I finally watched this horror movie, a rare example of a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon, and thought that the hype was mostly justified. While not especially scary, it’s well-acted, disturbing and darkly funny.
The premise has a simplicity of a fairy tale (in this case, a very messed-up fairy tale). Bear (Michael Johnston) has a crush on his co-worker and childhood friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He’s too timid and lacking in self-confidence to work up the courage and tell Nikki how he really feels, even after rehearsing the confession with their mutual friends in the opening scene. After Bear chickens out on yet another perfect opportunity, he pours his frustration into a wish he makes with the help of One Wish Willow, a mysterious novelty toy he bought for Nikki in a hippy-dippy store. His wish? That Nikki would love him more than anyone in the world.
Faster than you can say “monkey’s paw”, Nikki is all over Bear and the two are happily dating, but you know that you’re watching a “be careful what you wish for” kind of story, and that things are about to get twisted. That’s as much as I knew about Obsession going in. What I didn’t expect was to find a surprisingly layered film that taps into the modern-day anxieties over dating and relationships in a visceral way comparable maybe to Fatal Attraction from nearly forty years ago.
Another thing that made me think back to Fatal Attraction was the blurred line between sympathetic and villainous, though played in an entirely different way. Bear’s wish was made innocently and without belief in real magic, and Nikki’s transformation into something truly demonic is gradual enough in the beginning. It’s easy to feel sorry for Bear as his life turns into a walking nightmare, until a crucial scene reveals the true depth of his resentful entitlement, and his inability to see Nikki as a real person rather than an object of his affection. Nikki’s predicament is the most tragic one in the film, but at the same time the Nikki that walks in her skin is genuinely frightening.
A low-budget horror movie must by necessity create a lot from very little, and Curry Barker’s film creates unease with things like masterful sound design and carefully controlled lighting. Some of the most memorable moments have nothing blatantly horrifying going on, yet play on your nerves with simple things like reducing Nikki to a still darkened silhouette that hints on something inhuman, or holding a shot until you’re squirming with discomfort. Some of the biggest gasps from the audience were to the old cinematic tricks like playing footage backwards, creating an eerie effect that makes your skin crawl.
I was surprised by the amount of humour, sitting uncomfortably close to horror and violence in the best way possible. I saw the movie with a youngish Gen Z crowd, and you’d think we were watching a comedy from the amount of (at times nervous) laughter in the theatre. For a first-time feature film, Obsession is impressively confident at swinging wildly between comedy, psychological horror, heartfelt drama and violence, including one brutal scene that I knew was coming but which still left me shaken.
Michael Johnston plays Bear with just the right mix of anxiety, likability and cowardice, but this is Inde Navarrette’s movie. Her extraordinary performance should earn her if not official industry awards, then surely a place in the pantheon of great horror performances alongside Isabelle Adjani and Toni Colette. Everything about the way Nikki moves and talks becomes so increasingly uncanny and disturbing you know you’re not watching a person, but a terrifying consequence of what happens when you wish for a shortcut and love is forced unnaturally into being.
It’s fair to mention things that didn’t work for me, which include everything to do with Bear’s unlucky cat. It’s not that I can’t tolerate bad things happening to cats in movies, I simply found this entire subplot clumsy and unnecessary, seemingly forced into the story for the sake of a poetic bookend. Also, while I already praised Barker for juggling tones, a few of the cuts and editing choices were jarring in a bad way rather than good one. None of these are major flaws and for once, a buzzy movie felt like it’s getting attention for all the right reasons.*
* Unlike Blair Witch Project. It’s been over twenty-five years and I still feel cheated after sitting through that snoozefest in the cinema. How I hated those stupid annoying foul-mouthed kids.
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