Bear is a hopelessly romantic music store employee who can’t find the courage to tell his childhood friend Nikki how he really feels. Rather than be honest with her, he wanders into a New Age shop and snaps a kitschy novelty toy called the One Wish Willow – which, for $6.99, promises to grant its owner one wish. His desire: for Nikki to love him more than anything in the world. And just like that, she does. Nothing could go wrong. Right?
What follows is a shocking and unsettling descent into abject horror – getting darker, creepier, and bloodier with each passing scene. Wickedly funny, genuinely terrifying, and impossible to shake, Obsession is a fresh and ferocious spin on the age-old “be careful what you wish for” tale, made for an audience that thought they’d seen it all.
Michael Johnston (Teen Wolf) stars as Bear, opposite Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois) in a performance that critics have already earmarked as one of the year’s very best in the genre. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter round out the supporting cast. Obsession marks the feature debut of Curry Barker, a filmmaker whose path to the big screen is unlike almost any other. One half of the viral YouTube sketch comedy duo “That’s a Bad Idea”, Barker built a devoted online following through short comedy and horror films. His $800-budgeted found footage debut Milk & Serial was released directly to YouTube, where it amassed over two million views and landed him meetings with practically every major horror producer in town. Obsession premiered in the Midnight Madness block at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, before going on to sold-out screenings at Fantastic Fest and winning Sitges’ People’s Choice Award. Jason Blum of Blumhouse boards as executive producer – the genre’s most powerful stamp of approval for a filmmaker on the rise. Blumhouse will also produce Barker’s next project, Anything But Ghosts, which he will direct and star in alongside creative partner Cooper Tomlinson – confirmation that one of horror’s most exciting new voices has well and truly arrived.
