Obsession (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 9 June 2026

Curry Barker delivers his new horror film indirectly inspired by The Monkey’s Paw.

When Bear is in love with his friend Nikki but she doesn’t reciprocate, he wishes upon a totem called One Wish Willow that she loved him more than anyone in the world. The wish comes true, but Nikki’s extreme obsession with him brings disturbing consequences.

The main element throughout is Nikki’s erratic behaviour, leaving viewers uneasily anticipating her actions. This includes Nikki watching Bear sleep, moving creepily at night, making a memorial with his cat’s remains, taping the door up and maniacally smiling at him when he leaves for work and remaining in position until he returns home, having messed herself. Her behaviour grows increasingly concerning, such as when she stabs herself with a broken bottle at the party. There are particularly grotesque moments too such as Nikki making Bear a sandwich with his cat’s remains and brutally murdering Sarah by repeatedly smashing her face into a brick and keeping her mutilated corpse in their house. There are also shreds of humour within the dark scenes, such as Nikki moving Sarah’s chair during the game and Bear telling Nikki to not cook the cat.

There is another chilling scene in which the customer service phone operator, voiced by Barker himself, informs Bear there is little that can be done in a nonchalant tone.

An interesting point is the extent to which Bear stays with Nikki, despite Ian warning him that her behaviour suggests that she needs psychological help and that it looks like he is taking advantage of her and a lucid Nikki begging Bear to kill her.

A great scene comes when Ian wishes for a billion dollars as he does not believe the wish is real, only for wads of cash to rain down on them, leaving Ian stunned as Bear realises that he is running out of options.

The ending sees a desperate Bear commit suicide to end the wish, resulting in Nikki returning to her real self and hysterically screaming as she realises the horror around her.

Obsession is unsettling in the best possible way that a horror film should evoke.

8/10