Sometimes going into a movie without any sense of what to expect is the best way to experience a it, and knowing literally *nothing* about Curry Barker’s Obsession prior to seeing it other than knowing it was going to be something utterly f-ked up, was the right way to experience this trip. If you know nothing about what you’re going to get into watching this movie, you’re doing yourself a favor, but you may have an idea if you’ve seen Curry Barker’s content on YouTube. However, the new upward trend of YouTubers becoming filmmakers continues to successfully bring forth new terrors for audiences to discover. With Obsession, having had its world premiere at TIFF 2025, Baker adds his name among the Philippou brothers (Bring Her Back; Talk to Me) or Chris Stuckmann (Shelby Oaks) — (their respective three projects ones I adore and love), all YouTube-content-makers-turned-filmmakers, demanding your attention and certainly horrifying you to your core while redefining gross-out horror. This is not for the squeamish, but it delivers tenfold.
The premise is super simple, be careful what you wish for, and this is the horror that Bear (Michael Johnston) learns firsthand. He’s essentially in love with his childhood friend and co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette) and cannot work up the courage to ask her on a date. This is due to a combination of fear of rejection. It’s rather obvious to the audience and to Bear and Nikki’s friends (really everyone except Bear) that Nikki sees him more as a sibling than anything else. Instead of telling Nikki how he feels, Bear stumbles into a crystal store looking for a gift and buys something called a “One Wish Willow.” He is given the instructions (make a wish, break the branch in half, and your wish comes true) and is warned that the results of going through with the One Wish Willow leads to customer complaints. So, what does a horny teenager do when the apple of his eye insists on the fact that they’re just friends and isn’t interested in being more? He wishes that Nikki would love him more than anything else in the world. As he slowly learns, being vague comes with consequences. Loving someone more than *anything* else in the entire world, including life itself, simply leads to obsession and Curry Barker wants audiences to know how far and how dangerous that can be.
Michael Johnston as Bear in OBSESSION. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
There is so much greatness that bleeds deep within Obsession, but, first and foremost, credit is due to writer/director Curry Barker. It is horrifying to think what must transpire inside of this man’s head to take an idea about being in love and crossing a line and craft it into this twisted, dark, horrifying, comedic at moments, trip that is one of the year’s best horror movies. Barker crosses a line that is going to certainly divide audiences and it is one of the most grotesque things I have seen in a movie in quite some time. Without spoiling the specifics of this scene, it involves a sandwich and, before assumptions are made, it is not in the realm of something the Jackass crew would consider.
Now, the sick, twisted, borderline demented vision that Barker brings to the screen can only be given life by a cast who is dialed in to a degree that simply cannot be quantified. Michael Johnston (Slash) is great as Bear, who just wanted to be recognized in a more romantic way by his crush, took a shot on what he assumed was a hokey ploy, and ended up with the ultimate terror — exactly what he asked for, someone completely and utterly obsessed with him. The obsession is real and Johnston shows and quantifies the dangers nearly perfectly. However, Inde Navarette (Trap House) is simply a revelation. There is something so deeply unsettling and captivating in her performance that will just sit with you for days, weeks, and even months after experiencing Obsession. Her lurking and movements feel Cronenberg-esque, forming the foundation, joints, and finishing touches on Baker’s disturbing tale.
“Obsession,” as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling” — an accurate title and description for Baker’s film. Audiences will be preoccupied with an unreasonable feeling throughout Obsession, but it in turn creates one of the best horror movies of 2025, without a doubt. It contains masterful story and direction with a leading performance that simply is going to be career-defining for Inde Navarette. Get ready to be obsessed with Obsession.
Screened during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
In theaters May 15th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival Obsession webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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