It came out of nowhere, it's sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and your entire feed is quoting it. Here's why Obsession is the horror movie of the moment.
1. A 26-year-old made it — on YouTube money first. Curry Barker built his name on sketches and the micro-budget viral hit Milk & Serial. Obsession is his theatrical jump, and he wrote, directed AND edited it. The whole package.
2. The cursed object is genuinely iconic. “One Wish Willow,” a creepy little novelty toy that grants exactly one wish, is the kind of horror prop that ends up on a T-shirt. “Be careful what you wish for” has never been this literal.
3. Inde Navarrette is a star now. That's it. That's the post. Her turn as Nikki is the kind of go-for-broke, practical-effects, no-CGI performance that mints a scream queen on the spot. People are walking out talking about her.
4. It's actually funny. Critics keep comparing the tone to Barbarian — that whiplash between “I'm laughing” and “I want to leave the theater.” Barker treats comedy and horror like the same machine, and it works.
5. It proves you don't need $100M to win. $750,000. Twenty-six days. A TIFF Midnight Madness detonation and a Focus Features deal. Obsession is the underdog story horror fans have been begging for.
The takeaway: this is a breath of fresh air with a body count. If you haven't seen it, fix that — and watch Curry Barker's name, because he's just getting started.
Comments (5)