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.

‘Obsession’ is a supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Curry Barker, about a shy young man who uses a novelty toy called a ‘One Wish Willow’ to make his crush fall in love with him, only to unleash horrifying consequences as a result. He is Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston), a timid guy in his early 20s who works at a local record store alongside his best friend Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), and two female friends, Nikki (Inde Navarrette) and Sarah (Megan Lawless). Bear has spent years with a secret crush on Nikki, but repeatedly loses his nerve whenever he tries to tell her how he feels. After building himself up to finally asking her out with some support from his friend Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), and failing again, he uses the toy to wish for Nikki to fall in love with him and it works almost immediately.

The most impressive thing about ‘Obsession’ is how effectively the film develops its initial premise into a genuinely compelling story that explores interesting themes. Although the film has horror stylings and delivers a few effective jump scares, I saw it as more of a psychological thriller than a straight horror film. The tension comes less from the supernatural elements and more from the increasingly unhealthy relationship dynamic at its centre, as Bear tries to reckon with the situation he has created, and in many respects, wants to maintain. The film acts as a commentary on modern relationships built around dependency, insecurity and emotional control, and there’s an acerbic streak running through it too, particularly in how it depicts how obsession can be mistaken for intimacy.

A film such as this could easily fall apart once it starts explaining things, but ‘Obsession’ is directed with enough confidence and control to keep things engaging throughout. The performances help a great deal too, particularly from Inde Navarrette, who has the difficult task of essentially playing two versions of the same character, and handles the shift extremely well as Nikki changes from an ordinary young woman into something far more unnerving. We’re sitting here in May, but off the back of Amy Madigan’s Oscar win for ‘Weapons’, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if attention returns to this performance come the start of next year.

For such a young director, Curry Barker’s execution of the material is impressive, especially given how difficult films like this can be to land once the twists and reveals begin piling up. He maintains the right tone and atmosphere throughout and I felt unlike a lot of horror movies, it builds to a broadly satisfying conclusion rather than collapsing under the weight of its own ideas. ‘Obsession’ doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it is a smart, modern horror that uses the stylings of the genre to explore some interesting themes and I thought it was very good.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Curry Barker

Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter, Haley Fitzgerald, Darin Toonder and Curry Barker

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt37287335/