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Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC..
Ready for a new horror film obsession? (Quite literally)
'Be careful what you wish for,' is the saying that comes to mind for this story as the film is about Bear, a hopeless romantic who breaks the mysterious 'One Wish Willow' to win his crush's heart, childhood friend Nikki - and that's exactly what he gets...
But he "soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price," the plot synopsis reads.
Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC..
The film was written and directed by Curry Barker whose previous work includes 2024 horror film Milk & Serial, and the cast consists of Michael Johnston as Bear, Inde Navarrette as Nikki, Cooper Tomlinson as Ian, Megan Lawless as Sarah Harper, and Andy Richter as Carter Harper.
What are critics saying?
Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC..
Ahead of its release, Obsession has received positive reviews from critics and at the time of writing has a 94 per cent critics score on film and TV review aggregate website, Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 8.1 out of 10 on IMDb.
The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey called the horror, "brutal as it is savvy" and gave it four out of five stars. "Obsession is delicately handled work, unafraid to find pockets of humour."
The Guardian's Benjamin Lee described the film as the "perfect next chapter for Barker," in his four-star review. "Obsession is satisfyingly slick proof that he knows just what to do when levelling up to a different platform" and added how Barker is "using elements of a classic fable and the kind of grabby schlock you’d see in a video store back in the 1980s."
"Obsession initially seems simplistic, and even a bit silly, in its rehash of the age-old monkey’s paw trope. Like the consequences of that ill-considered wish, however, it proves eerily hard to shake," said Variety's Guy Lodge.
Indie Wire's Christian Zilko graded the film a B+, writing, "The fact that a movie like 'Obsession' can even exist is evidence of the tiniest bit of social progress."
"A simple, well-trodden concept transforms into a shocking and unsettling descent into abject horror in Barker’s capable hands, ensuring that his latest is destined to become horror’s latest, well, obsession, Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro said, rating it four out of five stars.
When is the release date?
Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC..
Obsession is out in cinemas from 15 May.
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