Obsession
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Curry Barker
Written by Curry Barker
Produced by
  • James Harris
  • Haley Nicole Johnson
  • Christian Mercuri
  • Roman Viaris
Starring
  • Michael Johnston
  • Inde Navarrette
  • Cooper Tomlinson
  • Megan Lawless
  • Andy Richter
Cinematography Taylor Clemons
Edited by Curry Barker
Music by Rock Burwell
Production
companies
  • Capstone Pictures
  • Tea Shop Productions
  • Blumhouse Productions
Distributed by
  • Focus Features[a]
Release dates
  • September 5, 2025 (2025-09-05) (TIFF)
  • May 15, 2026 (2026-05-15) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes[1]
Country United States[2]
Language English
Budget $1 million[3]

Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural horror film[4] written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy and wishes for his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him.[5] Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter also appear in supporting roles.

Obsession premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, as part of its Midnight Madness block. It is scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on May 15, 2026, by Focus Features. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Premise

Bear is a music store employee who works alongside his childhood friend and co-worker Nikki. He has strong feelings for her but is unable to voice them, particularly as she does not seem to feel the same way. Bear decides to purchase Nikki a gift and while browsing in a new age shop he discovers the mysterious "One Wish Willow", which promises to grant one wish. He purchases the item and uses it to wish for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world.

The wish is quickly granted, however Nikki's affections soon become twisted as she grows increasingly clingy and obsessive. Any attempt by Bear to dissuade her only increases these emotions. Nikki also begins to act erratic in other ways, such as screaming at things that only she can see.[6]

Cast

  • Michael Johnston as Bear, a music store employee[2][5]
  • Inde Navarrette as Nikki, Bear's co-worker and childhood friend[2][5]
  • Cooper Tomlinson as Ian[2][7]
  • Megan Lawless as Sarah[2]
  • Andy Richter[8]

Production

Curry Barker was inspired to write the film while watching an episode of The Simpsons where "Bart [Simpson] gets a monkey paw and causes a bunch of chaos".[7] In 2023, Barker wrote and directed the horror short film The Chair and uploaded it onto YouTube.[3] Film producer James Harris of Tea Shop Productions was impressed by the film and reached out to Barker to adapt the short into a feature, but Barker pitched him Obsession instead.[9] The film also led to him being signed by William Morris Endeavor and receiving an offer to direct a feature film with a $1 million budget.[3]

It ultimately took over eight months for Barker to complete the screenplay while working with the film's production companies.[10] In addition to Harris and Tea Shop Productions, the film was produced by Haley Nicole Johnson, Christian Mercuri and Roman Viaris, with Under the Shell and Capstone Studios also serving as production companies.[2][11]

In August 2024, casting was underway with principal photography expected to begin that October.[10] After numerous actresses were auditioned, Inde Navarrette was cast as Barker felt that she "nailed" a balance between crazy and scary. After a chemistry read with Navarrette, Michael Johnston was cast as Bear.[9] Production designer Vivian Gray remodeled a house in Burbank, California, to serve as Bear's home.[7] Taylor Clemons served as the director of photography, who Barker worked with to "shoot [the film] center-composed and have extra head space because [he] wanted it to feel uncomfortable in its loneliness".[7]

By March 2025, Obsession was in post-production with Barker also serving as an editor.[9][12] A scene depicting a character getting their head smashed had to be cut down by "six or seven smashes" in order to avoid receiving an NC-17 MPAA rating.[13] Rock Burwell composed the film's score.[2]

Release

Obsession premiered during the Midnight Madness block at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025.[7] Two days later, Focus Features had reportedly entered exclusive talks to acquire distribution rights to the film for the world—excluding France, New Zealand, and Russia—with Universal Pictures International handling distribution outside the United States, for over $15 million; the deal officially closed in October 2025, with the film being screened at the inaugural FocusFest on October 18, South by Southwest in March 2026 and later being scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on May 15, 2026.[14][15][16][17] In December 2025, the first teaser for the film was released, with Jason Blum joining as an executive producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner.[18]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 57 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Taking an icky conceit and twisting it to deviously crowd-pleasing ends, Obsession is dauntingly disturbing while also skillfully amusing and thrilling."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[20]

