‘You wished for this…’
The era of ‘elevated’ horror (ugh) delivered by a new generation of auteurs is over. Ushered in by films like The Babadook and It Follows and then taken into the mainstream by Ari Aster (Hereditary), Robert Eggers (The Witch) and Jordan Peele (Get Out), the elevated horror era looked set to dominate the genre for decades to come. Whilst it still lingers in the work of Ryan Coogler (Sinners) and Zach Cregger (Weapons), we are now in the era of the DIY horror film. Talk to Me, Skinamarink, Together, Backrooms and Obsession were all created by YouTubers or started out as viral videos. While the gold rush that will surely follow will no doubt imitate the found footage craze in terms of a huge variation in quality (Shelby Oaks is a recent example of a bad YouTube-to-filmmaker creation), there is no doubting that the horror genre is not only in a true golden age right now, it’s also propping up the box office…
Bear Bailey (Michael Johnston), a music store employee, is deeply in love with his co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), but doesn’t know how to tell her. After encountering a novelty toy at an occult shop that promises to grant the owner a wish, Bear wishes for Nikki to love him with disastrous consequences. Bear and Nikki’s toxic relationship is witnessed by their friends and co-workers Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless).
Curry Barker rose to prominence in the horror community with his short films The Chair and Milk & Serial. The latter was a viral sensation that signalled the arrival of a truly original voice within the genre. Obsession is the realisation of that potential. Barker directs the shit out of this thing. There is a trick he continuously pulls in which Nikki is shot in silhouette with only the pinpricks of her eyes visible. It’s somehow both disturbing and alluring. Barker has spoken in interviews about the uncanny valley of not knowing if something is threatening or welcoming and he captures this dichotomy perfectly throughout.
This wouldn’t be possible, however, without a frankly astonishing breakout performance from Navarrette. She is wild, affectionate, deranged, seductive, sympathetic and vulnerable, often within the same scene. It’s a truly gonzo and memorable performance that deserves to receive awards recognition but surely wont. In truth, one of the only criticisms I could muster here is that Johnston never really matches his co-star in terms of performance. It’s crucial that we like Bear or at least empathise with him for the film to fully work and I just never did. I found his character to be pretty loathsome from the off.
That being said, this is a gnarly horror film as much as it is a character study and on that level it works perfectly. Channelling the Evil Dead franchise, W.W. Jacob’s short story The Monkey’s Paw (which Barker learned about through an episode of The Simpsons) and Mia Goth’s similarly incredible performance in Pearl, Obsession is a very modern horror film that still nods to the past in a way that is reverential without being too indebted to what has come before. It’s a film that manages to be genuinely funny, genuinely horrifying and genuinely unique. The fact that it doesn’t really have anything profound to say about co-dependency (unlike Together) only makes me like it more. Not everything has to be a symbol for something else. Sometimes it’s okay to tell a great story and tell it well.
We’re living in an era in which small, independent horror films like Obsession and Backrooms are beating out a Star Wars film at the box office. These are truly unprecedented times for horror fans. Drink it in. And be careful what you wish for.
