Quick synopsis: Baron (nicknamed Bear, maybe so he gets an ego boost by seeing women online say they’ll choose him?) is deeply in love with his friend Nikki. He decides to win her over by improving himself, gaining confidence, and being a dateable candidate. Sorry, he does none of that, he makes a wish so that she’ll fall in love with him. It ends badly.

I’m a big fan of “be careful what you wish for” movies. Where someone gets what they want, but it’s twisted to be negative. But it’s one of those subgenres that fails more than it succeeds. Okay, maybe “fail” is the wrong word, but they’re very rarely what I want them to be. A lot of them (thinking mainly of Fantasy Island at the moment, but there are others) have the same issue: the negative consequence is too stupid. If the consequence is so unrealistic and stupid, then it doesn’t work as a warning. If someone says, “I wish I won the lottery”, and that wish comes true but leads to betrayal and paranoia, that makes sense. If it leads to them going on holiday, antagonising the locals, and it leads to a world war, that makes slightly less sense, but if it’s well written, sure, why not? But if it turns out that the characters’ dead relatives all come back to life to claim the money, then it turns into a zombie movie? That’s f*cking stupid.

That’s my main problem with Obsession (by Calvin Klein). There’s an interesting story to tell about how someone being creepily into you can cause problems: how it costs you your independence and sense of self-worth, how they control your life, making you lose your friends because they’re jealous, make you lose your job so you’re dependent on them, etc. All in all, there’s a very realistic way to tell this story. Obsession does not do that. The obsession doesn’t feel real or sensical. There’s no “be careful what you wish for” because the end result doesn’t feel like a natural progression of the want and desire.

That being said, Inde Navarrette plays her part perfectly. She goes from sweet and innocent to psychopathic weirdo with just a change of posture. Michael Johnston didn’t quite work for me. He reminded me of Matthew Baynton, but not as accomplished. He’s fine with some of it, but when he has to show terror or any ounce of vulnerability, you’re very much reminded that he is an actor playing a character, rather than an actual person.

There’s no doubt that Curry Baker is one hell of a director. The fact that he pulled this movie off on such a small budget is something to be commended. If Blumhouse want to make a Conjuring spin-off that’s actually worth watching, then Baker would be a great choice to direct. He crafts scares without ever being cliche or cheap. There are a few jump scares, but they’re well-crafted. Think “end of Carrie” rather than “random video a friend shows you to see your reaction”. Actually, screw a Conjuring spin-off, I think Baker could pull off a Carrie remake.

I’d want someone else doing the script, though. Really, that’s the part of Obsession I didn’t like. There are no characters to root for. The main character is an incel douchbag who feels entitled to affection and sex. His friend is a slight douche. We don’t really see enough of Nikki to get a gauge on her actual character, but there are hints that she’s kind of a bitch. Obsession ever needed to make Baron seem sympathetic and then gradually descend into darkness, or do it from Nikki’s point of view and make Baron an out-and-out villain so the movie becomes about her being aware of what’s happening but unable to stop it (kind of like Get Out).

Their friend Ian is involved in one of the dumbest scenes of 2026. Baron takes another One Wish Willow to Ian and tries to get him to wish that Nikki is no longer obsessed. Instead, Ian wishes for a billion dollars, which starts raining from the ceiling (it’s at this point I realise the director severely underestimated how big a billion is). Baron is frustrated that his one chance at happiness is over, so he runs back home. So, Ian is aware that the wishes come true, and he’s aware that Nikki is now borderline sociopathic (whether he believes what Baron said or not, he’s seen enough evidence that should make him careful). The only other person on the planet who knows about Ian’s new wealth is Baron. So why would Ian then go to Baron’s house to celebrate? The two are no longer particularly close, and it’s shown at the party scene that he has other friends. So I’m really struggling to think of a reason the character would do that, outside of “the film needs Nikki to kill him”. That scene also makes it seem like Baron and Nikki are the main characters of the universe. Ian only dies because of those two. The wishes are supposed to backfire, but really his only backfired because of the main characters. Would it not have made more sense for him to actually be crushed to death by the falling cash? It would tie into the “be careful what you wish for” concept, would make his death mean something, would mean that Baron is left completely alone, and it would be kind of comedic in an Osgood Perkins way.

So in summary, a very well-made horror movie. It’s not my type of movie, but it was damn close.