In a market and year where Hollywood tentpole has been dominant — think Project Hail Mary, think Michael, think The Devil Wears Prada 2, led by the biggest so far, namely, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — the last few weeks have seen film buffs worldwide defy every kind of algorithm, glossy packaging and blockbuster potential, to troop into cinemas worldwide for a film which has quickly become what one can only describe as a “phenomenon”. Horror is having a moment on the Holly screen, and Obsession — to quote an unavoidable cliche — is now an obsession.
One of the most profitable horror films to be ever made relative to its budget — get a load of $150 million at the box office (and showing no signs of stopping) against a pittance of a budget in the region of $750,000 — Obsession has been one of the predominant topics of conversation, from campus canteens to office water coolers, Instagram Reels to film analysis threads. Its debutant director, 26-year-old YouTube creator Curry Barker, is being increasingly hailed as one of the most exciting new filmmakers, one who comes in with a unique voice, and most importantly, the gumption to turn what might superficially look like a wish-fulfilment fantasy idea — fans like us have seen (and often suffered through) much of the ‘Wishmaster’ genre — into a full blown-out horror indie gem, which, even while keeping its tone exaggerated and whimsical, manages to be a darkly funny and cautionary tale.
Being compared in terms of budget, clever marketing and success to the 1999 seminal found-footage horror fest The Blair Witch Project, Obsession opens straightforward and gradually, and terrifyingly, reveals its hand, to graduate to subversive storytelling. Focusing on the supernatural artifact of the “One Wish Willow” — which becomes more than a mere Macguffin in the events that unfold — it has Bear (Michael Johnston), a largely silent, socially awkward music store employee who is grieving the loss of a pet — purchasing the seemingly mundane, mass-produced trinket sold at curiosity shops and snapping it into two in a moment of utter frustration and helplessness, with just one wish: that the object of his long-standing affection Nikki (Inde Navarrette), the popular and pretty colleague who has never seen Bear as more than a friend, start “loving him the most in the world”. The wish works, but with horrifying results, mutating Nikki into a violently possessive and psychotic shadow of herself.
Nikki’s behaviour is not merely obsessive. It kicks off with what seems like innocuous lies and needy behaviour, quickly taking a brutal turn, both psychologically and physically. We are talking of violent outbursts, public displays of abominable behaviour, even classic horror tropes like a ghostly presence in the shadows and eventually, and inevitably, massive bodily harm to herself and to those around her. And let us not even talk about cooking up that “cat sandwich” for her “little food critic”. If you don’t barf into your popcorn tub in that scene, you have achieved a whole new level of horror zen.
Meshing extreme dread, unspeakable tragedy and morbid humour, Obsession makes for a deeply discomforting watch. As a viewer, you may watch quite a bit of it from behind the superficial comfort of your fingers, but the push and pull attractiveness of what plays out on screen will barely make you able to tear your eyes away. Blood, gore, spilling guts are all par for the course here, but unlike many other films in the splatter genre (though Obsession doesn’t really belong to it), none of it feels exploitative. What Barker, who has also written and edited Obsession, achieves is something far more profound — he fashions a twisted romance masquerading as a fairy-tale come true and ultimately reveals something unsettling: love isn’t always innocent.
Despite being a supernatural tale, Obsession depicts a real, toxic, ominous entity: entitled men with “nice guy” syndrome. Bear (Johnston, tragic and tormented, is superlative) is the one your heart goes out to, without a doubt, but you know (and he knows) that the responsibility of the carnage that takes place in Obsession is wholly his. As horrific as Nikki’s — Navarrette is the scene stealer and the film’s not-so-secret weapon —gradually unhinged behaviour as she gets more obsessed with Bear, is the idea of one being stripped of their personal autonomy the way she is, and watching another exploit it (in denial, for the most part) in the name of love.
Yet, as Obsession terrifies with its premise and occasionally brutal kills, there are moments of dark humour. You laugh nervously in the dark audi as much as you physically cringe. If one counts a recent film made with as much impact for collective viewing, Obsession would easily make it to the top of the heap.
The numbers globally speak for themselves. Traditionally, most horror films drop after the opening weekend. Obsession is a rare case that has grown, that too by a staggering 40 per cent, something practically unheard of for a small-budget film in the genre. Despite some initial low-ball estimates, strong word-of-mouth publicity and consistent Internet virality has made it certain that Obsession will continue to grow in numbers, perhaps even outstripping the figures of its first two weekends in the US.
In India, where it released on May 29 — with some unnecessary cuts, but that is a story for another day — Obsession has already made ₹11.52-crore (₹9.75-crore nett) within its first four days, even pulling off the rare feat of earning more on its first Monday than on its opening day.
Obsession is not alone. In what is clearly being hailed as another “Barbenheimer” moment for Hollywood, indie horror is also getting a fillip in the form of Backrooms. Directed by yet another first-timer, 20-year-old YouTube man Kane Parsons, the viral creepypasta adaptation of Parsons’ own series Backrooms, the film, touching upon themes of science fiction, psychological horror and liminal horror, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, is the season’s crowd-puller (it releases in India on June 12). Obsession and Backrooms have given a boost to indie horror like never before, opening the way for more, much more. We are seated — scared, but more than ready.
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