Obsessed with this new era of Horror - Obsession Movie Review (Extensively in depth)

It’s been around a month since independent hit film Obsession blew up overnight. What started as a few trending clips of moments from the film has turned into a dynamic conversation about horror, women’s autonomy and the ‘nice guy’ epidemic.

Obsession is a horror film directed by YouTuber Curry Barker. His career began with his sketch show that he shared with Obsession Actor Cooper Tomlinson. In 2024 he was able to transition into traditional filmmaking by directing horror projects, both short films and feature length that eventually culminated into the award winning film that everyone continues to talk about. His films all have a unique and interesting style that makes them distinct to Barker. You can even see hints of what would eventually become Obsession in them from writing techniques to the devices and editing techniques used in the making of the film/s.

The film Obsession was an EXTREMELY small budget, independent horror film with a budget of only around $750,000. It stars Michael Johnston (Bear) and Inde Navarrette (Nicki.) Other than some short films and a quick stint in Teen Wolf, both actors don’t have much previous acting experience. Both actors are equally fantastic and deserve to win awards for their performance.

BEFORE, I talk about my thoughts on the film, I want to bring up something I noticed online  surrounding the discourse and discussions. People have been shaming people for their ‘media literacy’ if they didn’t understand the film in the same way as them. If you went to film school, watch a lot of films or are just naturally analytical it doesn’t mean that you are better than people who watched a film just to watch a film.
In business, you have to look like you know what you’re talking about; no if’s and but’s - just facts. With social media being people’s businesses - the way films, tv, books and anything else are talked about is very black and white. ‘The blue sky represents the sadness of society’ come on we’re not in English GCSE.

A conversation about film should look like:

“This is what I think”

“Oh wow I didn’t notice that. Cool take. I thought this”

“My dear friend how I love conversing with you.”

Not:

“This is what I think”

“No. This is what it is actually”

“Actually your take makes you evil”

“Let’s fight to the death.”

I might be exaggerating slightly but seriously - stop this. This is not referring to the various sexist or offensive takes I have seen. You are allowed to call them out. Not because they’ve not ‘understood the film’ but because their take perpetuates an ongoing social problem.

I think people watch films differently. Some people like to study them and analyse every moment, some connect them to the real world and the various meanings behind it or relate it to their own life. Some people just watch the film and don’t see anything further. They might have perceived a man from his POV in a scary situation with an unpredictable person. I understand that there’s so much more to it than that and it definitely brings up conversations of consent, autonomy and more. I just personally believe that if someone didn’t read that in the film, we can calmly begin to have those conversations with people instead of attacking them.

Yeah, basically, Obsession is really good and it’s led to some GREAT conversations. Just be kind while you’re having those conversations because thats what art is meant to be right?

(Update: I wrote this section when it first came out. There have been many recent instances where it HAS been an issue how people perceived the film. This has mainly been because they’ve HEARD everyone’s commentary on it and the conversations around consent and completely ignored it in order to stick up for Bear. The issue isn’t that they have ‘no media literacy’ it’s that it clearly shows a lot about who they are that they listen to all the discourse about women’s autonomy and just disregard it.)

BACK TO THE POINT:

I remember a year ago watching WEAPONS and thinking ‘Horror is so back baby.’ And look at that, it is. Not only is horror back, but independent and artistic filmmaking. With even rom-coms like ‘off-campus’ and  ‘voicemails to Isabelle’ being more emotionally charged and meaningful than a simple love story (not that there’s anything wrong with a simple love story. These are all signs that were ‘back in our art era’ so to speak (in Gen Z terms.)

Obsession, is the moment where everyone has noticed this. And please. I beg to god. Don’t let the capitalist Hollywood people realise this. They’re going to oversaturated the movement again to the point we just get sick of it and it fades away. Luckily it always eventually comes back (This has happened so many times in history with every art form under the sun.) Art - human made, heart driven, awe-inspiring art will always come back. Never forget that.

In terms of Horror, with the release of ‘The Backrooms’ ‘Obsession’ and many other smaller independent films - horror fans are giggling and kicking their feet. Obsession is the type of film that creates a visible and audible reaction with its tension, twists and turns and shocking moments.

