We Saw Obsession and Inde Navarrette Just Changed Everything

kristin0214
1 day ago
5 min read

A Fear & Wine Review

By Kristin, Kelli & Leah | Fear & Wine | May 2026

There are very few moments in a horror fan's life that feel like witnessing something genuinely new. Obsession is one of them. Kelli, Leah, and I got ourselves to the theater this weekend and we have thoughts. Many, many thoughts. And possibly a new favorite movie of the year. Obsession is definitely a film worth seeing in a packed theater. It is scary, thoughtful, and ultimately HILARIOUS!

The Reason Leah Was There

Leah has not seen a horror movie in a theater in over a decade. That is not a small thing. The reason she broke her streak? Curry Barker. Some fans know Barker as half of the online comedy duo "That's a Bad Idea," alongside longtime friend and collaborator Cooper Tomlinson. Their videos center around bizarrely awkward social situations, and Leah has been following their work for years. When she found out Barker made this film, her trust in him as a storyteller was enough to get her into a seat. That is the power of building a genuine audience. And for the record: he absolutely did not let her down.

Who Is Curry Barker, Anyway?

If you haven't heard the name yet, learn it now. Obsession was written, directed, and edited by Barker, and follows Bear, a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy called the One Wish Willow and wishes for his childhood friend Nikki to fall in love with him, with horrifying consequences.

(After you see the film, call the One Wish Willow hotline number on the box for a fun suprise)

Barker was inspired to write the film after watching a Simpsons episode in which Homer interacts with a monkey's paw. That concept led to him being signed by William Morris Endeavor and handed a $1 million budget to bring it to life. Before all of that, he had already gone viral with his microbudget found-footage horror debut Milk & Serial. After a bidding war that included A24 and NEON, Focus Features won distribution rights for over $15 million. We are not complaining.

Critics are already placing Barker alongside Zach Cregger, David Gordon Green, and Jordan Peele in the niche subcategory of comedians-turned-horror filmmakers. After Obsession, that comparison feels completely earned. Comedy and horror share the same setup-and-punchline architecture, and Barker understands that in his bones.

The Film Itself

The premise sounds simple. Boy likes girl. Boy makes a supernatural wish. Girl falls in love with him. But what follows makes Fatal Attraction look restrained. Nikki's transformation from grounded, funny person into something terrifying is gradual, believable, and deeply unsettling.

Obsession plays like an episode of I Think You Should Leave tipped in the other direction, with the horror stemming from a social situation spiraling further and further out of control. The screenplay shifts from funny to terrifying in a fraction of a second. We were laughing out loud in moments and then suddenly gripping each other's arms. The crystal shop scene is a perfect example: a small, human, comic beat that makes the darkness that follows hit even harder.

"Comedy and horror share the same setup-and-punchline model. Obsession showcases how the two genres can work in unison to create something unforgettable."

The film is genuinely funny. Not horror-comedy funny in a winking, self-aware way. Actually funny, the way only a filmmaker who built his career mining awkward social dynamics can pull off. And yes, there is violence. Some of it is gratuitous. All of it pays off. One sudden, brutally violent attack comes so out of nowhere that you are left reeling. Barker reportedly had to cut six or seven smashes out of one particular scene to avoid an NC-17 rating. What remains is still stunning.

What the Film Is Actually About

Here is the thing about Obsession that separates it from a lot of supernatural horror: it has something to say. The wish Bear makes is extreme and magical, but the behaviors that follow, the possessiveness, the jealousy, the way love becomes control, those are not fictional. Most of us have seen versions of it. Some of us have lived it.

Barker almost seems to be daring his audience to ask themselves how many "good guys" in the theater could be capable of a similar lapse in judgment under certain circumstances. Men and women will experience two very different types of fear when they sit with that question. That is the kind of horror that stays with you after the lights come up.

The film also refuses to let Bear off the hook. He is not a sympathetic victim. He is complicit. He enjoys Nikki's affections knowing exactly what he did to make them happen. Until he really, really doesn't.

Inde Navarrette Is a Star

We need to talk about Inde Navarrette. Now.

Reviewers are already saying they cannot recall a performance by an actress in a horror film that can touch this one. We felt that in the theater. Navarrette has to carry this film. She is playing a character who begins as a fully realized, funny, grounded person and then transforms into something terrifying, layer by layer, while making every step of that transformation feel inevitable and believable.

She is laugh-out-loud funny in the early scenes. She is genuinely unnerving in the middle. And by the end, she is doing something that very few actors in horror ever get to do: making you feel grief for a character who is also scaring you senseless. Her performance will be talked about all year. We are calling it right now. Inde Navarrette is going to be everywhere, and she has earned every bit of what comes next.

Our Verdict

Obsession is the full package. It's funny, it's frightening, the jump scares land, the violence is purposeful, and it has a genuine point of view. It is the kind of movie that makes you want to grab someone and say go see this right now. Leah saw her first theater horror in over a decade and left wanting more. That says everything.

Audiences are already giving it an A- CinemaScore. The critics are on board. And we are three more voices adding to the chorus: this one matters. Go see it.

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References

Wikipedia. "Obsession (2025 film)." Production history, cast, budget, and distribution details. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession_(2025_film)
Rotten Tomatoes. "Obsession (2025)." CinemaScore audience grade and critical consensus. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/obsession_2025
Discussing Film. "Obsession Review: An Insanely Demented Love Story from Curry Barker." Background on the That's a Bad Idea comedy duo and analysis of the comedy-horror pipeline. https://discussingfilm.net/2026/05/11/obsession-review-curry-barker-horror/
IndieWire. "Obsession Review: Curry Barker Made One of 2026's Best Horror Films." Analysis of the film's social commentary and Barker's directorial perspective. https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/obsession-review-curry-baker-1235149428/
The Hollywood Reporter. "Obsession Review." Notes on Bear's complicity and the film's treatment of dysfunctional relationships. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/obsession-review-curry-barker-1236590399/
IMDB. "Obsession (2025)." Audience reviews and performance notes on Inde Navarrette. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37287335/