Photo via IMDb
By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Be careful what you wish for. That is the saying taken to the extreme in this new unrelenting horror film that won’t let go once it’s embedded in your brain. “Obsession” dials up the intensity to a ten and is carried by one of the best performances you’ll ever witness in a horror film.
Bear (Michael Johnston) is a nice guy who lacks the confidence to share his true feelings with his friend/coworker/crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Fearing that he’ll forever be in the friend zone, Bear finds a “One Wish Willow,” a mysterious product that supposedly grants the wielder exactly one wish. Unfortunately, wishing for her unending love may give him exactly that, and every disturbing price that comes with it.
It is rare for a singular performance to propel a film to greatness, but that is exactly what Inde Navarrette provides. She instills a sweet, likable persona into her character that devolves into an obsessive lunatic. But this isn’t a straightforward, immediate, or slow transition that is typically portrayed in film. There is such careful subtle nuance that she exhibits concerning her character’s psyche that makes it so much more believable. It is uncanny how Inde slips briefly into her pre-wish persona only to switch right back in surprisingly violent fashion. The intensity she brings to the role along with her unsettling movements and facial expressions, and the abrupt shift from charming normalcy to psychotic screaming will leave viewers stunned with bloody cuticles as they chew their nails to nubs. This is the memorable kind of unhinged performance that could turn Inde Navarrette into a star and is so impactful that it should be strongly considered come Oscar time.
While the performance is the obvious strength to the film, writer/director Curry Barker is another big reason why there was a bidding war among the top distributors for the rights to the film. Operating under a small budget of less than $1 million, Barker finds a way to make the production feel more like a professional Hollywood venture than a typical, cost-cutting B-movie horror. He does this by ambitiously shooting in longer takes to avoid unnatural jump cuts, even though this presents significant challenges in the editing room. Using controlled and deliberate camera movement, he focuses the shots from specific character’s perspectives to enhance psychological tension. Barker also uses closer, more intimate shots to allow viewers to better understand the characters’ emotional state in those moments. He even avoids cheap jump scares, favoring disturbing atmosphere using eerie lighting and shadows coupled with chaotic violence to overwhelm viewers with heart-palpitating tension.
The concept itself of magical wishes going awry is nothing new, but the way it is carried out is where innovation can be found. In fact, the inspiration for this film comes from the unlikely source of “The Simpsons.” It is the “Treehouse of Horror II” episode from season three, where Bart comes across a cursed monkey’s paw that grants wishes with horrible consequences, that becomes the catalyst for this movie. Curry Barker continually keeps viewers guessing from start to finish, emphasizing chaos and unpredictable character behavior. One moment, the audience will be rooted in breathless terror or shocked with unforeseen brutality, while the next moment, they will be uncontrollably laughing from the sudden shift in behavior. In this way, he breathes new life into an age-old concept.
When Barker incorporates sudden and vicious violence in a scene, he ensures the sound complements accordingly. When he wants to unsettle his audience, he quiets those scenes to the point where a pin drop could be heard. When he brings forth the violence, he increases the surprise with decibel-crunching intensity, using sharp impacts to punctuate those moments. Sometimes, the sounds that can be heard off camera are even more unsettling, fostering viewer imagination to run amok. With production having a lower budget, unavoidable errors do occur, leading to technical goofs with the sound, visuals, or even background details like the nightstand clock reading just past midnight in one frame only to show just before seven in the very next frame. These are miniscule details, however, that don’t take away from the overall viewing experience.
The tremendous accolades this film has been receiving ever since it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year are well deserved. “Obsession” lives up to the hype in every way and will give you that anxiety-fueled terror and rich entertainment you’ve been looking for, capped off by a performance from Inde Navarrette you’ll be talking about long after the credits roll. Don’t miss the chance to see this disturbing love story on the big screen.
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