Non-Spoiler review:

Obsession is a film that is a standout in both subject and creation. The themes, ideas and morals of the film represent wide and ongoing social issues and garner conversations that could improve the public standing on said topics as a whole. It is also outstandingly impressive what this film managed to pull off on such a small budget.

Every last detail is important to the story. There’s no pacing issues in my personal opinion. The story flows in an easy to watch way (though some scenes are not EASY to watch, it still keeps your attention) whilst everything stays relevant and actionable to the story. It makes you think, constantly asking questions and awaiting what comes next without seeming pretentious or preachy.

The questions also add to the tension. perfectly timed cutaways, an incredible score and OH MY GOD those lighting choices: immaculate - equally added to the tension.

It’s not necessarily jump scary, though it does have its moments, the times it does shock you feel different than your average ‘oh I didn’t expect that.’ I hope I make sense when I say that it makes me gasp in slow motion and hide behind open fingers. Navarrette’s acting choices are so creepy and uncanny, working with movement coaches and Barker to make the absolute best possible actions for the film. There are so many moments throughout the film which will be regularly referenced for how iconic they are.

I feel like I need to mention that there are a lot of things that may and will upset you throughout the film so maybe check for warnings if you do think that potentially something could upset you. It’s a lot more mentally disturbing than some people seem to think as they imagine mentally disturbing in a horror film kind of sense rather than a real life sense about current issues.

If you have not watched the film yet I hope life looks good from under a rock and don’t read this next section :) (or do if you like content that breaks down a whole movie so you don’t have to watch it)

Spoiler Review and Movie Breakdown:

It begins by introducing our main character, Bear, as he laments to his friend, Ian, about liking their shared friend, Nikki. It's revealed that they have a small friend group of 4, who all work together and regularly hang out at the bar. Ian tells bear that he shouldn't tell Nikki at their game night because ‘Thats their night.’ He also says that his romantic speech is ‘Cringe’ and he should ‘Tease her and make fun of her.’

Little note here to any Ian’s out there. Girl’s do not like negging. It does not work, it just makes us angry at you. Bring your girl up, not down.

Right, I hate Ian. He makes my skin crawl. He’s not a very major character and he has minor role in the main action of the plot until the very end but I genuinely just want him off my screen every time he’s on it. Well done to Cooper Tomlinson for playing this character so well. He has only one good take the entire film, I’ll tell you about it in the spoiler section - but it’s, in my opinion, only said for his own gain.

Bear goes home to find out his cat has died by digesting some pills that should not have been accessible to it. When his crush Nikki calls to ask him if he’s coming to the bar, he declines until she convinces him - without telling her anything about the fact that his cat died. I’ll genuinely never understand that. Could he not have said “I’m really sorry, I can’t go out my beloved pet died.” ? Essentially, we establish that Bear is very closed off with his thoughts and feeling and he likes Nikki.

Nikki mentions that she lost her crystal necklace so Bear goes to a crystal shop to buy her one. He finds the ‘One Wish Willow’ and ends up buying that to give to Nikki. I think it’s an interesting choice that he had an idea to buy something that represents her, what she would want and that means something to her and ends up coming out with a gimmick object. To me, it shows that the act of going to the shop for her was more in hopes of getting something out of it than a genuinely nice gesture.

His coworkers gather together at the bar. The friendship group consists of Bear, Nikki, Ian and Sarah. Nikki and Bear’s interactions are ambiguous and leave the audience to wonder how she really feels about him. Fun fact: They actually did two takes of this part. One where she was into him and one where she wasn’t. They then spliced it together to create that sense of ambiguity.

There’s lingering looks and cute banter that could be friendly or more. Then there's a line that I genuinely thought was so genius with the context. Bear was dropping her off at home and she asks him about Sarah and how she feels about her - she then says ‘If I had a crush on somebody - no one would know about it.’

EEK. First of all, it tells you a lot about Nikki’s character - she also, like Bear, prides herself on not showing her emotions and being closed off. It also could mean so many things. I think there’s two different types of people ‘flirting’ and they’re both fighting over whether this was platonic or romantic. Me, personally, I’ve always done that thing where I act extremely the opposite and ask them how they feel about other people and pretend I don’t like them (usually doesn’t work) so that I have time to gauge their reactions. This film however scared that toxic trait RIGHT out of me. Oh my god. From now on, let’s all just be open and honest with each other.