Christian Zilko of IndieWire gave the film a B+ grade, saying it was "proof that the Cregger-ification of 2020s horror is in full effect, as its combination of sadistic violence, ironic needle drops, and comedy mined from people responding to tragedy in pathetically self-serving ways will merit plenty of comparisons to Barbarian and Weapons."[5] The Guardian's Benjamin Lee gave it 4/5 stars, characterizing it as "the perfect next chapter for Barker, who found fame last year when his $800-budgeted online prankster horror Milk & Serial made headlines for being far better than it had any right to be".[21] IGN's Matt Donato gave the film a score of 8/10, writing that it "plays on familiar romance and monkey's paw tropes, turning a wish against the wishee, but Barker's execution takes things to the next level. In the film's simplicity lay the chance to go for broke, putting all efforts into the lengths Nikki is willing to go for her beloved."[22]

Accolades

Award / Festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Toronto International Film Festival September 14, 2025 People's Choice Award, Midnight Madness Obsession Runner-up [23]
Sitges Film Festival October 19, 2025 Best Feature Film Nominated [24]
South by Southwest March 19, 2026 Festival Favorite Audience Award Nominated [25]

Notes

  1. ^ Also distributed through Universal Pictures International outside of the United States; deal excludes France (Le Pacte), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto Distribution), and Russia

References

  1. ^ "Obsession (2026)". Irish Film Classification Office. March 25, 2026. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Obsession". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 12, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Couch, Aaron (October 28, 2024). "Want to Be a Horror Director? Upload Your Movie to YouTube". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  4. ^ Phelan, Zehra (December 3, 2025). "Haunting teaser trailer released for 'Obsession' — A dark supernatural romance". HeyUGuys. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d Zilko, Christian (September 6, 2025). "'Obsession' Review: YouTuber Curry Barker Directs One of the Best Horror Films of 2025". IndieWire. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "Obsession Official Film Page". Focus Features. Focus Features. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e Earl, William (September 5, 2025). "After His Microbudget Debut Haunted 2 Million People on YouTube, Curry Barker Brings 'Crazy Horror' to TIFF With Twisted Love Story 'Obsession'". Variety. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "Obsession". www.focusfeatures.com. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Saito, Stephen (September 6, 2025). "TIFF 2025 Interview: Curry Barker on Crushing It in "Obsession"". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Earl, William (August 26, 2024). "How 'Milk & Serial,' a Clever Slasher Made for $800 and Released for Free on YouTube, Became a Must-Watch for Horror Fans". Variety. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  11. ^ Parlevliet, Mirko (December 2, 2025). "Focus Partners with Blumhouse on Curry Barker's Obsession". Vital Thrills. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  12. ^ Couch, Aaron (March 10, 2025). "'Milk & Serial' Filmmaker Curry Barker Signs with UTA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  13. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (March 15, 2026). "'Obsession' Director Curry Barker At SXSW". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 7, 2025). "Focus Features Closing First Big TIFF Deal: Curry Barker Horror Film 'Obsession' Selling For $15M+ – The Dish". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  15. ^ Grobar, Matt (October 14, 2025). "Focus Features Seals Deal For Curry Barker's 'Obsession,' Sets FocusFest Screening". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 5, 2025). "Focus Features Sets Early Summer 2026 Date For Curry Barker's Horror Pic 'Obsession'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 14, 2026). "SXSW Sets World Premieres 'Ready Or Not 2', 'They Will Kill You', Apple Series 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' & Pics With Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas & The Kevin Bacon Family". Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  18. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 2, 2025). "Blumhouse Boards Curry Barker's Romance-Themed Focus Horror Flick 'Obsession' — Watch The Trailer". Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  19. ^ "Obsession". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  20. ^ "Obsession". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  21. ^ Lee, Benjamin (September 6, 2025). "Obsession review – nasty horror sees a wish for true love go horribly wrong". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  22. ^ Donato, Matt (September 28, 2025). "Obsession Review". IGN. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  23. ^ Pete Hammond, "‘Hamnet’ Wins Oscar-Predictive Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award" Archived September 14, 2025, at the Wayback Machine. Deadline Hollywood, September 14, 2025.
  24. ^ "We Complete the 2025 line-up: Guillermo del Toro, Yorgos Lanthimos, Park Chan-wook, Carmen Maura, and Other Big Names in Contemporary Fantastic Genre". Sitges Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 14, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  25. ^ "SXSW Film & TV Festival Awards". SXSW. Retrieved April 29, 2026.