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Peer pressure will be my downfall. I caved yesterday and went to see Obsession because everyone was raving about it. In a nutshell, I get the hype.
Obsession is another ‘little indie movie’ that is doing well, simply because it is very well made.
The movie stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarette, Cooper Tomlison, Megan Lawless, Andy Ritcher, Haley Fitzgerald, Darin Toonder, and Anthony Pavone. Curry Barker is the writer and director.
The Story
I’m not going to ruin the plot, but I’m going to give you the basics:
After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
We meet Bear (Johnston), who’s practising telling a friend he likes her. He’s doing this with his best mate and another girl. The object of his affection, Nikki (Navarrette), just sees Bear as a friend. I think it’s called ‘the friendzone’.
Bear isn’t a stalker or a bad guy; he just likes Nikki, but too shy to do anything about it. We’ve all been there. If only I had the courage to tell Yoda how I really feel.
Where was I? Yes, so Bear tries to help out Nikki by buying her a new crystal. In the local hippy store, there’s a thing called a One Wish Willow. Bear buys it, thinking it’ll cheer Nikki up.
He ends up using it himself and says:
“I wish that Nikki loved me more than anyone else in the world!”
All of a sudden, Nikki starts acting a little weird, but things start to head in the right direction for Bear, and love conquers all. They live happily ever after and have babies, and get a mortgage, and boring 9-to-5 jobs. Nah, can you imagine?
The wish comes at a price, and things get out of hand. That’s all of the story I will spoil.
The Cast
The main focus of Obsession is Bear and Nikki. Both Johnston and Navarrette are new to me, but man, do they carry this movie well.
Bear is a ‘nice guy’, which is probably why he’s in the friend zone. I think most identify with him because, as I said, we’ve all been there. We’ve had a friend that we like, but if we say anything, it might ruin a perfectly good friendship.
The thing about the story is that, at first, we understand Bear, but later, we also don’t know if he’s the good guy or the bad guy.
Then we have Navarrette. Usually, in this kind of movie, it’s the female who’s the protagonist; the girl getting away from the stalker/killer/bad guy. Here, Nikki is the ‘bad guy’, but with a twist.
The way the story pans out, it lets us know that the wish is influencing Nikki, but against her will. She’s still in there, but the ‘love’ for Bear is taking over. There are some excellent scenes where Nikki changes personality mid-sentence. It’s scary.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Obsession isn’t a new story, just a new take on a story; wishes aren’t all they are cracked up to be. It’s been done, but Obsession has a new take on it.
The biggest problem Bear has is that he wishes Nikki loved him more than anyone else in the world. You have to get the wording right. He didn’t want her to just love him, but more than anyone else in the world.
At first, it’s all nice, and they are both happy, but she starts to become captivated by Bear, haunted by him, fully preoccupied with him. There must be a word for it, but I just can’t place it.
Obsession runs with this story, but keeps the characters grounded, while also blurring. Who is the ‘bad guy’ in the story? Nikki, because she’s so obsessed or Bear for making the wish? It’s handled very well.
Overall
I want to talk more about the story, but it will spoil things. Obsession is a very well-written story, as I said, it’s an old trope, but done very well. Again, not ruining anything, but the ending is very satisfying.
I read online that men love the movie, but women are not fans. I totally see why both parties love/hate it. Again, I can’t spoil it, but the ending is one that sits with you for a while.
This new slough of cheaply made horrors that are making more than Star Wars is a good thing. Obsession was made for $750,000, but you wouldn’t tell from looking at it. The production is excellent, the cast is superb, and the story is very well written.
In times when someone like Dwayne Johnson is getting paid $50 mill just to turn up on set, Obsession is a breath of fresh air. You don’t need to throw money at a movie to make it good; you just need to make it good.
I hate to do this, as it’s my 3rd 5 star movie in the past month, but honestly, Obsession deserves the praise it’s been getting. It’s well-made, edge-of-your-seat, darkly funny, and an interesting story.
It was supposed to be on streaming today, but honestly, check it out at the cinema. If you do wait till streaming, try to stay away from spoilers.
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