In my personal experience, I watched the beginning and really loved the idea of these two characters that work together and are both into each other and are too shy to admit it. That’s likely because I need a bit of yearning in my fanfiction and literacy - which is why I at the beginning I sympathised with Bear. I even found myself, for a lot of the film, up to a certain point, which i’ll get to later, really hoping that Bear would be able to bring her back and they’d get a really cute happy ending.

As Nikki gets out of the car, Bear listens to Ian’s terrible advice and calls her ‘Freaky Nikki,’ A name he knows will deeply offend her. To his credit, he immediately regrets it as an awkward slip of the tongue. She then asks, with exasperation on her face ‘Bear, do you like me?’ He thinks for a moment before the anxiety and panic washes over him and he says ‘I think you’re a very good friend.’ When I first watched the film, first I was annoyed as hell because she was literally ASKING and he couldn’t say it. I just also thought he must be so awkward and scared, bless him. Now that i’ve watched the whole film, I wonder if he actually WANTED to be with Nikki in the first place or if he liked to idolise her. Later on in the film, when she’s showing up at his door and throwing herself towards him, he doesn’t go for it. I wonder if he wanted to play the victim for as long as he could and was scared of the fact that his ‘idealised’ version of Nikki might be tarnished. Or that he would no longer be able to play the sad, can’t get the girl type. An alternate theory is that he doesn’t like the fact that by her asking the question, it takes the power and control from him - which is why he does what he does next.

I haven’t mentioned much about Nikki’s actual character yet but the devastating part of it all is, other than the very last moment of the film, this is the final time we see her character as herself. She was strong willed, kind, friendly to everyone. She opened up to Bear about how she wanted to write and do something special with her life. She calls strangers babe and gives money to the homeless. She’d decided to quit her job at the music shop and hand her two week notice.

Once Nikki leaves, looking slightly upset I might add, he grabs the one wish willow and wishes that “Nikki would love him more than anything in the world” and he breaks it. Immediately, Nikki is stood on her porch looking towards the car. We get this really creepy shot where she is just a silhouette standing under the porchlight, the details of her face, clothing and anything other than the shape of her body gone. Perhaps a foreshadowing of what she is now.

She walks over to the window, seemingly dazed and confused, acting different to her usual strong, calm and collected character. She says ‘Do you want to come inside? I mean, I did just lose my cat’ then remembers herself and says ‘I mean YOU just lost your cat.’ She seems to be vacant, taking extra long to answer questions, repeating herself and acting distracted. For a brief second, her eyes shift and she looks genuinely terrified, saying ‘Wait, what the f**k’ before she immediately returns back to the confused and distracted state. Bear looks over to the broken one wish willow, considering whether her actions are due to the wish.

I love the way her actions create this uncanny sense of tension. They’re strange and out of character yet not enough to be unexplainable - like that sense of somethings off but I can’t quite put my finger on it. In the context of the film, in that moment, whether she liked him before or not, that is when the obsession began. Suddenly her brain is focussed on one thing only and that brain fog is enough to make her completely forget basic facts and social norms - also making her act like a different person.

The terrified look is the real Nikki coming to the surface for a second and taking back her body. The actors and directors have stated many times that she is not supposed to be possessed. She is a wish and is supposed to be played as a whiny, jealous girlfriend. It’s quite a hard concept to wrap your head around because it seems that there’s two separate entities and one that overtakes her body. That is until I remember the title. Obsession is something that can take over a state of mind, mentally it can change a person - especially if someone is manipulating their thoughts and actions. You can watch this film and interpret it for the plot and only the plot or you can see it from the perspective of a manipulative, toxic relationship and both are valid. There’s also a lot of debate over who is the villain. Again, if we put it back to this reading of the film as about a manipulative relationship, I think it reads as the type where both aren’t necessarily in the right - however, in this case, Nikki’s mindset and actions are a direct correlation to Bear’s. Nikki has her autonomy taken away from her, is isolated from her friends and her job and her life revolves around Bear. Though the possessive, jealous and controlling behaviours are also, of course, toxic - it’s a common reaction to that kind of situation as the victims mind is in fight or flight and Nikki is desperately clinging to Bear as he is now all she has. So to reiterate, Nikki is obviously the victim in this situation but her actions are also not okay. In the context of the film, they are not her actions.

