Obsession: Movie Review

By Graham Craycraft


Obsession is the major motion picture directorial debut of short film and internet comedy writer, director, and actor Curry Barker. Obsession hit theaters nationwide on May, 15 2026. 


Baron (Bear) played by Michael Johnston is a young man who fills out the classic “in love with a girl, but she doesn’t see me that way” story. Until he gets so desperate and breaks a cheap toy in half that grants one wish for doing so. The “One Wish Willow” grants Bear his wish but with most horrible consequences. This version of the 1902 W.W. Jacobs short story “The Monkey’s Paw” gives a fresh feeling and delivers a well rounded horror film. If you have read this story, you’ll see the obvious similarities. If you haven’t read this story, please do. 


Like many stories, at first this wish goes smoothly: Bear and Nikki (played by Inde Navarrette) are inseparable with all that burning, mind fuzzing joy of a fresh romance. Soon however it begins to spiral into a nightmare. Nikki’s love, as viewers can surmise, is rather a sickening obsession. She cannot bear to be without Bear and must dominate him and others when they are together to ensure his attention is bent solely on her. 


Barker deftly explores love, inadequacy, denial, and trying to find one’s place. We as humans are constantly trying to answer questions concerning these concepts above. They can dominate our interior dialogue and how we view ourselves. One of the most fundamental needs is to feel loved and included. Bear makes this wish out of this desire, he continues down the path even while it goes off the rails, and it’s only when he has no choice that he seeks a desperate way out. Again and again the red flags tell Bear without a doubt that this is something evil, but he can’t seem to walk away. 


Good films are emotionally well rounded, and the older I get the more I realize the deep sadness that is often infused into great dramas and horrors. What makes something so scary is often layered with grief. Barker repeatedly hits different levels of grief while forcing our hand over our eyes with consistent bursts of terror. In fact, the strongest attraction I have to the movie is the way Barker walks us through the false notion of love and the piercing (twisted) tragedy it leads to. Use is not love and they cannot be interchanged. 


Leaning on his background in comedy too, Obsession knows how to make us laugh. This point also leads to a negative however. One qualm I had with the movie stems from Barker’s aforementioned background in comedy. There are some moments that I was unsure (as was the theater I was in) whether I should be laughing or terrified. Regardless of your familiarity with Barker’s work I think this will be a shared experience unfortunately. Overall, I highly recommend Obsession to those looking for a skin crawling scare, a laugh, a few tears (or more than a few), and overall just a great film. A bit of warning for anyone squeamish as this movie does not shy away from moments of gore. 


93/100


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