Obsession (2026) - Spoiler Free Review

Film Details

Director: Curry Barker

Run Time: 1hr 49m

Cast: Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston, Megan Lawless, Cooper Tomlinson.

Synopsis

Bear is just a man who doesn’t have the courage to tell his crush how he truly feels, but underestimating the power of a ‘One Wish Willow’ soon turns his love story into something far more sinister.

My Review

Obsession is undoubtedly 2026’s best horror film so far and what director Curry Barker has achieved on a budget of just $700k is simply outstanding! But the filmmaking wasn’t the only impressive marker of a great film, Inde Navarrette drops one of my favourite performances of the year and if I was in charge of the Academy Awards, she would be my front runner for best actress so far!

What makes Obsession incredibly effective is just how grounded in reality it feels, there is clearly an overarching power causing the events to unfold but it still feels so human and weirdly that’s far scarier than any traditional horror could ever be. The way the director uses a handful of moments to manipulate Nikki’s movement was deeply unsettling and I mean that in the best way possible! I really dislike cheap jump scares and it was great to hear the director speak about the evolution of jump scares in modern horror and how the aforementioned movement of Nikki played into that, something that unsettles the audience and makes them feel like something isn’t quite.

The cinematography throughout the film was great and I loved two things in particular; One was the shallow depth of field to emphasise Nikki constantly lingering, watching Bear at all times, it was far more effective than having her in full focus. Secondly was the excellent use of shadow, which was utilised to highlight the inhuman nature of Nikki’s transformation. The lighting in the room often shadowed Navarrette’s facial features, leaving just a creepy glint in her eyes that pierced the darkness. The contrast in light and dark spaces emphasised the sharp changes in her personality, stepping into the light as a completely different character to what we had seen moments before!

I could talk about Obsession all day, the acting, the themes on display, the cinematography, the concept, it all contributes to an amazing film! So a big congratulations to everyone involved and let it be a testament to giving relatively unknown actors a chance because boy did they knock it out of the park here! It’s great to see it doing well at the box office and given the fantastic word of mouth, I suspect it will have the legs to just keep growing in the weeks to come. Definitely a must watch!

My Rating: 9 out of 10

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