Within the world of the film, my own inner debate is whether Bear was always going to make the choices he made or whether he BECAME the villain after he slowly fell within this trap of obsession. He always LIKED Nikki, but did he like her enough before she met him with that energy to have disregarded his moral values. Did those moral values exist in the first place?

Bear takes Nikki home to look after her when she tells him her dad died and she kisses him. Despite his confusion and fear he does kiss back. However, he rejects any further advances after she freaks out upon a quick return of real Nikki and sleeps on the couch. Is this a sign that Bear originally respected Nikki and wanted to ensure she was in a good headspace or was he simply creating a false sense of trust and/or dealing with my previously mentioned theories of him being SCARED of what being with Nikki would represent?

In the morning, we can see that Nikki has taken out Sandy (Bear’s dead cat’s) corpse out and placed it on the floor. Why does she do that? Some believe it is a desperate action by the real Nikki to tell Bear to notice this and stop it. A later action does slightly back this theory. Another reason could simply be that it represents the animalistic sense of obsession. Like a cat bringing you a dead mouse. This film has so many questions and interpretations and does them in just the right way where we can make our theories but not feel confused or like it’s unfinished.

The next day in work, Bear talks to Ian about how confused and scared he is about Nikki’s actions the night before. Again, it’s up to interpretation about whether Bear is being a concerned friend or attempting to isolate her from her friends and make himself the good guy. That isolation comes up a lot in the film, her friends casting her aside and considering her ‘crazy.’ Bear has to constantly be seen as the victim. At first, I did. I felt really sorry for him being stuck in a horrific situation where a person was acting so strange and erratic over a mistake that he made.

Nikki arrives at Bears door that night wearing a bright red dress. She is mostly silhouetted but there’s a light that’s reflected in her eyes, they almost look black except that catchlight. Call me pretentious but my interpretation is that the real Nikki is trying to shine through but can only watch as her wish self begins to manipulate Bear into being with her. She puts on a vulnerable and shy persona, making her voice higher and almost childlike.

After this conversation, her and Bear are now together and a date montage pursues. The song Love is in the air Pt 1 plays - which is the viral song you’ve likely heard on TikTok. Its genius because it’s gentle and romantic with an uncanny off sense about it from various off keys and minor note. On the surface it’s romantic but it has a sinister edge with a synth underlining that repeats the whole way, sounding very horror esque underneath the happy-ish tune. The piano also gives it a sadder edge because Bear is experiencing love and excitement about finally being with the girl he likes but for Nikki, it’s a much sadder reality.

One moment that gets me is when Nikki goes to look at him and he moves her head back to look at the TV. It’s a subtly movement but a lot of people have picked up on it as it’s kind of odd. Why can’t she look at him? Does she do it all the time and he finds it scary? If that’s the case, how is he okay with the situation if he clearly knows somethings up. But also, it’s splattered in there like it’s a cute, funny moment but it shows a lot about his character. He also has a habit of being closed off so it could be saying that he’s still not really letting Nikki truly see him. Or he’s asserting a power over her by disregarding her affection and moving her body.

Bear and Nikki are on a date when Ian calls up and tells Bear that Nikki was lying about her dad dying. When Bear asks this to Nikki, we then get the iconic scene where she goes ‘No, no no, don’t do this, I thought we were having a nice day.’ Honestly this is a vocal stim for me at this point and I do it every time someone says anything that will trigger it. Like “I didn’t like the movie Obsession.” “No, no no, don’t do this, I thought we were having a nice day.”

She stands up in the restaurant, causing a scene and making Bear panic and brush off the situation. This is the moment I slowly start to lose sympathy for Bear. At this point, he clearly knows somethings amiss and carries it on anyway. It’s shown on his face when Nikki says ‘Bear I love you so so so so so much” and he replies “more than anything in the world?”

That’s when the most disturbing part of the movie happens. Trigger warning:

After he’s clearly figured out that his one wish willow worked, he’s put Nikki in a situation where she’s not herself and HAS to feel a certain way about him AND he found out she lied about her dead father, he still goes home and sleeps with her. Her face slumped to the side, empty and hollow. No more sympathy for Bear.

