The all consuming feeling of a crush is taken to the absolute extreme in Obsession, the wild debut from writer/director Curry Barker, who merges romantic objectification, the subsequent toxicity of that, and the supernatural notion around a monkey's paw together in a vat of dark humour and shocking gore, announcing himself as an exciting genre filmmaker to keep an eye out for.

 

Forever pining for his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette), Bear (Michael Johnston) can't seem to get out the words to say to her how he feels. He can discuss with everyone else - heck, even strangers are aware of how he feels - but he's a "right time, right place" kinda guy, and it seems there's never an opportune time to tell her the truth. As frustrating as he can be, there's an immediate likeability with Bear and a relatability to his plight, something that proves necessary when Barker's narrative shifts and Bear's actions become particularly questionable.

 

What those actions are surround his eventual telling of Nikki how he feels, but it's never quite as straightforward as it could - or should - be. After buying Nikki a novelty gift of a One Wish Willow, something that supposedly grants its owner a single wish, and fumbling his chance to tell her his truth once more, he snaps the toy in frustration. His accompanying wish? That Nikki will love him more than anyone else in the world. Words matter in the grand scheme of wishes, so the absolute nature of how specific Bear wants Nikki to love him means her obsession and devotion to him is beyond general humanity, and it's with such that Obsession, as a film, starts to embrace its more horrific inclinations, with Navarrette's full-bodied performance guiding the brutal unpredictability at every turn.

 

The idea behind someone obsessed with another and what that consuming feeling can do is terrifying in itself. But given that Nikki's actions are ultimately against her will makes Barker's story that much more unnerving. It could perhaps delve further into the psychology of Bear's internal dilemma, but Johnston proves the type of performer where so much of his distress and confusion is there to read on his face, so whatever the script doesn't say, his performance does. Together, Johnston and Navarrette absolutely dominate the film, and as wild as Obsession can get - some of the gory moments are truly unexpected and speak to Barker's evident affection for the practical effect - it's their unconventional love story that keeps us invested until the twisted, bitter end, which maybe just be one of the most devastating pieces of creation put to screen in a great while.