Boy, did this movie make a splash at the box office. One of three movies in wide release this past year that upended industry conventions about horror (the others being Backrooms and Iron Lung), Obsession pulled in over 500 million bucks against a budget of around three-quarters of a million. Those kinds of numbers make the suits take notice. It’s not the first time something like this has happened. In the late 1990s it was The Blair Witch Project that thumbed its nose at Hollywood, and in the next decade Paranormal Activity did it again. Every so often the industry gets a reminder that bigger isn’t better, and that they don’t have sole license on what people are allowed to like. What’s unique is that three movies did this in the same year. But, Missile Test doesn’t give a damn about numbers and return on investment. What we appreciate is that an independent filmmaker was able to make their movie, and get it seen.
Obsession, at its core, is a poisoned chalice story. A person receives a boon, in this case, they are able to make a wish that fulfills a selfish desire, and it backfires on them. This type of story goes back at least to the myth of King Midas and his golden touch. The idea itself is probably older than recorded history. That’s how solid of a trope it is. The Monkey’s Paw from 1902 is a notable example. Wishing for a reverse in unrequited love was common in horror comics of the 1950s, and was even adapted in the Tales from the Crypt television show. That’s not to say Obsession lacks originality. It has originality in bunches. What it does is take a classical story type, retell it, and tell it so well it feels fresh again.
The movie follows Baron ‘Bear’ Bailey (Michael Johnston), a young man who is madly in love with his co-worker and friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He wants to tell her how he feels, but keeps chickening out. He buys her a gift from a new age store, an item that supposedly 
can grant a single wish, but he never finds the right time to give it to her. In his frustration, he uses it himself, wishing that Nikki loved him more than any other person in the world. The wish has immediate effect, causing a total and complete reversal in Nikki’s feelings, and making them so intense that it destroys her personality.
There is little buildup in this story. The effect of the wish doesn’t come on gradually like in other stories of this type. From the moment the wish is made, Nikki is absolutely crazy, spending a very tense night at Bear’s house. Other than a short montage of relationship bliss afterwards, Bear and Nikki’s situation deteriorates.
Writer/director Curry Barker, who made his bones on YouTube, just like the filmmakers of Backrooms and Iron Lung, didn’t waste his time on how a story like this is supposed to progress. He also didn’t rely on clichés of either the manic pixie dream girl, or the crazy girlfriend. He had a deeper understanding of where he wanted his characters to go. Nikki is just a young woman living her life, and we’re not given much of a chance to see the fantasies Bear places upon her before things get moving. Bear is obviously tortured by her unreturned feelings, but that’s life.
Barker never loses sight of the fact that Nikki is the main victim in this movie, and not Bear or anyone else who gets in Nikki’s way. One of the appeals of this movie is just how extreme Nikki’s behavior gets. One can picture what a dependent personality disorder can do, but Barker’s imagination found so much more. He also found the perfect cast to carry it out. Johnston is excellent as Bear, channeling Jeremy Davies without any of the extremes. Bear has his own mental challenges. It’s Navarrette, though, that takes the material and elevates it. There is no nuance to her performance, something that I didn’t think could work with a character like this. In some genres, particularly horror and comedy, characters that lack nuance are common, sure, but it can feel shallow. Not here. Navarrette inhabited the character completely, changing the character’s traits at the drop of a hat, and embracing the whipsaws of emotion Nikki goes through.
Over time, the shocking horror of her performance may morph into something satirical, especially since it has now entered the zeitgeist, like bullet time from The Matrix. But, while it’s still fresh, it’s something to appreciate. Without Navarrette’s performance, this movie doesn’t succeed to the extent that it does. Bravo, I say.
Obsession is not a flawless movie. It goes for cheap thrills on occasion, while it’s at its best when it evokes dread. But, I can’t think of any reason someone should not see this movie.