On May 15th Obsession was released into theatres being advertised as a new psychological horror. Later that month on May 23rd, I went to the movies with five other friends to see this movie. We were horrified so badly, we left the theater, hopped over to the one next door and finished Michael (yes— I know this is bad theatre etiquette BUT you really don’t understand how bad the car scene is when you’re in the first row!)
Obviously, being the film buff I am, I still rated this on letterbox and there is nothing anyone could give it other than five out of five. Looking at it from a film stand point, Inde Navarrette is able to change and construct her face and emotions better than some well seasoned actors. Michael Johnston, while not new (especially to the other Teen Wolf fans out there) brings Bear to life in the most believably awful way— I forgot I actually love the actor so much. Curry Barker is such a large inspiration– being a 26 year old film director who started on YouTube. The entire movie is a testament to the actors, crew, and director who had a vision and completed it in such a beautiful way. I, an A Lister for AMC, broke my movie theatre etiquette because it’s so realistic. I did later go see it again and was able to stay through the whole thing I swear!
Obsession pinpoints such a specific type of dread with the horror it uses. While yes it has both psychological and body horror along with jump scares, it somehow brings out the fear that I think most humans but especially women have: to lose all control over your body.
This movie scared me in ways I didn’t know I could be scared because it hits the nerve that is currently wounded right now. The 2025 global rate for femicide (female homicide) currently stands at one woman being killed every 10 minutes. In the United States alone, we have had a triple homicide in Utah, where the lives of three women were lost. Gilgo Beach had a serial killer this year who murdered 8 women, and sadly many more cases just like these are happening every day.
This coincides with a rise in misogyny in male Gen Z’ers – with 1 in every 3 men subscribing to hyper-misogynistic agendas that are perpetrated to them through youtubers and podcasters like Andrew Tate and Clavicular.
While all this may seem to not be connected to the movie at hand, I think it’s important to understand the social climate that this media is released in. We are living in an era where being a woman is dangerous. Whether it is in the United States or Afghanistan, women are the target of many extremist policies.
Enter Obsession. Incel horror isn’t a new thing– movies like Don’t Worry Darling (2022), Fresh (2022), and Companion (2025) all look into the type of horror where a man removes control and autonomy from a woman to exert some kind of power or status over them. Obsession does this so well and is bringing more people to the important conversion at hand.
There are many parts of this movie that are genuinely horrific, however to me, the worst part isn’t Sarah’s death or the walking backwards, it’s the sexual scene, or more accurately the rape scene, where Nikki is crying. It’s a smash cut to this “intimate moment” and she is both expressionless and crying. It’s the most gut wrenching part. Tears roll down her face as ‘Wish Nikki’ is putting on a performance of enjoyment with exaggerated moans. Bear doesn’t look at her, he doesn’t care about her at this moment at all, he just cares that she is underneath him. And I think this calls to many women’s greatest fear, because no one should lose that sense of self where the real Nikki knows this is happening but due to Bear’s wish, she can’t stop it.
I think this movie is a one that most everyone should watch and while I feel like I am always saying ‘this movie is a movie everyone should watch’ I think it’s a testament to the rising stars in film making because every new film brings something to a global conversion we are having. Obsession brings the extreme horror of something very real, yes it’s a psychological body horror; but it’s also a story of a woman who loses control over herself and then later is the only one to deal with the consequences of what she couldn’t control. It’s a horror movie that mirrors the lives of thousands of women and it’s done in a way that does not degrade or condescend the true stories of this evil. It’s a five out of five movie and I fear I can never watch it again.
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I agree with your analysis that this movie was able to be made due to the current insurgence of incel and rape culture. However, I had the opposite takeaway. I only saw a preview of the movie, and from the first "innocent" scenes portrayed, before the official turn to the horror aspect in the preview, I got a sick feeling and knew immediately where the plot was headed. I don't want to nor need to watch anything like that--trauma or an interpretation of it isn't entertainment or edification for me, it's just trauma. For me, better to discuss and effect social change, as opposed to glorifying it on screen. I respect and agree with your take that as a woman, the loss of bodily autonomy is an ultimate horror, but for me, that makes this movie a zero out of five, and never-watch, instead of five out of five. Regardless, thank you for writing a powerful and provocative review! Please continue standing up and keeping the cultural conversation going!