Obsession (2026) Movie Review

Movie Review: Obsession

Just like getting things off the website Wish, the new horror *Obsession* shows that wishing may not give you everything in the way you intended. After breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopelessly shy man finds himself getting exactly what he asked for, but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.

This is going to be spoiler-free because I only watched the teaser trailer and went in relatively blind, so I want to give you that same type of courtesy.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Following in the footsteps of many stories centered around the theme of what you wish for, *Obsession* takes the sentiment and goes way darker and visceral. We follow a group of four friends: Bear, Nikki, Ian, and Sarah. Bear secretly longs after Nikki, and he kind of impulsively makes a wish on a toy. From there, the series of events spirals evermore into the mire of creepy discomfort.

Typically, I’m very leery of a film where the same person is the writer, director, and editor. But here, relative newcomer Curry Barker demonstrates that he has the skill to see his idea all the way through to the end and do it competently. What makes this story work and stand out as something fresh—despite a well-used plot premise—is how the performances capture the necessary intensity that conveys exactly what the film’s title wants.

Outstanding Performances

Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki, becomes a demented doll at times, freezing in place with her creepy smile and this strained expression. Nikki is the love interest of Bear, and through her body movements and contortions, along with some eerily focused yet pained stares, she elicits all sorts of emotions from the audience, ranging from distress and horror to sympathy and revulsion. I’m highly impressed by Navarrette’s ability to hold an uneasy smile for an uncomfortable amount of time. It’s almost like she’s channeling Jack Torrance after he goes a bit sideways from being cooped up for far too long.

Navarrette pulls the corners of her mouth to the extreme as she struggles to show Bear how happy and sincere she is in her desire for him. But what it looks like to all of us watching is that this is a tormented soul who’s having some sort of vicious internal conflict. The actress is a commanding force when she’s on screen. Her piercing expressions and guttural, primal screams are shocking at all the right times—sometimes making us jump, and other times just making us chuckle incredulously.

To complement Navarrette’s performance, Michael Johnston portrays Bear. Secretly in love with his friend, he wants to express that love to her but can’t get out of his own head to do so, instead becoming a stammering bucket of mush who has his own internal battle over when, how, and even *if* he’s going to profess his feelings. Thankfully, Johnston doesn’t craft Bear to be some predatory skeezer who makes his wish with nefarious intent or even with the desire to control Nikki. He haphazardly wishes on something that he doesn’t believe is going to work and then is horrified by the results.

Themes and Morality

What adds to the dynamic and creates this powerfully disturbing sequence is that Bear begins to buy into the truthful lie: that Nikki really does love him. The moral, emotional, and even philosophical dilemmas this builds are surprisingly intelligent and deep. The story doesn’t cheapen out on the themes; instead, it pushes harder into them to bring about complications that may not be able to be resolved in the way that we want.

The story is meant to bring about conflicting emotions in the audience. On one hand, Bear is selfish because he even contemplates making a wish and then carelessly wishes. Instead of verbalizing his own feelings, even when presented with opportunities to do so, he shies away—perhaps showing the truth of his feelings despite how he has convinced himself that he feels. But then we see the buyer’s remorse at making such a rash decision. Thankfully, the story presents Bear as uneasy, even freaked out, because of the immediate shift in Nikki’s behavior. That demonstrates, at least in part, that he didn’t have malicious intent, even though the wish itself was designed to strip Nikki of autonomy.

This could veer off into some misogynistic wet dream, but because of the actions and attitudes Bear demonstrates, that sentiment is greatly minimized. The story doesn’t absolve Bear of what he did, which adds even more weight to the tragedy of the plot. But it also doesn’t paint him as some heroic persona swooping in to right the wrong and ignoring the fact that he created it in the first place. What we’re left with is this massively flawed dude who made a hasty and terrible choice that led to harrowing consequences from which few may escape unscathed.

Creeps, Scares, and Gore

While the movie isn’t a traditionally scary one, it’s certainly creepy and ominous. There are movements that characters make that can make you jump, or even squirm. While technically there are a few sequences that contain jump scares, they’re not the cheap or typical kind. These are earned moments that aren’t telegraphed or set up with musical crescendos. Instead, they are just well-placed characters bringing about natural jumpiness simply because they’re unexpected.

Something that definitely adds to the uneasiness of the storytelling is the use of extreme loudness in brief but sudden instances. These are designed to freak you out, and while a few times they made the audience laugh a little bit, for the most part, they sent chills down the spine and made hair stand on end.

So much of the narrative is presented as a psychological horror, creating dread and provoking unsettled thrills. But this also doesn’t skimp on the bloody horror elements that make for squirmy watching. When the violence occurs, it is fierce and gruesome. So while there’s not an abundance of gore, when it does come, they don’t hold back. So much of the time, too, the onset is startling, making the scenes even more powerful in their effect. The practical effects nailed the *ick*, building wounds and other nastiness that can make you wince, maybe even gag a bit.

Final Verdict

Despite this being the director’s feature-length debut, he demonstrates amazing patience and restraint when it comes to placing the camera and fighting against the desire to move it. So many of the uncomfortable or creepy scenes are accentuated because we’re forced to look at something way longer than we want, allowing both the actor and the camera to unsettle us in an effort to see who blinks first. Several times, it was me who squirmed before the frame broke and changed perspectives.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this, and I’m happily surprised at how much I enjoyed the entire experience. The plot itself isn’t novel, and the lore is kept to a simple and basic premise, but the performances—especially from standout Inde Navarrette—and the unhurried but still intense pacing work seamlessly with the chilling aesthetics and deliberate camera placements to deliver a fresh and satisfying horror tragedy. The gore is on point, the lighting builds needed ominous shadowing, the musical score haunts, and the editing maximizes suspense without sacrificing restraint. It all culminates in a presentation that will get under your skin, make you ponder moral questions, and perhaps make you rethink your next birthday wish.

Rating: I give Obsession 4.5 out of 5 couches. This is an excellent time at the cinema, and it paid off in all the right ways and stuck with me for the night.

Okay, what would you wish for if you could only have one wish? Now, be careful, you may get what you want, just not in the way you’d expect. Seriously though, Let me know below.