Obsession Movie Review

“Obsession” is a movie that at first seems like a mild-mannered version of “The Twilight Zone”. It quickly goes in a very dark and disturbing manner into ‘The Diabolical Zone’. A silly novelty item is used to grant a wish, and the results start to invade the story like a deadly plague. Let the buyer beware!

Just a young man with a nebulous future, Bear (played by Michael Johnston) is adrift in his own life. He works a local music store with a few friends from school. His approach to life’s issues could be considered passive-aggressive. That is, if the ‘aggressive’ part had been surgically removed.

His good friend and co-worker is Ian (played by Cooper Tomlinson). Bear also has another friend who works with him there. It is a girl he has known from school, and he has had a crush on her forever. This is Nikki (played by Inde Navarrette). Bear would dream for Nikki to love him, more than anyone in the world.

Also working there is Sarah (played by Megan Lawless). These four all go out for trivia nights and like to hang out with each other. The music store owner, named Carter (played by Andy Richter) puts up with a lot of the antics from this group. Nikki is the one who is the best worker, he thinks.

His cat dies one day, because there were a bunch of very powerful sleeping pills that were carelessly dropped on the floor. Nikki begs Bear to go with them to the trivia night. She knows he is very sad, and this might cheer him up. Bear wants to buy something pretty for Nikki. He thinks maybe then she will like him a lot more.

Bear finds a novelty item in a small shop, something called a ‘One Wish Willow’. The shop clerk tells Bear that most people buy these as collector’s items. But she has heard that sometime people do try their luck and use the item. You are supposed to make one wish, and break the small willow twig that is inside the box.

Bear drives Nikki back home. He wants to tell her how much he wants her, but he cannot get up the nerve. As she walks away, Bear decides to use his ‘One Wish Willow’. His one wish is that Nikki, his own obsession, to love him — more than anyone in the world.

But it seems to work, this special wish. Maybe in ways that Bear did not foresee, Nikki becomes a different person. She turns into a totally devoted, never-wants-to-be-separated, insanely desirous person. And now, Bear is her only ‘obsession’. It was a completely self-centered move by Bear. But now he thinks he is happy.

Nikki is now a different person. She wants nothing more than to please and be with Bear. She is moved into Bear’s apartment, and his bed. But Nikki has very rare moments where she — well, she looks around in disbelief. And then she screams, or is in shock, or is ready swing a fist at Bear. But, in a heartbeat, she is back to her happy/smiley Bear-obsessed self.

At work, Ian and Sarah see the massive change in Nikki. They become worried that she might be having a mental breakdown. But Nikki is assured that life is perfectly fine — as long as she can be with her precious Bear. Of course, Bear has not told anyone about his little assistant, the ‘One Wish Willow’.

Bear wakes up to go to work, and he see that Nikki does not want him to leave. Physically, at all — he cannot leave the apartment. The door has been sealed with duct tape. Nikki really doesn’t want Bear to leave. But he does. There are more incidents, like his dead cat showing up once again. No explanation…

There is a party that Ian is hosting. But he invites Bear, and does not invite Nikki. Well, that will not work out, will it. Nikki has one of her (more numerous) moments where she realizes where she is and what is going on. It’s time to scream and yell for a few seconds. But next second she is back to her happy/smiley Bear-obsessed self.

Nikki feels that her friend Sarah might have some desires for Bear. Sarah might need a little talking to. Well, as long as there is a brick that comes along to do the talking. Bear has not told anyone about the ‘One Wish Willow’. But when he calls the phone number on the box, there is a bored customer assistance guy.

Bear is not happy when he hears there is no way to change or to alter the ‘wish’. By the way, why would you want to change anything? You now have Nikki to love you, more than anyone in the world. Wait — how would this guy know her name, and how would he know his wish? What is going on here?

The guy on the phone tells Bear “You can only make the wish go way in one way. Once you die, the ‘wish’ is ended. But, you can talk to the ‘real’ Nikki now, if you want.” Bear hears some blood-curdling scream from the other end of phone. What have I gotten into here — he thinks. What did I get Nikki into?

Bear should have thought about the advice from Genie, in Aladdin — “Uh, rule #2: I can’t make anybody fall in love with anybody else.” Maybe that would have prevented all the chaos and spooky horror that comes after the one wish. With his own self-centered wish, Bear has brought diabolical destruction, and even death.

It was all because he bought the weird novelty item ‘One Wish Willow’. But instead of putting it into a collection of odd little things, Bear decided to use the one wish inside the package.  Let the buyer beware!

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“Obsession” is a movie that brings the audience to a very dark place. The mood and atmosphere sinks lower and lower as the sad little story moves along. Curry Barker has created a disgustingly fascinating story of what might happen if you totally disregard other people’s emotions and agency.

It is hard to tell if Barker meant this movie to be more sick than twisted. Or maybe this is meant to be more twisted than sick. Either way, the original seed of the premise opens up into a grotesque flower of agony and pain. The lengths to which Nikki goes to display her ‘obsession’ are nerve-wracking.

Inde Navarrette, playing Nikki, commits fully to the mayhem. She makes the poor, possessed Nikki into an object that Bear cannot control.  Michael Johnston, playing Bear, is also really good in this movie. He plays the poor, repressed Bear into someone you want to root for. That is, until he turns Nikki into an unwilling subject of some mysterious mind control.

This movie is not for faint-of-heart or squeamish people out there. There are a few scenes that are going to be difficult to watch. The soundtrack swells up to an uproar, and suddenly — usually something bad happens. But not always, and in that way Curry Barker plays mind games with the audience.

“Obsession” is a story about a self-centered magical mystery wish that goes terribly wrong. A young man finds out that a ‘One Wish Willow’ is not kind and caring, like the Make-A-Wish group…