‘Obsession’ is good, but you might already know that

“Obsession” (2025) has received good word of mouth since it premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Combined with “Backrooms”, which became part of the “Backsession” phenomenon, both films shared a very interesting behind-the-scenes story of young YouTubers turned feature film directors who made arthouse horror that became the talk of the town in 2026. “Backrooms” came out last week, and now its bloody brother has arrived in Thai cinemas.

The horror hype was real. Last week I went to see Backrooms and the theatre was packed — the kind of crowds usually seen at franchise blockbusters, not indie horror. This week the same happened with its horror sibling.

Curry Barker’s Obsession is a horror story about love. Bear (Michael Johnston) has a crush on his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) but doesn’t have the courage to tell her. Universally relatable.

Then he comes across a “one-wish willow” that can make a single wish come true. He wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world. She becomes more and more obsessed with him, and things spiral from there.

Obsession (2025). (Photo: Blumhouse)

The story is fairly straightforward but is a fun examination of what romantic love becomes in its most extreme, toxic, possessive form.

From the acting to the post-production, the film excels in its cinematic storytelling.

The acting is stellar, with Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki — the obsessive, possessive and possessed girlfriend — switching from normal to outright creepy so naturally. Michael Johnston as Bear, while less flashy, also serves as a strong foundation for Inde’s performance.

Obsession (2025). (Photo: Blumhouse)

The composition and lighting elevate the horror element. I love the use of negative space here. Many shots show empty space behind the characters, which makes the audience anticipate that something could pop up there. We know something is going to happen, we just don’t know when — and that’s horrifying.

The lighting also helps, especially in how Nikki is often shot lurking in the shadows — this makes her seem ominous and unpredictable.

Overall, Obsession is simple, tense and creepy. It builds on a simple premise but is elevated by cinematic elements employed to draw out your emotions to great effect.