It’s often been said, be careful what you wish for. That seems apt when considering Obsession, a new horror film from writer/director Curry Barker. It made the festival circuit in 2025 and now is making a wide release for audiences today.

The film follows a young man who is fixated on the future he wants. A solution presents itself that seems too good to be true. And as often turns out, when something appears that way, it’s for a reason. And that sends him on a dark path.

The film focuses on Baron—Bear (Michael Johnston) to his friends. He’s a quiet man living a quiet life with a singular obsession—his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette). They’ve been friends for years and a big part of each other’s lives, and yet he’s never been able to express how he feels. When he shares his grand plan of romantic pronouncement with his friend, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), he’s told to wait. He’s told he has plenty of time and it’s not worth the risk.

But when Bear arrives home, he finds his cat dead. Shattered, he plans to spend a quiet night at home. Instead, Nikki calls and convinces him to come out to trivia—sharing that she’s put in notice at the job where they all work. It feels like a sign. Bear stops on the way to grab a gift, and ends up settling on a novelty item, a One-Wish Willow.

After a trivia session, the path to a grand gesture seems to open as Bear offers to drive Nikki home. But, in the end, he can’t quite get there, even when presented a golden invitation to share the truth. Alone, after failing to give her the gift, he decides to give it a try. He makes a wish that will change all their lives moving forward.

We’ve seen these kind of magical elements in horror before. We’ve also seen uncomfortable inter-personal drama in horror before. And yet, the way Barker puts it together does feel unique and uniquely uncomfortable at times. That’s a reason it was a hit on the festival circuit and has been a hit with early audiences.

I won’t deny that it’s a simple premise executed in a clever way. There are some deeply unsettling sequences and images that will haunt you. There are some wildly uncomfortable sequences, too, that will likely have you squirming in your seat. I know that was the case for me.

He gets some solid performances, too. I enjoyed Johnston in the lead role and the sense of dread and terror that increasingly plagues him throughout this dream turned nightmare. And Navarrette has some sequences, and some looks that are the most haunting thing I’ve seen since the viral marketing campaign for Smile.

If you’re a fan of horror or have been a big fan of Barker’s short films on YouTube, this will be a nice expansion. And yet, it didn’t totally resonate with me. It’s unsettling and uncomfortable, but it also feels a bit too long. It runs 108 minutes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would have worked better in a tight, 90-minute format.

I also struggled some with the characters and the world. We don’t get a lot of backstory fleshed out here, which leaves them somewhat thin. Even for Bear himself, aside from the loss of a pet and an obsession with Nikki, we know precious little about him and this friend group at the center of the story. That doesn’t always matter, and it likely won’t dissuade hard-core fans of the genre, but it kept me from latching on to the film in a deeper way.

Obsession is now playing nationwide.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.