Written by: Curry Barker
Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Rating: [4/5]
Making a wish remains something innocuously practiced in our culture. We make them when tossing a coin into a fountain or when we blow out our candles on a birthday cake. Individuals make these wishes without much thought given the unlikelihood of them coming true. In the ever-tense Obsession we learn the importance of how one phrases their wishes, but more importantly, it continues the streak of excellent films seeking to destroy the fantastical image of “the nice guy.”
Working at a music store with not much else going on, Baron (Michael Johnston) has a major crush on his friend and colleague Nikki (Inde Navarrette) but does not have the confidence to act on his desire and discover if she feels the same way. In an act of desperation, he breaks a one-wish willow and asks for Nikki to love him more than anything in the world. Suddenly, Nikki grows this affection for him that quickly becomes disturbing.
Certainly one of those cases of being careful what you wish for, Obsession turns a male fantasy into an utter nightmare for our protagonist. He seeks the love and adoration of a woman he finds attractive but gets more than he bargained for when her behavior goes from slightly strange to outright terrifying. This transpires not through frightful jump scares but rather the horror of societal appearance and a complete lack of agency. Sure, there are intentional moments where director Curry Baker wants audiences to feel the fear of the visuals he produces, but so much of what makes this film succeed lies beneath the surface as we see the true evil not in what possesses Nikki but rather in our lead character, Baron.
This character archetype exists in much of media and in our everyday lives. The awkward guy who has a crush on a girl but most likely will get friendzoned. They label themselves a good guy for no other reason than that they have not done something overtly evil. However, as we see with Baron, when given the opportunity this type of person would have no problem completely stripping away the agency of someone they claim to love for their own pleasure. As the film continues to progress, we learn just how little our lead character knows about Nikki. The opening monologue he rehearses has all of these words one would mention when professing love to another person, but Baron proves he does not know Nikki at all. Instead, she exists as this idea with a pretty face, and while everyone around him, including himself, realizes something is wrong, he will certainly enjoy the physical gratification that comes with having Nikki obsessed with him. The more terrifying things get, the more prevalent the film’s thesis of Baron being the ultimate villain rings true and demonstrates why this film strikes such a chord.
As the film progresses, it seeks to elicit a wide range of emotions, from fear to laughter, as one can expect from a horror film set in contemporary times. Nikki’s scenes, in particular, also create this unending discomfort, especially the ways she interacts with others outside of Baron while under this possession. However, the one emotion I did not expect would strike me when heading into this film was sadness. Barker ensures moments of lucidity peek through that display that the real Nikki remains somewhere in there, which makes this such a tragic story for this character who did absolutely nothing to deserve this situation. Her well-being lies in the hands of someone who does not truly care for her, as proves apparent until the very conclusion of this story.
While Curry Barker deserves a good share of the credit for the success of this film, the lion’s share must go to Inde Navarrette, who portrays Nikki. A star-making performance by Navarrette who delivers everything and more as this tortured character. The various facial contortions she makes and the way she delivers her bone-chilling dialogue truly ran the gauntlet of excellence. She made me feel the entire spectrum of the aforementioned emotions, from fear and sadness to levity from this portrayal that completely took me aback. Astounding work by her, and I look forward to her future and what she will continue to deliver.
A simple concept but one with much more sinister layers than one would expect, Obsession creates utter nightmare fuel not just for those with a fear of what may lie in the dark but also a healthy fright of those around us. The nice guy archetype rightfully gets dismantled when we see what transpires when these individuals get what they want. Scene after scene will make you want to sink into your seat at not just the horror on screen but the discomfort that never dissipates from how Nikki displays her love for Baron. Inde Navarrette is an absolute star and puts together a horror performance for the ages.
Films with Josh 
