In John Truby’s book The Anatomy of Genres, his chapter on horror is one of the most interesting. The author treats it not just as a narrative genre, but as a direct expression of the human being facing death. Regarding the greatest dichotomy—life and death—the human consciousness knows we are going to die and we cannot avoid it, and the fundamental tension of horror stems from this. It is not the threatening monster, the killer, or the supernatural entity that terrifies us most; what is truly disturbing is the contradiction that being alive is the only condition for dying. In Obsession, director Curry Barker appeals to the most basic fundamentals of the genre to achieve a compact and powerful film that works perfectly.
The story follows Bear (Michael Johnston), an introverted young man who cannot muster the strength to tell the girl of his dreams that he is in love with her. In a naive manner, he uses a mysterious object with supernatural powers to make Nikki (Indie Navarrette) fall in love with him. The only problem is that his poorly articulated wish transforms into a dangerous obsession that turns the romantic idyll into a true nightmare. It is a simple premise, but executed with spectacular precision. Horror proves once again that it is one of the most fertile grounds in American cinema in recent years. Its flexibility to speak about uncomfortable contemporary issues without having to express things directly has given it a creative advantage.
Obsession manages levels of tension that few films achieve. From the opening sequence, the viewer can feel an uncomfortable sensation. Nothing has happened yet, and we are barely getting to know the characters, but the air already feels heavy, and a premonition of doom settles into the audience’s psyche. Barker achieves this thanks to a tight script that uses dialogue precisely and leaves room for silences that charge each sequence with an almost unbearable suspense. On the technical side, the young director shows off an impeccable staging where the play of light and shadow becomes his main ally. Beyond generating classic jump scares, the true terror arrives in the calmest moments and pierces us from a psychological standpoint.
Bear, played so well by Michael Johnston, is the perfect protagonist of horror films. This introverted romantic, who confuses the desire to possess with love, makes us feel pity, compassion, and contempt all at the same time. On a much higher register, we have Indie Navarrette with the brilliant Nikki, a very complex character who is undoubtedly destined to become an icon of horror cinema. In her, we can find a mixture of many archetypal characters from female psychological horror. Think of Carrie, Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Annie Wilkes in Misery, or Isabelle Adjani in Possession. We could put them all together, and the result would be the disturbing Nikki of this story.
Between graphic horror, psychological terror, supernatural elements, a perverse romance, and plenty of black humor, Obsession tackles several subtexts that are not the central idea of the film but serve as a strategic support for the story. The idea of idealizing romantic relationships to the point of becoming harmful, the obsession with possessing someone, the fear of rejection, and the inability to face reality are just a few of the interpretations we can draw from Barker’s discourse.
What begins as a romantic fantasy ends up turning into a dark nightmare. Obsession reminds us that human beings can twist love until it becomes something hideous. Barker teaches us that horror remains one of the most effective genres for exploring the darkest corners of the human soul.