My original interpretation, because at the time, like I said I was sympathising with him and I guess sometimes when you watch films your thoughts don’t work the same when you’re trying to take in all the details of the story, was that Nikki’s actions were so scary to him that he felt he had to act in love with Nikki in order to survive. Then, following this, he had every chance to try and do something and the creepiest and scariest things kept happening but he was treating them like an inconvenience. Oh no, she's being weird again. I guess there’s not much that he can do but a lot of his actions prove that he doesn’t actually WANT to change the wish and he’ll make her love him no matter what it takes.

[The really creepy scene where she’s lurking in the corner]

The next day in work, Bear is chatting with Sarah there’s a note with a picture of Nikki saying “Not Me” and Bear has the nerve, gall and AUDACITY to seem a little bit annoyed by this?

He knows that Nikki is struggling so much with not being the real her that she goes to such desperate lengths to beg him to see that and help her out and he does NOTHING. I remember in the cinema he pulled kind of a funny face and I thought it might’ve been because he was knocked sick with remembering what had happened and he was scared he wouldn’t know how to bring her back but he really wanted to. After a rewatch, I can see that he didn’t want to bring her back in the first place. So the funny face was because he was so annoyed that she was trying to come forward and get help.

He bites into his sandwich when Sarah reads the back of the note. It says “what’s the verdict: Cat” and he looks down and realises that the sandwich he'd just bit into was meat from his dead cat! (Eww) He of course, throws up and just doesn’t say anything else about it.

Sarah (who likes Bear) tells him that he thinks that she thinks he is being taken advantage of. Look, a few of your takes about Sarah go way way too far but it’s safe to say she’s not exactly a girls girl. For some unknown reason, she’s extremely down bad for Bear and, while I understand that on the outside of the situation it does look a bit concerning, she’s clearly saying this of her own gain. Ian, who we later find out (but we knew all along) likes Nikki, says the opposite. He says he thinks Bear is taking advantage of Nikki. This is the earlier mentioned only good take he’s ever had in his life god I hate Ian. However, again, he does it for his own selfish gain just acting as concern.

Ian and Bear also have a conversation that bothers me SO MUCH. Ian says he's having a party but Nikki isn’t invited even though Sarah is. What the hell is that about. Bear doesn’t put up much of a fight at it too and Ian is all ‘She’s crazy now, blah blah blah I’m Ian and I speak out of my bum” I’m paraphrasing a little. Bear and Ian annoy me in this situation.

Finally, after it becomes an inconvenience (that’s not even the right word. Eating your own dead cat is way more than an inconvenience. It makes you wonder if something smaller had happened, how long he would’ve left it) for him, he decides to do something about it. So, he calls the one wish willow company and asks if he can change his wish. Fun fact: the customer service guy was voiced by the icon himself, director, Curry Barker. He’s really funny, playing this nonchalant character that completely juxtaposes the energy of the film. “No, we don’t really do that.” It’s funny but it also makes it even creepier.

The service team member tells him that he can’t reverse the wish unless one of them dies. Bear in mind (no pun intended) that he didn’t want to cancel it at all until he found out that he couldn’t alter it so that she would act even MORE so in the way that he wanted her to. I want to make Nikki love me but she has to act the way I want. The relationship has to be on his terms - the way she thinks and feels and acts needs to be in his control.

Yes, you can say that he doesn't want her to be this scary, unpredictable being but let’s look at this from a real life view. He is absolutely in love with this girl, finally they get together and how she acts is not enough for him. She’s too “clingy” and “crazy” he wants her to go back to who she was when he idealised her. Sure, the way she’s acting is WRONG but also I don’t think she’s ACTUALLY acting like that in my little theory. I think it’s a commentary on toxic dynamics in modern relationships (Well, duh, Elisha - completely obvious take.) in terms of, I think the film is attempting to put us into the MIND of a narcissistic and manipulative “Nice guy.” He’s presenting that he is the victim and she is this evil, whiny villain that won’t let him do anything or go anywhere. The one wish willow represents that SNAP in personality from before and after they enter the relationship.

