The best supernatural horror film in years.

Modern horror films are not exactly high art. Many choose to rely more on cheap thrills and predictable jumpscares than anything else, but Obsession is different. Director Curry Barker’s first theatrically released film debuted to glowing reviews and an astounding box office performance, defying all expectations.

Horror films have always been good at keeping costs low, and usually that means that the budget stays within a few million dollars. For example, The Backrooms cost $10 million, and the more recent Insidious: Into the Further was estimated at $18 million. Obsession, however, was made on a tiny budget of $750,000 and has grossed over $505 million dollars worldwide as of this article’s publication. It is the best return on investment for a horror film since 2009’s Paranormal Activity, another supernatural horror film. So what makes Obsession unique?

Obsession’s strength lies in its characters. Bear, the film’s protagonist, is deeply complex. While he may be the main character, the film reveals that he is anything but a hero. Bear initially appears to be a relatable, funny guy who cannot seem to muster up the courage to ask out his crush, Nikki. Unfortunately, Bear never gets over his nervousness and resorts to buying a “One Wish Willow,” a branch that, once broken, grants the user anything they could ask for. He breaks the branch and wishes that Nikki would “love him more than anything else in the entire world.” But Obsession is a horror film, and Bear’s wish does not exactly work out the way he hoped.

Bear’s new girlfriend Nikki—who is now infamously known as “Freaky Nikki”—is a little odd at first. She follows Bear around constantly, stares at him and rarely speaks to anyone else. Throughout the film, Nikki tries her best to make Bear happy. In one famous scene, after Bear’s cat dies, Nikki attempts to cheer him up by making him lunch. At work, Bear bites into his sandwich and realizes that it tastes a little off. He opens up the note inside his lunchbox to reveal that poor Whiskers has made his way into Bear’s lunch.

“Nikki, you can’t cook the cat!” The audience in my showing of Obsession initially laughed, but then shuddered as they realized that this was still the beginning of the film and that things were going to get so much crazier. They were absolutely right; Obsession becomes a genuinely terrifying film by the end. Its sound design, editing and acting all contributed to it becoming one of the most suspenseful films released in years.

Despite Obsession being a terrible film for a date night, audiences truly connected with Bear and Nikki, catapulting the virtually unknown actors into stardom. This Halloween, we are likely to see hundreds of people dressed as Nikki roaming the streets, something that actress Inde Navarrette likely never could have imagined. Obsession’s success led May 2026 to become the highest grossing month for movies since July 2019. It seems that the post-COVID box office slump has finally been broken and audiences have great films like this to thank for that.

Obsession is bringing people back to the movies. It has been a while since a horror film has been released with as much creativity and passion poured into it as this one. I went into Obsession expecting another stale, exploitative horror film, but I came out completely obsessed.

★★★★⯪

Obsession receives 4.5/5 stars from this reviewer.