[Rating: Rock Fist Way Up]
We’ve all had that deep wish in our hearts that we just hoped would come true. Maybe it was to win the lottery or it was to live on a beautiful tropical island. Have any of us actually taken into consideration the ramifications our wishes may take. YouTuber and comedian Curry Barker explores the horrors of making that “perfect wish” in his latest horror film, Obsession that is, plain and simple, downright terrifying.
Baron, known by his friends as Bear (Michael Johnston) has romantic feelings for his coworker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He doesn’t seem like the type to ever “get the girl” and would do anything to win Nikki’s love. While shopping for her at a mystic shop, Bear finds the “One Wish Willow,” which claims to grant any wish to the user. Naturally, Bear wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world. Here, Bear and Nikki’s world turns upside down multiple times.
You see, when the wish is granted, Bear begins to notice Nikki becoming a little too attached to him. She suddenly has strange moments of screaming at nothing and making these strange faces, leading her to sudden bursts of anger at even the notion of Bear walking into the bathroom alone. And yet, this is what Bear wished for, right? Bear soon begins to question if this really is the wish he wanted, or if he has the chance to alter his wish by calling One Wish Willow’s phone call. Things only get worse when Nikki starts to become even more erratic, especially towards their friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), only for some actually terrifying results for all party members.
I personally would not take the One Wish Willow! It is too much of a Monkey’s Paw situation that feels too good to be true. Barker’s story here dives so deep into this dark and sinister wish that really, I didn’t find a moment to take a breath at everything happening on screen. My biggest complaint with modern horror is how much it relies on the metaphor for grief and trauma, and this did not in the slightest! And let’s talk about Inde Navarrette as Nikki. I think she can easily become one of the scariest of movie “monsters” with how pitch perfect she is, as we slowly get to see Nikki’s transformation into an obsessed lover.
Obsession at the very core of it is a terrifying look at making the wrong wish without taking into consideration others around you. I’m very interested to know more about Barker and the other horror flicks he’s made prior to this, because if this was terrifying and even heartbreaking, I can only imagine what else came before, or will in his bright future ahead!
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
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