Del reviews ‘Obsession’

Image courtesy of Focus Features.

“Obsession” Starring Michael Johnston as Bear, Inde Navarrette as Nikki, Cooper Tomlinson as Ian, Megan Lawless as Sarah, and others. Written and directed by Curry Barker. 1 hour, 48 minutes. Rated R. Theatrical release.

Plot summary: A man who’s hopelessly in love with a pretty girl but can’t summon the nerve to tell her uses a novelty item to ask for a wish, that she love him more than anyone else. And she does. And does. And does. And does, ad finitum.

Spoilers: There aren’t many to spoil, but I’ll try to avoid doing that anyway.

Del’s take

Mladen was too busy telling children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, and telling Trumpers that no, they won’t be getting a $5,000 check from DOGE, to see “Obsession” with me. Too bad because he missed a pretty good horror flick. After “Obsession” you’ll be canceling your Tinder profile and swearing off romance for the rest of your life, because like the good folks in AA say, “Moderation in all things,” has zero to do with this movie.

“Obsession” is scary, but not in the typical horror movie way. Imagine your next-door neighbor telling you his house is infested with Formosan termites, and they’ve been swarming the past three nights. It’s that kind of scary, a kind of subterranean dread that rumbles through your bones as events careen to their inevitable conclusion.

The story is about a man, nicknamed Bear, who’s crushing on Nikki, a cute coworker and member of his friend group. Bear’s too much of a scaredy cat to ask Nikki out – she even hands him an invitation on a sliver platter and he wusses out, the spineless coward. Instead, he takes the path of least risk. He buys a novelty item called a One Wish Willow, wishes that Nikki loved him more than anyone else in the world, then breaks the stick as per the instructions.

Big mistake.

Nikki doesn’t just love him. She becomes infatuated with him, to the point he can’t even take a shit without her wanting to be in the bathroom with him. That gets old pretty fast, but hang on, Nikki’s not done – oh no, she’s just getting started. And there is nothing – I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G – Nikki won’t do to be at Bear’s side 24/7.

“Obsession” is a cautionary tale, the proverbial “be careful what you wish for – you just might get it.” It’s also about the claustrophobia of codependency and how we as human beings sometimes opt for the shiny bauble when the more sensible choice would be the less exotic but more authentic alternative. We see a hint of that with Sarah, who has plans for the future and seems to genuinely like Bear for who he is.

Inde Navarrette steals the movie with her portrayal of the bewitched and batshit-obsessed Nikki, and Megan Lawless is authentically warm and vulnerable as Sarah. Cooper Tomlinson’s Ian is a stereotyped lowbrow guy pal and didn’t leave much of an impression with me. Michael Johnston’s Bear, the movie’s viewpoint character, is my only significant gripe with “Obsession.” Bear is weak and often zoned-out or confused, to the point of irritation. At times I wondered if he was on the spectrum. And throughout the movie he continues to try to salvage this ill-gotten relationship with Nikki despite some horrendously (and criminal) actions on her part, which leads me to wonder: Who is the more obsessed, Nikki, or Bear? Do Bear’s creep credentials run a lot deeper than I suspected? It’s an annoying bit of ambiguity.

Despite that one fault, “Obsession” is a nifty movie that should strike a chord with the dating app crowd. It won’t keep you up at night, and it won’t lurk in your nightmares, but you’ll think about it before you swipe right. I’m giving it a B+.

Director and writer Curry Barker, a young dude from Mobile, Alabama, is quickly making a name for himself in Hollywood. “Obsession” cost less than a million bucks to make and so far has bought in $215 million, as per June 22, 2026. Those are the kind of numbers Hollywood pays attention to.

“Obsession” should keep Barker’s momentum going.