Inde Navarrette in Obsession — Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection
Curry Barker’s sophomore horror leverages mood and fear to frame a troubling romance. Navarrette delivers a chilling, magnetic turn that positions her as a rising scream queen.
The story follows Bear, who uses a cheap One Wish Willow toy to win Nikki’s affection. The wish takes effect instantly, unleashing a brutal chain of consequences and a spiral of obsession.
At its core, the film asks how far someone should go to secure another’s love, underscoring the costs of miscommunication and unchecked longing.
Navarrette’s Nikki shifts between allure and menace as the possession intensifies. Barker builds a creeping atmosphere, mixing quiet dread with sudden, graphic jolts.
Universal and Focus Features have leaned into the marketing push, including a direct text-line from Nikki and graffiti-style street posters that haunt the cityscape.
The violence centers on two kill scenes. One is viscerally graphic; the other lands with a darker, more ironic bite.
Andy Richter has a brief cameo that feels underused amid Barker’s atmospheric world.
Overall, Obsession marks a confident, unsettling entry for Barker, and a standout showcase for Navarrette as a genre star in the making.
- Title: Obsession
- Distributor: Focus Features and Universal Pictures
- Release date: May 15, 2026
- Director-screenwriter: Curry Barker
- Cast: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
- Rating: R
- Running time: 1 hr 49 mins
Source: Original article
