There’s no sense in burying the lede here. Obsession is about as good as horror gets, making an absolute meal out of its simple premise and delivering just about everything you could want from a genre film. It’s smart, sometimes funny, always entertaining and often downright terrifying. Its expert pacing consistently ratchets up the tension until it explodes with gnarly violence and shocking moments you won’t forget no matter how hard you try. Obsession is so good it won over the stuffiest of critics at a press screening at TIFF, a feat movie goers should not take lightly and a testament to its effectiveness. Often times at festivals, press screenings are largely silent. Critic audiences rarely engages in collective laughs or gasps or cheers, hyper-focused on their note taking and critical mind that can’t be bothered to react to anything on screen even when it’s warranted.
That wasn’t the case with Obsession, in which a packed house of critics whooped and hollered and gasped and laughed like an eager horror enthused general audience. Writer/Director Curry Baker hits all the rights notes, mixing the right ingredients to create an obsessive, nerve-shredding cautionary tale with an excellent cast and plenty of scares. It’s a tale as old as time: Bear is a hopeless romantic with no confidence and in love with his friend Nikki. She suspects but doesn’t know he has a crush and doesn’t return the affection, seeing him as a little brother instead of a love interest. Bear stumbles upon a novelty toy “One Wish Willow” and in act of frustration, makes a wish for Nikki to fall in love with him. Unfortunately for both of them, the wish is granted and sets into motion a series of unstoppable, supernatural dark consequences that will soon put everyone in danger.
Michael Johnston as Bear is excellent at frustrating the audience with his indecisiveness and inability to just say what he really feels. Obsession smartly earns your trust with a likable protagonist and then slowly turns the tide as the decisions he does make upend everyone’s life. The real scene stealer is Indie Narvarette as Nikki, who dials into the haunting wavelength and the longer the wish remains, the creepier and creepier she gets. Baker lets Narvarette go off the rails more than once, each new scenario weirder and more unsettlingly than the last. Something is very wrong with Nikki, and Bear begins to realize that the line between love and obsession should never be crossed. She watches him while he sleeps, duct tapes the door shut so he can’t leave for work, can’t stand the thought of him not being in her sights, and even prepares his lunch with some…let’s just say inedible ingredients.
Be Careful What You Wish For
And that’s just what I can share without spoilers. Nothing can really prepare you for where it goes and how far Baker is willing to take things, and there are some horrific visuals I won’t ever forget no matter how much I may wish to be stricken from my mind. Obsession really knows how to make the most of its small cast, and never waste a frame with them. In addition to the performances, Baker also knows how to maximize minimalism. The film smartly hides its small budget by balancing the thrills and chills with crowd-pleasing amusement and skillfully executed ick. Yes, Obsession is icky but in the right ways, owning its disturbing conceit and and carrying it as far as the simple premise will allow. When it’s ready to cross some lines, it ignites with gnarly shock and awe that never feels trite or predictable.
It’s so hard to make an anti romance and ‘careful what you wish for’ horror film feel fresh and unique. But in his first time out, Baker’s Obsession manages to do both. You’ve never seen anything like this even though its premise is familiar. You can tell Baker loves horror, and passionately injects his film with veteran savoy and far more strengths than weaknesses. It redefines the framework of its scenario, making it scarier to be the perpetrator of the wish instead of the victim under the spell. As a personal praise, I am always appreciative of horror films that don’t feel the need to explain their supernatural phenomena. Obsession isn’t interested in explaining why or how the wish works or what is actually happening to Nikki because of it. Baker trusts his audience to just get on board with it from the jump and revel in all of the sadistic violence and humorous horrors he has in store.
Obsession is a treat, the first great horror film of the year and one you not only don’t want to miss but one you simply won’t forget. It’s fun, violent and disturbing, an elevated horror film that doesn’t need a metaphorical grief monster to rain down consequences on even the best of intentions. There’s plenty to fear here, and I think both men and women will come away from it with different ideas of what scared them. But Obsession WILL scare you and get under your skin. It’s the best Midnight Madness film of TIFF 2025 by miles – yes, significantly better than the award winner that I won’t name here in case I’m not allowed back into Toronto for not enjoying it – and is sure to be the best horror film you’ll see this year.
If you can stomach it, Obsession is a must watch. Call me The Dream because I too am in love with Nikki.
Fair warning though: cat lovers beware. The film opens with a dead cat – completely unrelated to the wish events later – and that isn’t the last time you’ll see it. I know people take their fur babies very seriously, I would be remised if I didn’t at least let the cat out of the bag and let the pet lovers know what they’re in for.
Obsession had its World Premiere at TIFF 2025 and will also premiere at SXSW ahead of its theatrical release May 15th.
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