Obsession (2025) Review: A Shocking Psychological Thriller

Bear (Michael Johnston) is a hopeless romantic with a problem: he’s head-over-heels for Nikki (Inde Navarrette), a woman who barely registers his existence. Desperate and misguided, Bear stumbles upon a local legend - the “One Wish Willow,” a cursed tree that supposedly grants a single desire at a steep price. Figuring he has nothing to lose, he breaks off a branch, makes his wish, and watchfully waits.

What follows is a slow, insidious unraveling. Nikki begins to notice him - intensely, almost unnaturally - but the relationship that blossoms is less a romance and more a horror show of possessive behavior, inexplicable events, and a mounting body count. Bear soon realizes that the willow didn’t just give him what he asked for; it gave him a version of Nikki that’s wired wrong, a love so consuming it becomes destructive. With his friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless) growing suspicious, and a sinister figure named Harry (Darin Toonder) lurking with cryptic warnings, Bear must decide how far he’s willing to go to undo a mistake that keeps feeding on itself. The ending doesn’t offer catharsis - it offers a shiver.

Curry Barker, best known for his twist-heavy short films, brings a lean, aching control to Obsession. The first act is a masterclass in uncomfortable dread: every moment of Bear’s wish fulfillment feels wrong, like a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes. Michael Johnston’s Bear is perfectly calibrated as a decent guy making terrible choices, his face a mask of guilty exhilaration as his fantasy curdles. Inde Navarrette’s Nikki, meanwhile, shifts from warm to hollow with unnerving precision - her performance is the film’s secret weapon, selling the idea that love can feel like a locked room.

The script, also by Barker, avoids the trap of over-explaining the willow’s rules. We never get a boring monologue about ancient curses or woodland spirits. Instead, the horror emerges from behavior: Bear’s obsession mirrors the tree’s corruption, turning him into a passive passenger in his own life. Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless ground the film as the worried friends, and Andy Richter - yes, that Andy Richter - delivers a brief, disquieting turn as Carter, a local who knows more than he lets on. Haley Fitzgerald’s Viola and Anthony Pavone’s Reggie fill out the margins with believable unease.

The cinematography is moody without being grimdark; Barker and his DP favor wide, creeping shots that make suburban streets feel like a trap. The sound design deserves special mention - a low hum that builds in scenes of domestic tension, mimicking the willow’s unseen influence. The horror here is psychological, not visceral, though a couple of practical-effect gore moments land with a wet thud.

Where Obsession stumbles is in its final stretch. The third act introduces narrative redundancies - characters making the same “I have to fix this” decisions so often that the tension briefly flatlines. Also, the willow’s logic becomes a bit slippery; we’re never entirely sure why it behaves differently with Bear than with its previous victims, which undercuts some of the tragic inevitability the script is aiming for. At 109 minutes, a few scenes could have been trimmed to tighten the spiral.

Still, these are minor quibbles against a film that earns its creepiness through character, not convenience. Barker trusts the audience to sit in the discomfort without constant payoff, and that restraint pays off in a climax that feels earned, if not entirely neat.

Pros

• Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette give layered, unnerving performances that anchor the emotional horror
• The premise avoids over-explanation; the mystery of the willow stays mysterious
• Smart pacing that lets dread build without cheap jump scares
• Strong supporting cast, especially Cooper Tomlinson and Darin Toonder
• A deeply uncomfortable, morally ambiguous ending that sticks with you

Cons

• The third act repeats a few beats, losing momentum
• Some lore inconsistencies about the willow’s rules and behavior
• Occasional dialogue that sounds too on-the-nose for characters in denial
• A couple of side characters (Viola, Reggie) feel underused

Obsession isn’t just a horror movie about a cursed tree - it’s a cautionary tale about the violence we do to ourselves in the name of love. Barker has crafted a film that understands that the scariest wishes aren’t the ones that go wrong, but the ones that go right in all the worst ways. It’s not perfect, but it’s memorable, uncomfortable, and remarkably sincere for a genre entry. Stream it with the lights on - and maybe don’t touch any unassuming twigs you find in the woods.