment gone wrong, boasting a thick atmosphere of unease and featuring strong performances- particularly from Inde Navarrette. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it executes its ideas with confidence and control, particularly in its restrained visual style and sound design. In short, be careful what you wish for- unless that wish is to see ‘Obsession’. It won’t let you down.