Obsession (2026) - Movie Review

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]What is happening you wonderful people?

[00:00:01]So, earlier I got a chance to go see Obsession. And in this film, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crushes heart, a hopeless romantic bear finds himself getting exactly what he asked for, but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark sinister price. And that's all I can say without giving too much away.

[00:00:22]Let's talk about it.

[00:00:24]>> [music] >> So, Obsession. When it comes to Obsession, this has easily been one of my most anticipated films of the year for multiple reasons. People have been raving about this film. People have been just talking about this film left and right non-stop. People have been saying that it's the best movie of the year.

[00:00:48]People have been saying that it's the best horror movie of the year. And people have been raving about it. People have been loving this film. People have been loving this film and talking about it since September last year. And I sat down and thought I was like, "Okay.

[00:01:02]Obviously, I'm a horror fan. I am a horror fan. Horror is not my favorite genre. It's not, but I am a horror fan.

[00:01:09]It's probably my top three, top five genres in my opinion. And people I know personally and trust have said that this movie is great and that's absolutely insane and bonkers. So, I was like, "Man, is it really that like crazy?" Like the people that I know personally, that I follow, that are saying that the this movie's great, I trust them 100%.

[00:01:35]But I want to know for myself how insane the movie truly is. Like, I'm excited to see it for multiple reasons, but I'm mainly excited to see how crazy the movie really is. So, I went in going, "Okay. I trust these people, but at the same time, I want to go in and form my own opinion. If I don't like the movie, I'm going to tell y'all. But if I do like the movie, I'm going to tell y'all as well. And when I heard about the plot and heard read the synopsis, I was like, "Oh, that's a smart idea. That's a very unique and original idea. I'm shocked that no one has thought about that yet."

[00:02:13]And it's kind of funny because I really tried to avoid the trailers. I saw a little few second the little few second teaser like the first ever the first teaser that they ever released. But that one really didn't show much of the story at all. So that one was fine. It was.

[00:02:31]But then I saw the full length trailer a couple weeks ago kind of by accident when I went to go see another movie, Hokum. And I was like, "No way. I want to avoid this trailer. I really do."

[00:02:40]Lucky enough though, luckily enough, that trailer didn't show too much. And the reason I wanted to avoid it is because not every movie trailer nowadays, like not every like horror movie trailer shows too much, but a lot of them do. So I was like, "I really just kind of want to go in blind. I really do want to avoid it." But that official trailer didn't show too much at all. Surprisingly, it didn't. And the trailer got me more excited. It did. And with this movie playing at tons of film festivals, Fantastic Fest last year, South by Southwest this year, TIFF last year, and Overlook this year, I was like, "Man, they have a lot of faith in this movie." I was actually in line to see it at South by Southwest this year, but right as I got in line, the lady walked over to all of us and was like, "Hey, it's already full. You can't get in." And I was like, "Oh, man." But then there's a director to some as well, Curry Barker. I don't know too much about Curry Barker, but I love that we're just in the day and age where YouTubers are becoming filmmakers like Kane Parsons with The Backrooms, RackaRacka Brothers with Talk to Me, Chris Stuckmann with Shelby Oaks, and Markiplier with Iron Lung. And the fact that Barker is already going to be directing the next Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, count me in. I've seen a little bit of his channel, That's a Bad Idea, but I still don't know much about him, and people are praising India Navarrete for her performance in here, and I'm like, is it that good? Is her performance really that good? People are saying that it's Oscar-worthy, that she should be nominated, and I'm like, let's see. Let's go check it out. Is it really the best horror movie of the year? And after walking out of Obsession, >> [music] >> it's easily, as of right now, the best movie of the year.

[00:04:30]Hands down. So, if you're new to my channel, or if you've been following my channel for a while, you know that I like to talk about positives first, then my negatives next, but even when I need to be negative, I will be positive. Even when I need to be positive, I will be negative as well. And overall, with Obsession, this is truly one of the best films of the year right now. It is the best film of the year right now. It is.

