The oldest lesson in fairytales is that wishes come with conditions. In 26-year-old YouTube creator Curry Barker’s breakout horror feature “Obsession,” the price of one young man’s longing is another woman’s horror.
Made for less than $1 million, and filmed on a tight 20-day production timeline, Barker’s film begins with a familiar fantasy.
Bear (Michael Johnston), is hopelessly infatuated with Nikki (Inde Navarrette), but lacks the courage to ask her out on a date. But then he acquires a mysterious “One Wish Willow” toy, and wishes for Nikki to love him “more than anything in the world.”
What follows is not a dark romance or fairytale, but a horror story about male desire and entitlement left unchecked. It taps into contemporary anxieties surrounding control, entitlement and the objectification of women. Nikki is not possessed by an evil spirit or a demon in any conventional horror sense. She gradually becomes trapped beneath the weight of Bear’s wish, stripped of her agency, personality, and ability to act on her own impulses and needs.
That distinction is what elevates Barker’s “Obsession” into an instant modern classic. Real horror — experienced daily by millions of women in abusive relationships — is not supernatural possession, but the eradication of selfhood.
Barker also leverages tension, uncanny visuals and practical effects to deliver a terrifying cinematic atmosphere, one that’s also rich enough in visual and thematic detail that those rewatching the film are rewarded with new details and interpretations.
Navarrette’s performance anchors the film’s emotional and psychological center, conveying the terror of a woman forced to watch herself disappear while remaining painfully aware of what is happening.
In the opening act, she offers brief but vivid glimpses of Nikki as a fully realized young woman who is witty, independent, and dreams of becoming a writer. That glimpse makes the post-wish transformation all the more terrifying: Wish-Nikki is often framed in shadow, a recurring visual choice that reinforces the argument that Bear does not view her as an individual or acknowledge her autonomy.
At one point, Nikki breaks through the spell in her sleep, begging Bear to end her life. To this, he selfishly responds, “What’s so bad about being with me?” before walking away. That moment alone arguably makes Bear — not the “One Wish Willow” — the irredeemable villain of the story.
By the time Nikki is hollowed out by the consequences of Bear’s wish, I was left mourning not only what was done to her, but who she once was. The real horror is not simply losing control of your life, but having to carry the trauma of someone else’s desires.
Horror films often end when the curse is broken or the monster defeated. As the credits roll to the sound of Nikki’s pained cries, with her fate unresolved, “Obsession” compels you to dwell in the aftermath. Until, of course, the story continues in Barker’s next film, “Anything But Ghosts,” set in the same universe and starring “Breaking Bad” actor Aaron Paul.
