I walked into Obsession with almost no knowledge of it, which honestly is the way I aim to approach every film including trailers. The beauty of Obsession I’d come to find goes way beyond its twist and turns.

The film follows Bear, who works at a music store with his friends Nikki, Sarah, and Ian only one thing, he’s secretly in love with Nikki. After Nikki casually mentions losing her crystal necklace, Bear finds something called a “One Wish Willow,” at local shop which claims to grant any wish for a suspiciously low price. Bear’s plans for the evening include giving Nikki the magical piece of wood and tell her how he feels. After trivia night he gives her a ride and starts acting weird. He can’t bring himself to tell her how he feels so instead he’s a jerk about it. And then, he decides to make a wish. Bear wishes that she would “love him more than anybody else in the world.” From there, the film takes a wild turn.

What starts as awkward longing gradually becomes something genuinely terrifying. Nikki, played brilliantly by Inde Navarrette, turns into a haunting, obsessive version of herself that is both horrifying and deeply sad to watch. The physicality of Navarrette’s performance is incredible. The way she changes her face, posture, and energy showcases how the real version of Nikki is trapped in her own body. The film begins to immediately escalate without wasting time. One moment, Nikki is taping Bear inside the house because she does not want him to leave for work. The next moment, she’s cooking his dead cat for lunch. And then tragically Sarah, the woman Bear probably should’ve given a chance but he was so fixated on his “manic pixie dream girl” , gets her face smashed into a steering wheel so violently that the audience is left staring at brains and an eyeball. It’s disgusting and excessive, yet somehow you still can’t look away. What I really like is that Obsession never feels like it has violence for its own sake. Beneath all the brutality is a surprisingly sharp conversation about consent, codependency, and entitlement disguised as romance.

Initially, Bear is presented sympathetically. He’s lonely and craves Nikki’s love. But as the film progresses, his behavior becomes more uncomfortable. There’s a moment when the “real” Nikki briefly breaks through the possession and begs Bear to end her suffering. Instead of helping her, he asks, “What’s so bad about being with me?” That’s the core of the movie. Bear also has a moment when he calls the One Wish Willow hotline, he does not ask how to undo the wish. Instead, he only wants to tweak it. That detail completely reframes the story because he wants her devotion without choice. The film becomes increasingly disturbing once you realize Nikki’s love is never there romantically because she has no free will.

What I’m loving about horror this year is the understanding that many past horror films didn’t have. The most terrifying stories often stem from very real emotional dynamics. Toxic dependency, male entitlement, and the desire to be loved so badly that you stop caring whether the other person chooses you willingly.

By the end of the film, I didn’t feel sorry for Bear at all. If anything, Obsession slowly reveals that he may have been the real monster from the very start. Disturbing, funny, grotesque, and oddly thoughtful, Obsession is one of the most interesting horror films I’ve seen this year and my favorite thus far. And honestly, the fact that it was reportedly made for under a million dollars makes it even more impressive. Horror remains one of the few genres consistently taking creative risks, and Obsession shows exactly why.

Pro: Some of the best use of lighting in a horror film I’ve ever seen

Con: A tad predictable