YNOT at the Movies

There's a special kind of horror movie that doesn't need ghosts or slashers, just the creeping, sickening sensation of watching a human being spiral. "Obsession" (USA 2026 | 108 min.), the latest feature from writer-director Curry Barker, is exactly that kind of film, and it is deeply, relentlessly effective at making you uncomfortable in the best and worst possible ways.

Bear (Michael Johnston) is a hopeless romantic who uses a mysterious novelty item called the One Wish Willow to make his longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. The wish works. Terrifyingly well. What follows is something bizarre and escalating, as Nikki's devotion curdles into dangerous obsession, and Bear finds himself increasingly unable to undo what he has set in motion, all while hiding the truth from friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sara (Megan Lawless).

The characters sink into deeper and deeper mental states as the film progresses, and Barker has a rare gift for pacing that descent. Just when you think you've found the floor, the story drops another level. Navarrette is a force, raw, committed, and at times frightening in her intensity, and Johnston matches her well, playing a protagonist who is sympathetic enough to follow but morally compromised enough to make you squirm. The film is smart in that way. It never quite lets you off the hook.

Barker's direction leans heavily on long takes and tight framing, a style that mirrors the claustrophobia of the story itself. You can barely look at the screen sometimes, and that is largely his doing. The world of the film feels physically inescapable, the production design favoring overstuffed, suffocating spaces that externalize what is happening inside the characters. It is filmmaking that understands how the environment shapes dread.

The blood and gore, when it comes, is hard to watch. This is not a film for the faint of heart, and Barker doesn't soften his punches. By the third act you will find yourself desperately wanting to escape these characters and their world, wanting it all to stop, and that is precisely the point. That discomfort is the film working exactly as intended.

The film occasionally struggles to balance its tonal ambitions, part dark romantic comedy, part visceral horror, and some supporting beats feel underdeveloped. None of that, however, takes away from what Barker is building here. This is not for everyone, but for horror fans who are willing to let it crawl under their skin, it offers something rare.

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