Obsession

In Obsession, Curry Barker reaches for a dark fairytale where love’s enchantments come with a sinister twist, but the result is more tedious than twisted. Despite arriving from the production house behind Hereditary, the film never earns the creepiness it strains for, and even at home on the couch it would be a hard sell. Michael Johnston plays a hopeless romantic whose desire for his crush leads him to the fateful “One Wish Willow,” a setup that should spiral into unexpected horror but instead limps from one awkward beat to the next. The supposed balance of light-hearted romance and unsettling consequence never clicks; both halves feel undercooked.

The cinematography gestures at atmosphere, with shadows looming and colors bleeding through lush, would-be foreboding settings, but the visual ideas rarely build into anything genuinely unnerving. Barker leans hard on tight close-ups during moments of emotional “clarity,” which mostly serve to underline how stilted those scenes are. The score swings between sharp crescendos and lurching rhythms in an effort to manufacture dread, but the psychological chaos it’s chasing never materializes on screen.

Supporting turns from Inde Navarrette and Andy Richter do what they can with thin material. Navarrette’s love interest is meant to feel alluring and enigmatic, yet she’s mostly stranded in scenes that don’t give her much to play. Richter’s more subdued role lands a few moments of dark humor, but they feel imported from a better movie rather than woven into this one, and quickly fade against the surrounding flatness.

The Verdict

Obsession tries to weave horror into the fabric of romantic desire, but ultimately proves to be a frustrating sit. Enduring the lead awkwardly cringe his way into a relationship for an hour and forty minutes is a tough ask on the big screen. Unless you’re a teenager, this is one you can comfortably skip in theatres and catch later — if at all.