Obsession (2026) - Review (Spoiler Free)

Obsession exploded on to cinema screens and absolutely crushed it at the box office, and for good reason. Obsession is horrifying, intense and honestly a breath of fresh air. It is absolutely evident that this was a labour of love from the jump, presented in a 1.5:1 aspect ratio and stunning visuals throughout, Director Curry Barker and his team delivered a masterpiece.

Obsession follows Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarrette) along with their friendship group Sarah (Megan Lawless) and Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) as they do what friends do…hang out. It doesn't take long before we find out Bear has a thing for Nikki and trying to work up the courage to ask her on a date. Bear buys Nikki a gift in the form of a One Wish Willow novelty item, that totally doesn't work. Bear gives Nikki a ride home after they have a few drinks, Bear breaks the One Wish Wallow and wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world and the plot kicks off. And oh boy what a ride it is.

A brilliant detail is the ambiguity of feelings and the "are they into each other?" aspect, as Nikki seems to give subtle hints, she could be into Bear at the beginning which makes it that much more tragic for her. Nikki becomes possessed by an entity and victim of Bear's low self-esteem, which then poses a new question, who is more obsessed?

Inde Navarrette hits a home run of a performance and a terrifying one at that — seriously there's a few scenes in this, that put the fear of God in me. The feeling of dread that suffocates you while watching, not knowing what's coming next, constantly checking the background of shots for Nikki. Think Antony Starr's Homelander in The Boys, every scene he is or isn't in you can still feel the dread of what he might do. This coupled with the score and the breath taking cinematography ensures you feel this way throughout, never letting up on the gas.

All the performances are great to watch with Bear (Johnston) becoming a self-pitying creep who is self-aware enough to know that what he is doing is wrong but keeps denying it, leading to a truly brilliant final scene with Bear and Nikki (Naverrette) that is disturbing but slightly funny. Ian (Tomlinson) is naturally very likable making for a decent bit of rational throughout the film that keeps the audience grounded with Sarah (Lawless) serving as an anti-Nikki. Each character becomes more concerned for Nikki and more weary of Bear as the film progresses and we see the friendships start to break, leading to a huge crescendo of chaos that I'm sure will blind side even a seasoned horror fan.

Obsession shines as one of the year's best films, spawning theories and debate across the internet, viral clips and memes while still holding serious weight as a horror. An expertly crafted, haunting narrative made that much better by its brilliant score and near perfect cinematography even a week after seeing it, it's still lingering on my mind. Obsession joins the top tier entries of 2026 alongside The Bone Temple and Weapons, truly proving original horror is still thriving and going nowhere fast.

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Blake Reilly