Obsession is unrelenting horror

Since the release of Milk & Serial back in August 2024, I’d been looking forward to seeing what Curry Barker had in store for us next. Then I got excited when I heard the buzz around his next film, Obsession, as it was making the rounds at festivals. With the release date drawing near, my anticipation only mounted as people’s high praise towards the film showed no signs of stopping. 

Credit: Obsession (2026)

Normally, the day that a highly-anticipated movie releases—when everyone is finally able to see it and give the film an honest appraisal, including myself—is the part when I start to worry. Would it meet my expectations after they’ve been brought up so high? However, that didn’t happen when I went to see Obsession on opening day. Well, not as much as usual, anyways. Not only do I love Milk & Serial, but the acclaim that I’ve seen for Obsession can’t be understated; it’s been more universal than the applause given to horror films that have worn similar shoes, like The Substance (2024) or Longlegs (2024) (two movies that I love, just to be clear). The only thing I was worried about was if Obsession would actually scare me, since most horror movies don’t easily frighten me. After being traumatized at the theater with my roommate though, I can safely say that Obsession absolutely lives up to all of the hype.

Obsession is haunting. This movie starts building tension from the moment Bear makes his wish, and it doesn’t ever let up until the credits start rolling. I wouldn’t say that it’s constantly and overtly scary in the same way as, say, Skinamarink (2022) (though it certainly has its moments). But I was on edge the whole time, getting more stressed by the minute as Nikki’s unnatural obsession grew to a fever pitch.

This is thanks to Obsession’s incredible scares and pacing. I quickly grew accustomed to the idea that Nikki could do anything, at any moment, at any place. Anytime I thought it might be safe, or that I knew what was coming, the movie would pull the rug out from under me and send me flying down the stairs. This unpredictability made every moment uneasy, filling me with near-constant dread. So whether Nikki was doing something as subtle as never taking her eyes off of Bear, or something much, much worse, it always managed to get under my skin. I even felt nauseous at the scene where Bear comes home from work to find that Nikki’s been waiting for him in the same spot all day.

Credit: Obsession (2026)

It all becomes so much more disturbing and tragic when we learn that it isn’t really Nikki. Something else has taken the wheel, but Nikki is still fully aware; a prisoner inside of her own body. But wait, it gets worse! Because even after everything that happens—all of the horrifying ways that “Nikki” behaves—part of me still felt bad for “her.” Maybe it’s because I have a natural kinship for tragic characters who are doomed to be rejected by those around them for simply existing as they are even though they didn’t ask to be like this, but still.

The technical approach Obsession takes with its scares is another core component of why they work so well. The unnatural pitch that “Nikki”’s voice takes whenever she yells got me every time, despite the slightly blown-out speaker of my theater. The way that this movie lights and frames its shots is excellent, like how it perfectly places Nikki in the dark to obscure her face and accentuate how creepy she is.

But one of the main things that makes this film so effective is the friend group at its center. Bear, Nikki, Ian, and Sarah feel like real people who have really known each other for years. They reminded me of coworkers I’ve had (minus the romance), and Bear reminded me of both one of my close friends and myself (I’m strictly talking about Bear’s anxious neuroticism). These characters’ authenticity makes Nikki’s switch even more off-putting, as well as causing the rest of the story’s events to hit that much harder.

Credit: Obsession (2026)

Congratulations to the whole cast, everyone here did an awesome job. Michael Johnston as Bear and Inde Navarrette as Nikki are Obsession’s standouts, with the film putting them through two wildly different ringers. Bear is a complete mess right from the jump, and his desperate attempt to hold onto his tainted romance as everything spins out of control ends up pushing him to the brink. Johnston’s performance helps humanize this pathetic guy who’s responsible for the film’s awful series of events. Meanwhile, Navarrette is basically doing double-duty as two vastly different characters, even if she spends most of the movie as one of them. Nikki simultaneously experiences and is the horrors, and you can tell that Navarrette is having the time of her life acting it out. I hope that these two get the recognition they deserve when awards season hits; Navarrette’s performance is Oscar-worthy.

Lastly, I wanted to touch on the film’s themes. I can’t give them the proper analysis that they deserve (to do so would require me to spoil the whole movie), but it has interesting things to say about the unrealistic expectations men have for women and how those expectations contribute to date-rape culture. Specifically, the assumptions men make, the awful things women go through as a result, and whether or not these men are oblivious to the harm they’re bringing.

So yeah, if you couldn’t already tell, I love Obsession. It is undoubtedly the scariest movie of the year, and possibly my favorite film of 2026. I can scarcely recall the last time a horror movie made me that tense, or when one stuck with me in such a way that I didn’t want to sit through it again anytime soon. I remember when I finished my gaming session later that day and immediately got hit by the devastating memory of the film like a punch in the gut as I powered off my PC. Having said that, you should go and see it. Trust me when I say that you aren’t going to want to miss it in theaters. As for me, I’ll once again be waiting patiently for Barker’s next work.

Obsession is out now exclusively in theaters. If you’ve already seen Obsession and want something else from Barker, consider checking out his previous feature, Milk & Serial, free on YouTube.

Credit: Obsession (2026)