The next scene adds to this when he goes into the house and lies to Nikki and tells her that he is going to a boys only boys night. She complains that she knows Sarah is going and shouts at him for lying to her. This is actually a completely valid reason to be annoyed at someone but the film plays Nikki as overdramatic and overreacting. A common manipulation technique used in these types of arguments. If you look at this with my theory that we are seeing a normal relationship through a narcissist’s eyes, perhaps this is showing how a toxic and manipulative person might be, or pretending to be, reading things situation. She could be perfectly calmly asking him questions in real life but he sees her as unpredictable, clingy and irrational.

At the party, Nikki is acting slightly off. She laughs too loud and for too long at some jokes, stays only around Bear and insists they sit next to each other. They are playing dare jenga and when Nikki picks up her piece, she begins to read a snippet of her story. It’s an explicitly romantic story about two siblings based on Hansel and Gretal. Everyone in the room turns to each other and looks around uncomfortable.

Interpretation time! Okay so first of all, was this written before or after the wish was made? and was this written by real Nikki or obsession Nikki. It’s stated in the film that Nikki originally saw Bear ‘Like a brother’ so could this be like an amalgamation of how both Nikki’s feel. Real Nikki sees their physical relationship as incestuous and inappropriate whereas wish Nikki romanticises it and reads it out with vigour and excitement.

Bear gets dared to kiss the person to his left, which is Sarah. There is a pause. Bear, what the hell? He knows that not doing something could potentially put Sarah in danger and he still looks to his left all shy? A normal person: “ Oh, you know what, I’m not gonna do this because it’d be disrespectful to my girlfriend.” crisis avoided. On top of this just being a really annoying thing to do, he ALSO knows that Nikki is acting unpredictably and potentially dangerously. So he could potentially be putting Sarah in danger.

As expected, Nikki stands up and simply frowns. The frown is iconic though, you’ve definitely seen photos of this frown everywhere. It’s a frown to outrank Florence Pugh on the frown scale. How many times can one write “frown” in a single paragraph? idk but I won’t frown about it.

Anyway, the silence that follows her reaction is deafening and a lot of people find it a funny moment. It made me awkwardly giggle the first time I saw it. It’s equally scary though, the fear of not knowing what she’s about to do as she walks around the table with everyone watching with various degrees of concern. The fact that no one in the scene even considers this to be amusing shows how weird it was in the moment. She goes behind Sarah’s chair, everyone stopping to see if she’ll hurt or even kill her, to pull her chair back and take her place, pouting out her lips for Bear to kiss. Again, funny and scary at the same time.

When she stands, she smashes a bottle on the table and uses it to stab herself in the face, screaming “It’s not me! It’s not me!” The real Nikki once again taking over to desperately beg for someone to help her as Bear sits on the couch staring blankly into nothing. He is upset and annoyed, once again. I genuinely feel like I saw the thoughts going through his head in that moment: “is it really so much of a burden to love me that you would embarrass me like this in front of our friends? is it so hard to be a part of us that you smash your face with a bottle?” In his head he is a victim, he takes her desperate pleas for freedom and autonomy as rejection and projects that as her problem.

That night, Sarah sends him a text to meet her at 3am in a car park. On both their ends this was such a bad idea. First of all, they both know they're in danger of her actions if they get caught. Sarah is clearly not a girls girl trying to meet her friends man in the middle of the night but also WTF BEAR?! He’s gotten the girl he wants to be so completely obsessed with him and he’s now slipping out to meet up with other women. One girls complete attention isn’t enough for you?

To add more Bear-being-a-terrible-person to the mix, real Nikki hears him slipping out and calls out to him “Bear, please kill me.” To which he says “What would be so bad about being with me?”

I have so much to say about this. This shows so much about Bear and the dynamic of all this. He feels ENTITLED to Nikki. He’s been so involved and kind that he believes that is the reason he DESERVES Nikki. He has the audacity to be upset and annoyed despite knowing she’s in a horrific situation, trapped inside someone that isn’t really her and still sees himself as the victim. She should just accept the pain she’s in because why is it such a problem that she’s with him?

He then leaves Nikki, paralysed and begging to die, so he can go meet up with another woman.

So he meets Sarah and it’s quite nice. She tells him she got a letter from her last college choice and wants to open it with him and then she tells him he should be with someone more “chill.” Sarah, honey, triple texting a guy to meet up at three in the morning or you’ll go to his house is kind of the opposite of chill, with all due respect. She then tells him that before Bear and Nikki got together, Ian and Nikki had been hooking up.

