There’s a one-sided and disturbing relationship within Obsession, an indie horror from director Curry Barker. What is the difference between love and romance? It’s a distinction that the protagonist Bear, played by Michael Johnston, doesn’t question much. He spends too much time lingering on how to ask out his crush Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. Too much time is spent practicing his proposal or stalking her social media. Making that jump from being her friend to her boyfriend leads to some desperate measures. While shopping for jewelry, he comes across the One Wish Willow, an item that grants a singular wish. And after a disastrous attempt to flirt with Nikki, Bear is willing to try anything. Thinking nothing of this tactic, he uses the willow to wish that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world. But if episodes of The Twilight Zone have taught us anything, it’s that you should be careful what you wish for.
Bear’s wish comes true, but not in the way he might’ve thought. Having thought little of the wish before making it, he didn’t consider just how much Nikki would love him.
Even when Bear’s dream comes true, there is something immediately off about this new Nikki. Friendly conversations are altered into forceful flirtation. It doesn’t take long before the two of them are going on dates and sleeping together. But the thoughtless wish leads to Nikki becoming clingy and protective of this relationship, to a maddening degree. Every outing must include Nikki, complete with her eerie smile. Any attempt to criticize her obsessive nature leads to a breakdown.
In one of the film’s most frightening moments, Nikki obliterates a discussion of her behavior by making a loud scene in a restaurant. This isn’t right because this is no longer the woman Bear fell in love with. That chilling robbery of Nikki’s personality can be seen in the handful of moments where the real Nikki breaks through. She screams for help and begs for death, only to be beaten back by the subservient girlfriend that Bear desired.
Barker’s film isn’t afraid to go to the most shocking of places. Nikki’s obsession grows to a disturbing and disgusting degree. She’ll spill bodily fluids on the floor when waiting for her man and use his pets as lunchmeat. Her intensity is so high that the film has whiplash moments of humor amid its anxiety. Nikki might go on a tirade if she’s not invited to every event, but she’ll quickly revert to cheerful if she gets her way. That immediate tonal shift is so abrupt that you feel like you have to laugh, if only to break from the madness.
But Barker’s direction also succeeds in framing Nikki in a creepy way without saying a word. When Nikki is in a medium close-up, her eyes stare into Bear’s soul and her grin has this forced fright behind it. Clearly, Bear wants some distance from her. But even when pushed into the background, Nikki is still terrifying with the ideal spooky lighting. Her silhouette lingers like a haunting figure and her eyes will pierce through the shadows.
There are some scenes where she’ll blend into the background, only to move and send the chills back up your spine. You don’t want to look directly into Nikki’s discomforting face, but you also can’t help it, for fear of what will happen if you look away. Because when Nikki goes violent, she goes all the way, especially for one scene involving a brick.
Obsession has plenty of frights, but the underlying theme of modern romance and isolation makes it all the more compelling. Bear’s entire drive for attaining Nikki’s affection is spawned from loneliness. When not hanging out with his friends, he resides in his empty home. The death of his cat that opens the movie only worsens his sadness. Rather than confess his feelings to someone like Nikki, he watches her from social media and only speaks with her in a tone he thinks will advance their relationship.
There is this worry about screwing up a relationship, fearing the bridge of friendship will be burned by taking a shot at romance. It’s a concern shared by his friends Ian and Sarah. They want to help Bear out in this situation, but can only do so much when keeping a distance. Bear is in a relationship where he feels alone, worsening a situation he thought would improve with Nikki in his home.
Barker also places some smarts in the framing of the wishes. A lesser film might’ve spent too much time focusing on the mechanics of how the One Wish Willow works and how it reverses. This story offers a convenient yet believable explanation of how the wishes work, with Curry Barker stating it directly in one scene where he makes a cameo. This is important because the last thing a movie like this should do is get hung up on the rules of the supernatural. This isn’t a movie about wishes; it’s about how toxic relationships can form through thoughtless desires and loneliness. The removal of Nikki’s agency ultimately dooms Bear to recognize the error of being so possessive.
While Obsession is genuinely terrifying and gnarly for its direction, the social terror it boasts is what makes it so fascinating. Social media has granted an entire generation the means of easily forming a para-social relationship and stalking from a distance, even with those we talk to in person. But when we do this, we may stop treating the people we know as people and instead as prizes. It’s a horrifying objectification that Bear experiences when Nikki treats him like her property with a giant do-not-touch sign around his neck. When a relationship reaches that level, it’s no longer healthy. It might look like a romance with all the flirting, kissing, and sex, but it’s not love. Obsession reveals the shocking and twisted byproducts of that modern relationship status.
