Obsession - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Obsession



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:




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Movie
I’ve been hearing all year long about the low budget indie horror film that made over $430 million dollars worldwide, but was made on a measly $750,000 budget. And when I saw the Blu-ray show up on my doorstop this last week I was instantly eager to check it out. So upon unwrapping the disc and popping it in the player I sat back and was curious if the film lived up to the hype, or was simply internet sensationalism. But to my very pleasant surprise, Obsession turned out to be a blast of fresh air that has revitalized my faith in where the film community should BE heading in a world of blockbuster tentpoles that need a billion dollars to break even. It’s a simple story, with some quirks and budgetary issues, but also a truly creepy film that permeates you with this sickening atmosphere in a way that vaguely reminds me of It Follows.



Written, directed, and edited by 26 year old Curry Barker, Obsession is a disturbing look at the consequences of holding on to something against their will, a dark look at consent, and the dark side of getting what you wish for. Obsession is one of those films that starts out mild enough, but slowly begins to turn up the heat throughout the runtime, until much like a frog, the audience begins to realize they’re in a raging tempest of boiling terror and intrigue. The film starts out simply enough, with socially awkward Barry “Bear” (Michael Johnston) working up the courage to ask out his crush with the help of his friends Sarah (Megan Lawless) and Ian (Cooper Tomlinson). Finally getting the chance, Bear backs out on telling Nikki (Inde Navarrette) at the final moment, instead simply wishing on a “one wish willow” toy from the 80s (a fictional one that supposedly grants wishes) that Nikki would love him more than anything in the world. And strangely enough….Nikki does.

Despite some sharp changes in personality, Bear ignores any red flags and dives head first into a relationship with the girl. But things take a dark turn fairly quickly when Nikki’s “odd behavior” takes a turn for the terrifying. At first it’s just a white lie or two, but sooner or later he’s watching the girl obsess over him to the point of self harm to herself, and soon harm to others. Desperate to undue the wish he made, despite wanting desperately to keep Nikki to himself, Bear has to figure out a way unravel the mess he’s made. If he even can.

Obsession is not a perfect movie, but it IS a breathe of fresh air. There are budgetary concerns (such as the fake cat at the beginning), but those are mostly excusable due to the $750K budget. There’s a few plot holes here and there (not going to say much, but it feels at times like a Rom Com, where a modicum of communication before hand could have saved a ton of pain), but at the end of the day Obsession deserves every bit of the $430 million worldwide that it made. The ambiance and sense of very slowly building terror works its way into ever fiber of the movie (even if it makes the movie very uncomfortable at times) until the final 30 minutes make you realize just how insane things have gone. Simply put, it’s a slow motion rollercoaster that had me guessing most of the movie, with one major flaw sticking in the back of my mind. And that is the final solution. Sadly the final solution is telegraphed half way through the film, and it’s such an obvious telegraph that you know the film is going to end up there from the second its introduced, leaving the rest of the run time for the movie to just get us to that particular point. Strangely it doesn’t take that much away from the gravitas of the finale (holy cow, is Nikki going to be in therapy for the rest of her life), but it would have behooved Barker to withhold that bit of information till a bit later in the movie, or at least tried to ocreate a diversion so that we think it COULD end some other way. But hey, nothings perfect.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity.




Video:

Sadly I didn’t receive the 4K UHD to compare against, but Universal’s Blu-ray is no slouch. Derived from a 4.6K digital source and transferred to a 4K native master, the image is quite fetching. It features a rather laid back and muted color palette, with light sepia, some green overtones, and very light primary saturation points where the primary colors can really pop (Sarah’s lipstick, her black hair, a few shirts etc.). Fine details are excellent all around, with bits of blood and gore adding some chunky texture to the film, and even clothing details really standing out. There is a mild sense of softness and haziness in a few shots thanks to the chromatic look to the colors, especially in interior shots, but nothing that really detracts from the overall image clarity.







Audio:

Thankfully Universal is still one of the good guys, putting the Atmos track on BOTH the 4K UHD and the “lesser” Blu-ray release. Which means we get to enjoy the next gen audio without needing the 4K disc to do so like some studios force on us. That being said, the Atmos track is a really a stunner here. It’s not one of the most wildly active ones with discrete usage of the overheads, but rather adds subtle texture to the surrounds and overheads with some creaks, groans, and the intense score by Rock Burwell (and interestingly enough, this was Rock feature film debut as a feature film composer). That score is really the auditory feature here, as it is a work of nightmare fuel. I don’t think I’ve been this impressed with how much a score can manipulate the mood tonal direction of a film more than this one. It’s a powerhouse track, with a soft sense of nuance at the beginning, culminating in the same catostrophic sense of terror that the audience feels by the final moments of the film. Dialog is great as expected, and LFE is great. I will say that I was expecting a bit more bass for a horror film, but I like the more laid back approach the LFE took. Rather than being a slam scare movie with tons of bass drops, the low end is subtle until it needs to be, then cranks the intensity up to 11 for a few split seconds, then slides back to a more reasonable level again. All in all, this is a great sounding Atmos track.










Extras:

• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR/WRITER/EDITOR CURRY BARKER
• OBSESSION UNLEASHED – Take the obsession further by going behind the scenes with filmmaker Curry Barker and the cast, Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless, to see them create a wild horror story out of intense performances and shocking scares. Hear the cast reflect on their most memorable scenes, get a peek at Michael and Inde's chemistry test that sparked the film's emotional core, and see how their collaboration shaped the film's most unsettling moments.

Final Score: ​

Obsession is frankly just what the doctor ordered for a Hollywood that has been running on fumes ever since Covid (and to be fair, it really started back around 2009 when creativity felt like it was dying culturally in general). Obsession is a call to arms to bring back lower budgeted movies (maybe not $750,000 low) and put more effort into creative storytelling than over paid super stars and attempts at creating CGI fest films that need a gazillion dollars to break even. The movie had a moderately rought start (that first act is sort of head scratching and slow), but once you’re about half way through the film there’s this dawning realization that the temperature has been rising, with the audience unaware of it until the water is nearly boiling. And lets face it, while Michael Johnston and everyone around him did a great job, it’s Inde Navarrette as Nikki that steals the entire show. She does an absolutely unbelievable job at playing both Nikki and “fake” Nikki, with those little “switches” done flawlessly. Without her performance I don’t think the movie would have been as well received as it is. And Universal’s Blu-ray is quite fetching as well. The audio and video are fantastic, but sadly the extras are mid at best. But still, I had an absolute ball with this one, and hope that Barker can continue making films that impact this heavily.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless
Directed by: Curry Baker
Written by: Curry Baker
Aspect Ratio: 1.50:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: R
Runtime: 108 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 14th, 2026

Recommendation: Creepy Watch