It explained ALOT. First, I do want to ask why anyone would want to get with IAN?! (just to clarify, this is not a roast on the very handsome Cooper Tomlinson, it is only referring to his character Ian who I hate. God, I hate Ian.) Especially our kind, caring and creative Nikki. It also shows that throughout the whole movie, everything he said to Bear was him trying to SABOTAGE him. Him telling Bear he couldn’t invite Nikki to the party because now Nikki isn’t sleeping with him? Bro spitting his dummy out. “Wah wah I’m Ian, I’m the worst person on the planet - looks like Nikki finally realised I’m the most grating human and I should punish her for that” (I feel that Curry Barker will soon admit that this is canonically what Ian said off camera, word for word.)

Going back to what I said earlier, it shows that the only reason Ian said anything to Bear about him ‘taking advantage of her’ was because he was being a baby about the whole thing. He wasn’t speaking with concern, he was speaking out of jealousy. Which is all the more worrying because he was valid in his concerns, as if he knew deep down that something was off but was so shallow about it that he couldn’t do anything more than WHINE ABOUT IT LIKE A STUPID IDIOT LITTLE BABY. God, I hate Ian. The thing about Ian is he acts like he wants to be a frat bro but he’s too pathetic so he’s spent his life watching Andrew Tate videos to try and fit in. Nothing in the actual film shows that to be true it’s just his vibe.

Going back to the film, unfortunately this is where Sarah comes to her untimely end. Nikki has found her way to the car and smashes open the window and smashes her head into a brick until her face is completely deformed. Bear, once again, looks briefly horrified before he resigns into contempt, his face blank and lifeless as he realises the consequences of his actions. He knows what he has to do, not to free Nikki but because it’s now gone beyond the bounds of what he can deal with. The ‘inconvenience’ of Nikki has cost someone their life.

They play an extremely emotional and hard hitting scene where Bear opens the college letter and sees that Sarah had been accepted. She never even got to see that she was going somewhere, she got into her dream college and had a future ahead of her and had that immediately ripped away from her. Bear cries as he reads the letter.

He runs to Ians house begging him to wish for Nikki back. Instantly, Ian doesn’t believe him and wishes for a billion dollars. Money begins to fall from the sky. Ian looks in shock as Bear sinks to the ground and cries, his last hope of survival gone. He’s not done being selfish though, as he returns home to ask Nikki if she, herself, will reverse the wish.

When he walks in, Nikki appears wearing Sarah’s clothes and drawn on tattoos. Sarah’s naked body and mutilated face is tied up in the corner as Nikki screams desperately at Bear how she will do anything for him to love her. Ian tries to enter the house but she shoots him. 2 lives now lost.

Bear goes into the bathroom and takes the pills that Sandy accidentally took at the beginning of the film - dying the same way his cat did. We hear Nikki from outside set off a one wish willow and break it. Bear becomes taken over, a love and desire in his eyes as he walks towards Nikki and they embrace. It’s not clear what wish she made but he is now as in love with her as she is with him. Happy together in their toxic, broken dynamic for just a few moments, Bear falls to the ground dead. Nikki cries and drops to the floor, taking the gun and pointing it towards her mouth before finally snapping into the real Nikki and screaming as the credits fade to black.

This has been such a controversial ending. Some think it was perfect, some think it went from 0 to 100. I would love to hear what you think. Personally, I want to see more of what happens to Nikki but I think thats the point. Nikki is stuck with the consequences of actions she didn’t even make, because of what Bear did to her, 3 people are now dead. We, as viewers watching her pain and suffering, also have to deal with them consequences. Of course, it’s a film, there’s nothing we can do. But all the character in the film, just like us, watched her trapped inside herself and never stepped up. These characters don’t get the closure of finding out how Nikki dealt with the after effects and nor do we.

My conclusion on Obsession is that it’s a fantastic film from the directing to the acting. It’s started great conversations about consent, incel culture and the future of horror whilst leaving us with lasting moments to remember. The last time a film this iconic came out was literally Barbie. Quite interesting how different yet similar those phenomenons are if you think about it. I hope you had a good time watching and keep updated with World Here to see more reviews and think pieces just like this.