10-4-26 — Christina Critiques Horror Movies (OBSESSION 2025)

Directed by: Curry Barker

Run time: 108 minutes        Available on: Peacock

Rated: R

Starring: Inde Navarrete and Michael Johnston

Synopsis: Bear (Johnston) just wants the love of Nikki (Navarrete). But sometimes getting what you want and what you need are two very different things.

Favorite quotes: “Just because you chose this for her, doesn’t make it less real.”

“Bear. Kill me please.”

Thoughts: sigh... The whole “careful what you wish for” trope. It’s old, it’s tired, it’s played out. But… what Barker does is take it to the extreme and flip it on its head, which is more than fascinating.

Nikki never agreed to this relationship - it was all by force. Does his wish, as innocent as it seems, lead to him being, by definition, a rapist? Her crazy (which is what men often tell women allllll the time, we are but damn, can we go five minutes without it being thrown at us) is unnerving. It’s cringe-inducing (see Ian’s party) but at the same time, isn’t she crying for help within her monologue? A reverse Hamlet of sorts?

Did you notice that she cut his hair? I am 99.99% sure that it’s not because she wanted him to be hotter. Think of Samson, make it horror. Instead of having superhuman strength, Bear has a hold of Nikki and “Nikki”. Nikki believed cutting his hair would take some of his power away from him… it didn’t but can’t fault a girl for trying.

Something else that was interesting was the shadow play and hiding/destroying her face. The shadow play, to me, was Barker trying to show that this was the dark side of his want, greed, etc. Unfortunately, she had to bear the brunt of his stupidity. (Also, am I crazy or was the apple in Bear’s lunch after “Nikki” held the case in front of her face a nod to Rene Magritte's THE SON OF MAN painting?)

I also feel for Bear at times, whether I wanted to or not. That silly boy, wanting to have the toy that will never be his until his magical wish. By taking away her free will to love him if/when she chose, he took away his freedom as well.

If this is Barker’s first horror movie, I’m excited to watch him grow as a feature film writer/director. (I’ve watched his short reels for a long time). This is a monkey’s paw for modern audiences and it was well done.

Rating: 8/10