[00:04:51]That may change later this year when a lot of the other big films come out because this year is a big year for movies. It is. You have countless movies, countless original movies, and countless like franchise IPs that are going to be big and that are going to make a lot of money. But as of right now, this is my favorite movie of the year, and I was kind of debating because before I saw this one, my favorite film of the year was 28 Years Later, The Bone Collector, now it's my second, and I love that movie. I absolutely love that movie, and I was kind of debating if that was still my favorite, or if Obsession was, and I think it's Obsession. I think it is Obsession.

[00:05:35]It's just this movie, man. And I'm not sure if it'll stay in my top 10 at the end of the year, but if it does, fine by me. There are so many things that I love about this film, and I absolutely think that Curry Barker has a future in filmmaking. I absolutely cannot wait for his Texas Chainsaw Reboot and A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Saw, Hellraiser, and any other popular franchise IP keys to him right now. Hollywood, do it now. And with this technically being his first big film, his first big Hollywood feature film, he knocked out of the park. He did.

[00:06:17]Curry, if you're watching this, man, fellow YouTuber to fellow YouTuber, I I don't know if you're watching this.

[00:06:23]I don't. But fellow YouTuber to fellow YouTuber, dude, you're a freaking genius. You are a genius and I mean that with all my heart. I mean that with all just my heart. Like you're a freaking genius, dude. Just the way that he created tension, atmosphere, suspense, and dread, and fear in here.

[00:06:46]It's like he mixed all of those ingredients into one bowl and made one of the most delicious meals that I have ever tasted in my life. The cheese, the sauce, the spices, the texture. It's fantastic. I love the visual aesthetic in here. It has that grayish type color grading and or color palette. And with the color grading, it truly sets the tone. It has a very bleak and depressing tone, one where you're like, "I'm digging this vibe, but also I feel the weight of everything. And why is no one smiling?

[00:07:28]Why Why is everyone so sad and gloomy?

[00:07:31]The overall vibe just worked for me.

[00:07:34]It's very eye-popping and engaging. And I thought that all of the performances in here were phenomenal. Our main lead in here, Michael Johnston, who plays Bear, he absolutely knocked it out of the park. He gives a very vulnerable, but also real performance, one that a lot of people can relate to. He's awkward, and he's kind of he kind of keeps to himself in a way. And Indi Navarrete, holy crap. I heard that she was good in this movie, and that she was creepy, but I was not ready for how terrified she was actually going to be. She she creeped me out. She absolutely did.

[00:08:18]There were scenes where she would just stand there and smile, and I absolutely loved the lighting in here.

[00:08:28]There were multiple scenes where she would be on screen, and she was almost completely dark in a way. Like they made her dark with the lights on purpose to make you uncomfortable, to make you go, I think I need to I think I need to cover my eyes. She is so creepy. I I think I'm freaking out.

[00:08:48]And the use of stop motion in here was really great as well, but also unexpected. Like the way that she would move at times, it looked like they used stop motion mainly for her movements, and it felt just very like uncanny valley-ish, and I was so uncomfortable.

[00:09:10]Like the way she was moving, I was just like I went back in my seat at one moment. I did, and I had my hand on my face like this. I was like just like I I sunk in my seat, and I just was like, "Ah, I don't like this. I don't like this." And one of my favorite things about the film is the score. It almost has this like eerie, almost early 2000s liminal type romance-y vibe in a way, sort of, and it feels very early 2000s-ish and very energetic, and I loved it. I absolutely dug the score in here. It really elevated my experience, and the movie is bloody, gory, creepy, disturbing, and just straight-up whiplash-inducing. There are things that happen where I was like, "No way.

[00:10:00]No way." There There was one moment There was one point where I said, "Oh shoot." out loud, and I had my hand on my mouth multiple times in shock. Like, I I I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it. And And just the fact that this is Curry Barker, and I know that he's made short films before. So, he like This is his first like full-length Hollywood film. Like, this is like technically his first Hollywood film.

[00:10:28]But, like I said, I know he's done short films before.

[00:10:34]Dude, you see this?

[00:10:35]Him and Kate Parsons, both. Like, I I don't know.

[00:10:41]I I don't understand. Like, they they're geniuses, him and Kate Parsons, both.

