Obsession Review: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
Obsession is a smart, scary, and very uncomfortable horror film about love, control, and male entitlement. Inde Navarrette gives a performance people will talk about for years.
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
Genre: Psychological Horror
Language: English (Hindi dub available)
Director: Curry Barker
Cast: Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Runtime: 109 minutes
Be careful what you wish for. That is the simple idea behind Obsession, and the film turns it into one of the scariest watches of the year. It is now heading to JioHotstar, where the Hindi version arrives on 30 October at 7 pm.
Bear, played by Michael Johnston, works at a music store with his childhood friend Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. He is shy and awkward, and he is completely in love with her. Nikki is relaxed, funny and warm, and she treats him like a trusted friend.
Bear takes every small smile as a sign of something more, but he cannot find the courage to say how he feels. Then he buys a strange toy called the One Wish Willow from a crystal shop. The cashier warns him that people have come back unhappy, and he ignores it. In a moment of frustration, he snaps the stick and wishes for Nikki to love him more than anything in the world.
That is when the real horror starts. Nikki turns up with glazed eyes and an overwhelming, almost manic affection. At first it feels like a dream to a lonely man.
Soon it becomes clear that something inside her is gone. Her love turns into clinginess, then into control. She even seals the apartment doors with tape so Bear cannot leave for work.
Navarrette is the heart of this film. She slips between sweet devotion and wild panic so quickly that she moves almost like a puppet being adjusted between frames. It is hard to watch, and you cannot stop watching. Critics have already compared her work to Toni Collette in Hereditary.
One scene in particular, where Nikki stands still in the dark with her face lit just enough to look wrong, is guaranteed to stay in your head. Michael Johnston is just as good in a quieter way. He plays Bear as a weak, scared man who keeps trying to convince himself he still deserves sympathy.
Curry Barker, who also wrote the film, handles the fear with real skill. He does not depend on cheap sound tricks or sudden jump scares. He uses dark rooms, space, and slow editing to make ordinary places feel unsafe.
Your eyes keep searching the shadows for Nikki, and that waiting is scarier than any scream. It is amazing to think this director is only 26 and began his career with YouTube prank videos.
The film also says something real. Bear is not a cartoon villain. He is a “nice guy” who believes he is a good person while he takes away another person’s choice. Because the story is rooted in insecurity and loneliness, his actions feel uncomfortably close to real life.
The film asks who the true victim is, and it never lets the answer stay simple. Nikki’s change is not caused by a demon or a ghost. It comes from one selfish wish, and that is what makes it so hard to sit with.
There are a few things to know before you press play. The film is intense and tiring by the end, and it will not suit anyone who wants light fun. Some may also find the early build slow, though the payoff is worth it. The Hindi dub adds a fresh touch, with Varun Dhawan voicing Bear and Kriti Sanon voicing Nikki.
The numbers are wild too. The film was reportedly made for about $750,000 and has earned around $522 million worldwide. If that story interests you, read our piece on the Obsession movie budget and cast salary, and check our Obsession OTT release date article for streaming details.
If this leaves you wanting more dark stories, try our Obsess review for a very different thriller about a road rage fight, or our Immortal review for a Tamil vampire tale.
Obsession is frightening, smart, and hard to forget. Watch it with the lights on.
Obsession premieres on JioHotstar on 30 October 2026.