Mild Spoilers
9/10
After watching the film Obsession earlier this week, my friend and I had to sit down and process what we had just seen. During our discussion, my friend brought up 2Pac’s song “Keep ya head up,” which addresses society’s neglect of women amid harassment and mistreatment. One line in particular stood out: “I wonder why we take from our women.” In many ways, Obsession shows how a man, in the face of rejection, selfishness, and insecurity, can take away the autonomy of a young woman.
I was captivated and emotionally impacted by the performance of Nina Navarrette, who from the promo was marketed to be a “crazy” girlfriend obsessed with her boyfriend, Bear, played by Michael Johnston. However, as the film progresses we find out that the Nikki who becomes obsessed with Bear is not the same Nikki we saw at the beginning of the film. This is not a dark romance about a girl slowly becoming consumed by love. Instead, it is a metaphor for how a man can strip a woman of her free will for his own benefit. Even at the beginning of the film, Bear is speaking to a waitress who is impersonating Nikki. There was never a moment of genuine, requited love between them because Nikki is forced into “loving” him through a wish.
After the wish, every time Bear was home, I felt afraid of what Nikki would do next. Picture this scene, Bear is in bed and wakes up in the middle of the night. He looks to his left, and Nikki isn’t there. He looks up, and in the pitch of darkness, you can hardly make out the silhouette of Nikki. In the corner of the room, in the midst of darkness and silence, she’s watching him. The theater was tense. I was only able to get a front-row seat, and I found myself keeping my head down, afraid of what would happen next. Yet what frightened me most was not what I saw, but what I heard. My ears popped as Nikki’s “You don’t love me as much as I love you” echoed throughout the theater. This was one of many moments where the terror was built up from the film’s use of sound. Director Curry Barker does this effectively throughout the film and with a budget of $1,000,000, it’s not surprising that it is about to reach $100,000,000 in the box office.
The tragedy of Sarah, played by Megan Lawless, and Ian, played by Cooper Tomlinson, is a result of Bear’s actions and his refusal to end the suffering he caused. There are several moments where the real Nikki tries to communicate to Bear that she is no longer herself. Still, Bear’s obsession with this false version of Nikki prevents him from taking action. His selfishness is prevalent throughout the film, even in the final scene. This reinforces the idea that the relationship was always one-sided love, from the beginning of the film. That is why the most disturbing part of the film was when Bear was having sex with Nikki, and with each moan, her face was still and pale. I was disturbed not only by the scene itself, but by what it represented and what it says about our society. The film does not portray Nikki as a villain, but rather as a victim.
The setting moves from Bear’s workplace, his home, and his car. Out of those three locations, the car scenes stayed with me the most. Three significant moments take place there: Bear’s wish, his resentment of that wish, and the consequences of that wish. Bear’s wish affected every single one of his friends, and although he resented what he had done, he still does not truly act to fix it. Director Curry Barker said that the wish stick itself wasn’t cursed, Bear’s wish was. After a major death towards the end of the film, Nikki whispers to Bear “This is all your fault, you wished for this.”
On social media, many people have romanticized Nikki’s obsession with Bear, saying things like, “If my girlfriend isn’t like this, then I don’t want her.” Comments like these miss the entire point of the film. Obsession is not a love story. It is a metaphor for sexual assault and control. Nikki is the victim of a man who could not take no for an answer and wished for her to belong completely to him. When the real Nikki begs for Bear to kill her in her sleep, Bear responds with the chilling “What’s so bad about being with me?” This cursed wish begins the conflict in the film, but Bear’s selfishness is what allows it to continue.
With this breakout studio feature, Director Curry Barker delivers a must-see film that excels in suspense, writing, and acting. This is why I give it a strong 9/10, a rating I haven’t given to any horror film or show in years. That is a testament to this film’s power beyond the scared, it’s the message that stays with you long after the credits roll that makes this movie.