[00:10:46]And not just them two, but the Philippou brothers, Rock a Rocka, they They're geniuses, man. Markiplier, freaking genius. And there's a lot of things that I just did not see coming at all. There's Like Like, the twist that we get in here absolutely work, and for the most part, the film was so unpredictable.

[00:11:06]It's such an unpredictable film. It's not run-of-the-mill. It's not cookie-cutter. It's very unique and original. It's very just different. It's very nuanced. The movie moves at a really good pace, and you're so engaged with what the story has to offer. The dialogue is super sharp and strong, as well. And I love the way that the story flowed, and how it was structured.

[00:11:30]You're so invested [clears throat] in how in this slow burn, creepy, and win-inducing narrative. It pulls you in and doesn't let go. It sits you down in the chair. It makes you watch every second of it. I will say though, I will say though, just touching on kind of just touching on some negatives that I do have, I barely have any negatives at all. Like I do have a few that I'm about to name right now and talk about, but I barely have any at all. This is not a perfect film. It's not perfect. No film is. There are some films that are close to perfect like this one, but some of the negatives I do have, and I may have some other negatives as well, ones that I can't think of off the top of my head, but the ones that I'm about to talk to you all about, these are the ones that I found while watching the movie like mainly. I thought that the story was really, really good, and I thought that the pacing was good for the most part as well, but I did feel like I felt like the build-up could have been a lot stronger. The build-up to Bear getting the One Wish Willow and Nikki going under the spell, they throw you right into the movie, which isn't a bad thing, but I would have like to see more of maybe in a way Nikki and Bear's relationship. We get kind of like little bits of their relationship in the beginning before like the main thing happens, but I would have like more build-up. What I mean by build-up is maybe kind of like the lead up to that and kind of like establish the relationship a little bit more. I would have like more depth there, and the movie is definitely a slow burn. It slowly leads up to what's going to happen, and the slow burn aspect of it didn't take me out of it, but it might bug some people, especially if you're not a huge horror fan. And if you're just a casual movie goer, you might get bored rather quickly. And I also really wanted to learn more about the One Wish Willow. Like, who created it? What's behind it? What's the lore?

[00:13:34]Where did it come from? And hopefully, down the line, they make a prequel and explain all of that or a sequel. That would be really cool. And people were praising India Eisley's performance and saying that she should win an Oscar or at least get nominated. And I would not be against that at all. And I will say, while I thought that she did a fantastic job, I don't know if I say that her performance was Oscar-worthy. Even though she did do a great job. And for the most part, the movie is totally unpredictable. You don't know how it's going to play out and what's going to happen next. But there are a few moments where some people will probably go, "Yeah, I called that and I figured that would happen." There was one moment in a car that I called and that certain thing happened, but it still shocked me. I was almost stunned. So, yeah, overall, with Obsession, I have been really excited for this movie. With people praising it, with people saying that it's the best horror movie of the year, I walked in really hoping that I would enjoy it. And I walked out absolutely loving Obsession. Even though it's not perfect, no movie is, this movie is close to perfect though. And as of right now, it may change down the line, but as of right now, this is my favorite movie of the year. And with Obsession, I am going to give this movie a four and a half out of five stars. And with Obsession, I will say, dedicate your time. This is a great movie in itself and a great horror movie. Take the horror movie aspects out of the movie. This is a great movie in itself. So, that'll wrap up this video.

[00:15:12]Thank y'all so much for watching. If you're new to the channel, please subscribe, like, comment, share this video. We just hit 1K subscribers on my background at 1.3K. And the next few milestones are 2K and 3K after that and beyond as well. If you're new as well, I do movie reviews, TV show reviews, trailer reaction, movie live streams, movie news, movie rankings, all that wonderful movie stuff. All under the movie umbrella. Let's talk about it comes down below. Did you like of session? Did you not like of session? Is it your favorite movie of the year? Is it your favorite horror movie of the year? Let's talk about it down below.

[00:15:36]Keep talking movies, wonderful people.

[00:15:38]Cheers.

[00:15:43]>> [music]