Obsession

Bear (Michael Johnston) makes the mistake of wishing that Nikki (Inde Navarrette) loves him in Obsession (Distributed by Focus Features)

The wish is a great starting point for a horror movie. A character (or sometimes several) wishes on some object for whatever it is they want most in the world. At first, it seems like a dream come to life. Then, the nightmare begins. It is a common trope, but one that works fairly well due to its relatability. The newest entry in this subgenre, Obsession, approaches this familiar concept in a lower key. This isn’t an elaborate Monkey’s Paw situation. It is a mood-piece morality play about a young man who desperately makes a very selfish wish, that he assumes won’t come true. When it does, it isn’t long before he realizes something is wrong. However, it takes him a long time to admit how badly he screwed up.

It is an effective slow-burn horror story, unsettling, uncomfortably funny at times and also a little hard to watch. The opening and closing thirds are quite good. The middle third drags a bit, as the movie has made its point and we’re ready for things to get kicked up a notch. It repeats itself too much, though it never loses its mood. This isn’t about constant terror. This is more of a detached character study where a guy slowly discovers that he put himself in a terrible position due to his own cowardice and selfishness. It is a pretty solid genre entry that occasionally hints at the richer story dancing at its edges.

Bear is in love with Nikki, yet can’t bring himself to tell her. What if she doesn’t feel the same way and it ruins their friendship? Hopeless after blowing an obvious opportunity to confess his feelings to her, he pulls out a novelty wishing stick he bought as a joke and asks for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world. She suddenly begins to throw herself at him, which is all Bear ever wanted. But is it really Nikki?

Without giving anything significant away, the most intriguing aspect of Obsession (105 minutes, minus the end credits) is how it doesn’t pretend that Bear is the good guy in this story. He may be the protagonist but, in a very real way, he is also the villain. The wish seems like an innocent case of a man pining for a love he is too scared to take a shot at. Yet, once things get disturbing (which happens quickly) and he knows with total confidence the wish is real, Bear continues to push on with Nikki. Even when he has every reason to believe that the Nikki he fell so hard for is no longer in control, he keeps going with the relationship. It is difficult to sympathize with him when I couldn’t stop thinking about what Nikki might be going through, locked inside this fantasy version of her.

To be fair, Obsession invites that kind of thinking. The screenplay (by writer/director Curry Barker) allows us to really see Bear. He’s not a bad person. He is simply the type who doesn’t shake things up out of fear that it could get worse. What if he embarrasses himself? He wants what he isn’t brave enough to try for. After he has it, despite his strong concerns, he refuses to accept that it isn’t genuine. He needs to believe he is worthy of her; that he has earned this. The horror comes from the fact that, while he deserves what happens, Nikki certainly does not.

It is a clever setup, taking the well-meaning shy guy who only wants the girl of his dreams to want him just as much, and making him the accidental monster who turns her into a pained creature incapable of living without him. There is something frightening about that and that is what keeps Obsession rolling along, even when it is spinning its wheels. Barker takes this all the way to its horrifyingly logical conclusion, making for an entertaining, under-the-radar, horror movie.

3½ out of 5

Cast:

Michael Johnston as Bear

Inde Navarrette as Nikki

Cooper Tomlinson as Ian

Megan Lawless as Sarah

Written/Directed by Curry Barker