Obsession Review: A Confident Crowd-Pleaser With A Killer Lead Performance [Overlook 2026]

The name on every horror fan's lips this festival season has been Curry Barker, part of the sketch comedy duo that's a bad idea and the mind behind the viral sensation, "Milk & Serial." The horror genre, in particular, has been proving time and again that YouTube is the next frontier for scary movies, frequently serving as a jumping-off point for creatives looking to break into the industry. Pair that with the boom of comedians-turned-horror-filmmakers like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger, and Barker is smack dab in the middle of a Venn diagram for success. Thankfully, his first studio-backed feature, "Obsession," more than proves that he's got the ridiculously twisted goods.

"Teen Wolf" star Michael Johnston stars as Baron aka Bear, a shy, insecure, low-level employee at a musical instrument store who is hopelessly in love with his adorable and confident coworker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). His best friend Ian (that's a bad idea co-founder Cooper Tomlinson) discourages Bear from asking her out, knowing damn well she's uninterested, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and Bear wants the girl of his dreams. When he completely botches his attempt to shoot his shot, he tries his hand at a $6.99 novelty gift called "One Wish Willow" that claims to grant users one wish. Bear, having learned nothing from the countless tales of curled monkey's paws, wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone in the world. Be careful what you wish for, indeed, Bear.

While Nikki's love for Bear initially appears to be everything he wished for, that pesky "more than anyone else in the world" caveat quickly distorts into the horrific. Bear's inability to accept that she's just not that into him becomes everyone else's problem, and the result is a full-tilt descent into violent insanity.

In another movie from another time, Bear would be presented as a sympathetic "aw, shucks" nice guy who got in over his head looking for love. "Obsession," released post-#MeToo during a time when pathetic incels are demanding government-issued AI robot girlfriends, smartly recognizes that "protagonist" does not equate to "hero." Bear is a pathetic loser who is getting everything he deserves, and the film revels in torturing him for refusing to take the hint. He finally gets the romantic attention he's so desperately wanted from Nikki, but it comes at the cost of her increasingly obsessive and erratic behavior. Something is immediately wrong with her once he makes the wish, but he ignores every possible red flag for his own selfish desires. No amount of sweet, sadboy antics makes you ever feel sorry for Bear, and it only adds to the delicious anticipation to see what she's going to do to make Bear regret ever making that wish.

Simple (albeit concerning) behaviors like her inability to watch a movie sitting next to Bear without just watching him escalate into duct-taping the doors shut to keep him from leaving her to go to work. With every passing day, Nikki's mania accelerates beyond the realm of normalcy, and watching her obsess over Bear becomes so viscerally uncomfortable that you can't help but laugh. "Obsession" has a nasty sense of humor at the heart of the story, but the reality of what's going on with Nikki is extremely dark. She's constantly "glitching" out mid-moment, with pre-wish Nikki clawing through her cursed facsimile, desperately hoping Bear will put her out of her misery. 

It's so refreshing to see a movie acknowledge who is actually hurt by the "friend zone." (Spoiler alert: It ain't the entitled manbabies!)

Since the premiere of "Obsession" at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the star-making turn of Inde Navarrette ("Superman & Lois") has been one of the most hyped aspects of the film, and as I sat at the opening night screening of the Overlook Film Festival, I feared that she wouldn't be able to live up to what I had been promised. Dear reader, I have never in my life been happier to be proven wrong.

Navarrette is a sensation, delivering an astonishing performance that will instantly become a beloved part of the canon of monstrous femmes. Her ability to waffle between the manic-pixie-dream-girl-next-door object of Bear's affection to a walking, screaming, sleep paralysis demon — sometimes multiple times in the same sentence — is a sight to behold. The erratic command of her facial elasticity, vocal range, and full-body commitment to whatever miseries Curry Barker elects to unleash at any given moment is nothing short of a masterclass. If you liked Mia Goth in "Pearl," you're going to love Inde Navarrette.

To his equal credit, Michael Johnston is a perfect surrogate for the audience, consistently reacting with the perfect level of "what in the actual hell is happening?!" plastered across his face. Fellow co-worker Sarah (Megan Lawless) provides a necessary outsider perspective, able to see the toxicity of this one-sided relationship when Bear is too wrapped up in it all to see the forest for the trees. Given the familiar, well-worn premise at the center, the film lives and dies by the commitment of its performances and the nightmarish execution of Barker's vision.

"Obsession" deserves to reach the acclaimed heights of "Weapons," and Navarrette commands the same level of attention as Amy Madigan, and I'm willing to use my One Wish Willow to make it happen — side effects be damned.

/Film Review: 8.5 out of 10

"Obsession" opens in theaters on May 15, 2026.