The new film “Obsession” was a thrilling, emotional roller coaster and deserves a high-ranking review. So, I am here to write that review. If you have not seen the film, there will be spoilers in this review, so make sure you come back after you’ve watched it.
First, I would like to talk about the amazing cast and director. Twenty-six-year-old Curry Barker is the brilliant director and writer of the film “Obsession.” He started his career as a content creator on YouTube, making comedy skits. Many people consider this new film to be a breakout moment for him. His idea for “Obsession” was quite unique, and the way it played out on the screen was haunting, but so amazing to watch.
The two lead actors in the movie, Inde Navarrette (who played Nikki) and Michael Johnston (who played Bear), brought the movie to life with their incredible acting skills. Inde Navarrette had a particularly difficult job because she had to portray two versions of the same character: Nikki and Wish Nikki. Wish Nikki is a demonic entity that acts like a warped version of the real Nikki.
Early on in the movie, Bear drops Nikki off at her house, proceeds to make the wish, and then Nikki is standing ominously on her front porch. Right at that moment, the audience can tell that something is wrong. Wish Nikki starts talking to Bear, then all of a sudden snaps back to reality as if she was being possessed. This happens again when she is kissing Bear at his house. All of a sudden, she snaps back to herself, recoils in fear and starts freaking out, but within seconds she’s back to acting normal.
Inde Navarrette does an amazing job showing the difference between real Nikki and Wish Nikki by using different tones of voice and cadences of talking. All throughout the movie, we can see the real Nikki talking at a quicker speed, and a lot of times she sounds very frantic. Wish Nikki talks very evenly in tone and slowly. Michael Johnston also does a great job portraying a character who is quite selfish.
Many times, the viewer gets a sense of just how selfish Bear is because of the choices he makes. For example, when Bear makes the call to the help line and doesn’t ask to cancel the wish, but alter it. He realizes that he worded his wish wrong, but rather than cancel it completely (which, yes, we find out isn’t really an option), he wants to keep Nikki as his girlfriend, maybe just not as infatuated.
I want to also talk about the fear factor of the movie. A lot of people are talking about how it is the scariest movie of the year. I wouldn’t fully agree. I do think there were moments that were scary, such as the moment in which Nikki breaks through the window of Sarah’s car and bashes her head against a brick multiple times. I would say that is the scariest moment of the movie.
I argue that it is more of a thriller and has psychologically thrilling moments rather than a bunch of jump scares. There are scenes that, for people with a weak stomach, are probably hard to watch, like when Bear finds out Nikki put his dead cat into the sandwich. While yes, that is just plain gross, it is also very chilling.
There is also another scene that was so disturbing it gave me goosebumps. When Wish Nikki was asleep, the real Nikki tried to talk to Bear. She repeatedly told him that she wanted him to kill her because she was being possessed. Her frail voice pleading and Bear just leaving her is horrifying.
For me, the message of the movie outweighed the scare factor. I left the theater feeling a severe sense of sadness. I was just so sad about everything that had happened to Nikki. I think the sadness came from the fact that while it is a fictional story, the subject matter is a very real issue. Women losing their autonomy at the hands of a man is a real issue in today’s world.
I think that Bear was a narcissist, and he really only cared for his desires. This becomes evident when Bear gets everything he wanted. He had Nikki right beside him at his beck and call, and then he still went to see Sarah and almost kissed her. He had what he wished for and was still not satisfied enough. It’s so disheartening, and the movie did an amazing job relaying that message in an entertaining but also haunting way.
Overall, I think “Obsession” was such a good movie and appropriate for the time. I loved watching it, and I would recommend it to everyone I could. I could tell that everyone involved, from the cast to the director, was very passionate about the project and took it seriously to make a good product for people to watch.
Curry Barker hinted at the possibility of making a miniseries about the One Wish Willow. It would follow a different person’s wish in every episode. He wants to potentially do this because he said that it’s important to remember that the One Wish Willow isn’t cursed; it was the wish that was made that was cursed.
A fun fact to close out the review: During the Truth or Dare Jenga scene, Bear pulls a block that says “kiss the person on your left,” and Sarah ends up being on his left. But throughout the whole movie, Nikki is always seen on Bear’s right side, and Sarah is always on his left. I think that is such a cool detail, and there are so many more details and Easter eggs that present themselves the more you watch.