by Josh Sewell
One of my favorite parts of this gig is witnessing the birth of a movie star in real time. It doesn’t happen often, but that’s what makes it so exhilarating. Emma Stone in Easy A, Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street, Glen Powell in Everybody Wants Some!! and Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name are just a handful of examples of the right performer finding the right film at the perfect time.
When it happens, it’s almost as if everybody in the audience simultaneously sits up and exclaims, “who the heck is that?!” I’m thrilled to announce you’ll have a chance to experience that when writer-director Curry Barker’s intriguing and deeply unsettling horror flick Obsession hits theaters this weekend.
Remember the name Inde Navarrette because you’re going to be hearing it for quite some time. The film around her is excellent by itself, but her terrifying, funny and ultimately heartbreaking central performance transforms it into an instant genre classic. I know it’s relatively early to make such a bold claim, but she deserves to be a part of this year’s Best Actress conversation.
With Obsession, Barker (making his feature debut) crafts a premise that sounds silly but rapidly becomes a creepy “Monkey’s Paw”-style morality tale. It centers on the introverted, 20-something Bear (Michael Johnston), who is harboring a painful crush on his gorgeous coworker Nikki (Navarrette).
Instead of actually telling her how he feels, Bear reveals his desire to the “One Wish Willow,” a sinister-looking twig he initially thinks is a gag gift. He wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world, and – to his surprise – he gets what he wants. At first, everything appears to be sunshine and rainbows. However, Bear quickly realizes the awful ramifications of his self-centered wish.
Barker is the latest comedian (like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger before him) to successfully make the jump from laughs to scares. What’s more, his experience producing bits for platforms like YouTube and TikTok gives him a unique insight into the disturbing world of toxic, emotionally immature young men who think they’re entitled to a woman’s affection simply because they want it bad enough.
The internet is a disgusting place that throws around loaded terms like “nice guy” and “friend zone,” which might seem innocuous on the surface but hide ugly, misogynistic beliefs underneath. Barker literalizes those poisonous attitudes via Bear, who might seem sympathetic at first but is far from it. Johnston is terrific in the role, adding nuance and complexity that aren’t always easy to find in horror.
Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless are also solid, adding humor and pathos (along with some viscerally disturbing moments) as the other members of Bear and Nikki’s friend group. But it’s Navarrette who most viewers will leave the theater raving about – for good reason.
The actress (whose most prominent roles prior to her astonishing work here were on television shows like Superman & Lois and 13 Reasons Why) is technically playing two characters and they both feel real and distinct. The difficulty scale is off the charts, but she makes it seem effortless.
In the opening scenes of Obsession, Navarrette establishes the “real” Nikki as an actual person who just happens to be crush-worthy. Yes, she’s objectively charismatic and attractive, but she’s not some unattainable dream girl. She has a personality, flaws and – most importantly – she’s got her own stuff going on in life. She doesn’t exist simply as a prize for the protagonist to win.
But when the character’s transformation occurs, Navarette pulls off an arc that could have been laughable in the wrong hands. “Freaky Nikki” (as the film eventually calls her) is equal parts charming, sad, disturbing and weirdly sexy – often at the same time. She must be someone the audience believes could murder them in a heartbeat, yet so compelling that we can’t help caring about her.
It’s a credit to Barker’s writing and Navarette’s acting talent that my focus was always drawn to the tragedy of Nikki’s regression rather than the twisted fairy tale of Bear’s selfish, illusory happiness. I wasn’t sure Obsession could live up to its pre-release hype, especially the rapturous praise for Navarrette’s performance, but the film pulls it off.
Even though I’m usually not a big horror guy, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the story and its characters since I left the press screening. Barker’s film isn’t some lame, forgettable slasher – it’s got a lot of interesting stuff to say.
Obsession is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language and brief graphic nudity. Opens in theaters on May 15.
Grade: A-
When it happens, it’s almost as if everybody in the audience simultaneously sits up and exclaims, “who the heck is that?!” I’m thrilled to announce you’ll have a chance to experience that when writer-director Curry Barker’s intriguing and deeply unsettling horror flick Obsession hits theaters this weekend.
Remember the name Inde Navarrette because you’re going to be hearing it for quite some time. The film around her is excellent by itself, but her terrifying, funny and ultimately heartbreaking central performance transforms it into an instant genre classic. I know it’s relatively early to make such a bold claim, but she deserves to be a part of this year’s Best Actress conversation.
With Obsession, Barker (making his feature debut) crafts a premise that sounds silly but rapidly becomes a creepy “Monkey’s Paw”-style morality tale. It centers on the introverted, 20-something Bear (Michael Johnston), who is harboring a painful crush on his gorgeous coworker Nikki (Navarrette).
Instead of actually telling her how he feels, Bear reveals his desire to the “One Wish Willow,” a sinister-looking twig he initially thinks is a gag gift. He wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world, and – to his surprise – he gets what he wants. At first, everything appears to be sunshine and rainbows. However, Bear quickly realizes the awful ramifications of his self-centered wish.
Barker is the latest comedian (like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger before him) to successfully make the jump from laughs to scares. What’s more, his experience producing bits for platforms like YouTube and TikTok gives him a unique insight into the disturbing world of toxic, emotionally immature young men who think they’re entitled to a woman’s affection simply because they want it bad enough.
The internet is a disgusting place that throws around loaded terms like “nice guy” and “friend zone,” which might seem innocuous on the surface but hide ugly, misogynistic beliefs underneath. Barker literalizes those poisonous attitudes via Bear, who might seem sympathetic at first but is far from it. Johnston is terrific in the role, adding nuance and complexity that aren’t always easy to find in horror.
Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless are also solid, adding humor and pathos (along with some viscerally disturbing moments) as the other members of Bear and Nikki’s friend group. But it’s Navarrette who most viewers will leave the theater raving about – for good reason.
The actress (whose most prominent roles prior to her astonishing work here were on television shows like Superman & Lois and 13 Reasons Why) is technically playing two characters and they both feel real and distinct. The difficulty scale is off the charts, but she makes it seem effortless.
In the opening scenes of Obsession, Navarrette establishes the “real” Nikki as an actual person who just happens to be crush-worthy. Yes, she’s objectively charismatic and attractive, but she’s not some unattainable dream girl. She has a personality, flaws and – most importantly – she’s got her own stuff going on in life. She doesn’t exist simply as a prize for the protagonist to win.
But when the character’s transformation occurs, Navarette pulls off an arc that could have been laughable in the wrong hands. “Freaky Nikki” (as the film eventually calls her) is equal parts charming, sad, disturbing and weirdly sexy – often at the same time. She must be someone the audience believes could murder them in a heartbeat, yet so compelling that we can’t help caring about her.
It’s a credit to Barker’s writing and Navarette’s acting talent that my focus was always drawn to the tragedy of Nikki’s regression rather than the twisted fairy tale of Bear’s selfish, illusory happiness. I wasn’t sure Obsession could live up to its pre-release hype, especially the rapturous praise for Navarrette’s performance, but the film pulls it off.
Even though I’m usually not a big horror guy, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the story and its characters since I left the press screening. Barker’s film isn’t some lame, forgettable slasher – it’s got a lot of interesting stuff to say.
Obsession is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language and brief graphic nudity. Opens in theaters on May 15.
Grade: A-
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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