If horror movies have taught us anything, it's to "be careful what you wish for".
That's horror movies, though. They live in the anxious corners of people's minds. If you take a left turn into Disney, you could hear "a dream is a wish your heart makes". That never made much sense to me. Half my dreams are confusing and the other half are terrifying. Sometimes, they're both. It could just be an old wives' tale.
If you haven't been able to guess it from any of my previous reviews, or any personal interactions you've had with me, I'm pretty much a functioning idiot. I mean that with as much respect as I can muster for myself. "Idiot" might be the nicest thing I can say about myself on a given day. I'll test limits and see how things will pan out. I read somewhere that folic acid is considered "brain food" and certain food items contain high amounts of folic acid. Among them, avocados, peanut butter and bananas.
These "brain foods" are rumored to activate something in your brain. One of the goofy warnings on the site I was reading said, "Make sure you don't eat any of these before bed!" There was a spooky ghost and vampire graphic around that. A little cartoon zombie popped up from behind a grave. Immediately, I was skeptical.
Psch. What's the worse that can happen?
It was around 11:30 at night. I had just gotten back from work and I was hungry. I decided to test this theory. I made two enormous peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I brought them into the living room where my mother was still awake. She looked over her glasses at me and then the sandwiches. "Going into hibernation?"
"No, I just read some stupid article that warned against eating bananas, avocados or peanut butter because they could induce vivid dreaming."
"Adam, don't you have enough problems with your dreams already? Isn't this like slapping a lion in the face?"
"Don't you mean poking the bear?"
She sighed. "I don't think either scenario would work out for the person doing the slapping or the poking, but, hey, you're an adult. Do what you want."
I ate the sandwiches, drank some milk and eventually went to bed.
So, about 10 years ago now, I wrote, directed and produced a short film called "Coulrophobia". Very basically, a woman gets stalked by a clown. Due to budget constraints, I played the clown and because I have an enormous head, it made more financial sense to shave my head and dye my hair than pay for a custom wig for my oversized melon. I've never been a fan of clowns. They've always spooked me so, in a way, I thought playing the clown would be like a bit of exposure therapy and maybe help me get over it. It seemed to work. At least temporarily.
The night I ate those sandwiches turned out to be exactly what the spooky cartoons warned about. Except it wasn't ghosts, vampires and zombies. Nope. Instead, I was me in the dream. Just regularly dressed Adam in a white hallway. But behind me was Clown Adam. And I couldn't outrun him. I slept like a rock so the dream felt like it lasted all night. I woke up in a cold sweat and took a deep breath. That was not definitely not a wish my heart made.
I made my way downstairs just before 10 A.M. and my mother was making her one part coffee and three parts creamer drink she had almost every morning. She turns around, sees me and jumps. "You look worse than normal this morning."
"I feel terrible. I had a dream I was being chased by me dressed as the clown. It felt like it lasted all night."
She takes a sip of her coffee, shaking her head. "You tested fate and look what happened. Be careful what you wish for."
I feel like the main character in Obsession could have used someone like my mother. Bear (Johnston) is kind of a sad sack. He works at a music store with a tight group of friends, lives alone and pines after his coworker, Nikki (Navarrette). In his efforts to win her over and finally ask her out, Bear goes out of his way to do things for her. One evening, Nikki tells Bear she dropped a necklace of hers so he takes it upon himself to stop at a shop on the way to trivia night. He goes to replace her necklace, opting instead to buy a kitschy tchotchke called a "One Wish Willow". From there, all Hell breaks loose.
This is a well-trodden plot. Someone makes the wrong wish and everything that can go wrong does go wrong. What sets this apart from everything else is the tone it strikes. Writer/director Curry Barker cut his teeth on YouTube videos prior to Obsession. For the most part, those videos have a similar chaotic tone to Tim Robinson. Some of his other videos have an odd simplicity to them. Normal people encounter a small thing that offsets their world, and sometimes their worldview, and everything spirals out of control. There are certain images he conjures in some of these videos that make you laugh initially out of shock, but they stay with you.
The simplicity of Obsession is its strong suit. When I say "simple", I don't mean "dumb". I had a writing professor tell our class, "You only need enough plot to hang your hat on." This was a fancy way of saying, "Don't overcomplicate things." Barker is patient enough to let his story unfold. His scares aren't cheap. And, what's more, much of the movie is darkly funny. He's able to juggle these tones with the expertise of someone who has been making films for 30 years.
It's rare to see an actor basically hijack a film. It happens from time to time with huge actors. Nicholson did it with the 1989 Batman, Ellen Burstyn did it in Requiem for a Dream. The type of performance that when that actor isn't on screen, you're waiting for them to come back. Inde Navarrette does exactly that with Obsession. While, yes, I've seen that she's been in a few things here and there over the last couple of years, her performance in this is outstanding. Much has been said about the control she has of her expressions and how she so deftly can shift from one emotion to the next, but the real feat, at least to me, is that she never loses sight of who Nikki is. It would be very easy to overact this role and really chew the scenery, but Navarrette skillfully dodges anything close to that. You have immense sympathy for her character throughout, even after, and sometimes during, the awful things she does.
All that isn't to say that the rest of the cast doesn't pull their weight. Michael Johnston's Bear gives a lot for audiences to grapple with. He's at first seen as sort of a sad sack, lovelorn guy that just likes a girl. As the film develops, we see exactly the type of person he is. While I won't get much into that because a lot of it is the thrill of the film, Johnston's portrayal is essentially the banality of evil. It's easy to fight or defend against someone who is overtly dangerous and potentially evil, but what do you do when that same evil comes in the package of a meek, seemingly well-meaning man?
If there was a flaw about the film, it's the world-building. The One Wish Willow is shown to work and seems also to be relatively popular within the world of the film. If that's the case, wouldn't there be at least one flying car? Some lady frustrated with morning traffic goes to the mystic shop, buys a One Wish Willow and asks for something to help him avoid traffic. Or, go the Homer Simpson route and someone wishes for it to rain donuts. Do these wishes only work for the wisher? The film doesn't indicate that because Nikki's actions affect people besides Bear. If the lady that wished for the flying car showed up to work and one of her coworkers asked where she got that from, they'd go and get a One Wish Willow and wish for a flying car. Or maybe just wish for wings.
Obviously, I'm being ridiculous but the film doesn't really address any of that. Barker has even admitted that he thought of the implications of such an item in this world, but didn't delve into it. It makes sense because it makes the whole film unravel. Barker's plan for a potential follow-up to Obsession would be what happens to other people when they use the One Wish Willow.
It's an exciting time for film, especially for horror. Barker's next film sounds like it's more on the comedic end of the spectrum, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bait-and-switch and turns out to be more serious. He's a true talent and any success that's heaped upon him is well-earned. Besides Barker, Navarrette really should be nominated for an Oscar. It's a truly astounding performance. One for the ages.
By the end, does Bear learn his lesson? I'm not sure, but I think it gives the audience pause as to what they'd wish for or, at the very least, how to word the wish so it doesn't backfire.
Maybe I could wish to eat all the peanut butter and banana sandwiches I wanted as late as I wanted with no clown chasing nightmares as a consequence. That would be nice. I don't even know how that could have ironic ramifications.
I better not think about it too much. My luck, I'll start being chased by a big banana in my dream and end up in therapy for the rest of my life.
Obsession (2026)
Directed by Curry Barker
Cast: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Runtime: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language and brief graphic nudity)
Rating (out of ****): ***1/2
Obsession is currently in theaters and releases digitally 6/30/26 on all major platforms to rent or buy.
