Obsession is the surprise smash hit of 2026, a small indie supernatural horror film by YouTuber Curry Barker that’s already raked in £500+ million worldwide.
A genuinely frightening and unnerving film, it follows the obsessive behaviour of one young man as he tries to make his love interest fall head over heels for him. Boy, does that go wrong…
The Toxic Masculinity of Obsession
Where Obsession excels is with its sense of dread, delivered largely by the phenomenal performance of newcomer Inde Navarrette.
Modern themes of masculinity in crisis, incels, and the dating crisis abound. The lead character is Bear (Michael Johnston, also very good here) who is awkward and shy. He’s in love with his colleague Nikki (Navarrette), but is too petrified to ask her out on a date. Instead, he visits an occult crystal store and buys a novelty toy called One Wish Willow.
His wish? To have Nikki love him more than anything else in the world.
Once he makes the wish Nikki starts behaving in a bizarre, some could say obsessive, manner towards Bear. They become a couple and it all seems to go well for a few days, until her behaviour becomes more and more unusual. As if it’s not Nikki at all and she’s possessed by something else entirely (referred to by fans of the film as Wish Nikki).
As the narrative develops, it’s as if she’s possessed by a demon (themes of The Exorcist are what struck us). Her behaviour becomes increasingly insane and unsettling.
From the “SSTAAYYYY!!!!” moment onward, the sense of dread in Obsession is almost overwhelming. It’s genuinely a very uncomfortable viewing experience, which is the whole point of horror (if you’d forgotten).
What we found terrifying is, essentially, it’s a heightened depiction of a domestic abuse situation. One entirely of the guy’s making, but as the narrative unfolds he’s so insecure and toxic in his masculinity he’s unwilling to leave Nikki or try to help her. This isn’t a “oh, she’s a crazy chick!” narrative, it’s Bear who’s done this and he is clearly the villain of Obsession. Things get remarkably bleak, although there are some occasional bits of dark humour.
But then you get things like the film’s most disturbing moment, when the real Nikki is briefly able to speak to Bear from her possessed state and it reveals the horror of what Bear is responsible for.
Inde Navarrette is incredible (echoes of Mia Goth in 2022’s Pearl aplenty). It’s a performance where it’s almost more frightening when she’s not onscreen, as you’re terrified of what she might be getting up to next.
Great film, then, and a huge hit with the younger generations.
Although we’ve seen some online reviewers saying it’s the “best film in many years”, but coming across as the types who only watch superhero films. So, yes, this will seem like a breath of fresh air if all you do is watch the most mainstream Hollywood releases.
Obsession isn’t quite as original as some film fans have made out. It’s more a merger of Big (1988), Pearl (2022), the goddamn terrifying Get Out (2017), and The Exorcist (1973) into one hellish time of it.
Plus, we felt the ending trailed off over the final 20 minutes, but there’s one incredible solid 60 minute central run of astonishing dread that carries the whole thing. We’re very impressed by it, just don’t watch the film shortly before going to bed (otherwise no sleep shall be had).
STTTAAYYYYY!!! And Read About the Production of Obsession
This is one of those great success stories we get in film from time to time. Jaws is a classic example, plus the Mad Max series, but here it is again! The budget for Obsession was $750,000 and yet it’s already made $512.6 million at the global box office (and it’s still in cinemas earning).
Curry Barker wrote and directed the film. He’s a YouTube creator who normally focusses on comedy sketches, but uploaded a horror short called The Chair in 2023. That opened some doors for him and the film was adapted into this full feature.
Barker wrote the script whilst working in a tea shop. He cited Ti West’s cult classic Pearl (2022) as a big influence and even made the cast and crew watch the film before production began.
Casting proved difficult until producer Christian Mercuri highly recommended Inde Navarrette, who’d gained experience in the 2020 film Wander Darkly and some other short films. She cited some scenes from Get Out as an influence.
On a limited budget, the cast and crew worked closely together to overcome difficulties. It’s a classic example of creative thinking helping to bolster the film’s full potential, the result being it makes many $200 million blockbusters look a bit stupid in comparison.
How many superhero films have we had over the last 16 years that have been bang average? Then Obsession, not even on a $1 million budget, floors then. It is a message to Hollywood in its mainstream guise… take more risks! Stuff like this happens.
Obsession was shot from late October 2024 and ran for 26 days.
Once launched in mid-2026 in the US (August 2026 in the UK), critical acclaim and word of mouth led to audiences flocking to cinemas to see it. Now it’s the 10th highest grossing film of 2026! An incredible achievement. It’s already the fifth highest grossing horror film ever.
Why? Simply as it’s goddamn scary. Very good.
