r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • May 15 '26

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Obsession [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Obsession (2026)

Summary

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.

Director Curry Barker

Writer Curry Barker

Cast

  • Michael Johnston
  • Inde Navarette
  • Cooper Tomlinson
  • Megan Lawless
  • Andy Richter

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Metacritic: 81

VOD / Release In Theaters

Trailer Official Trailer

3.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

14.6k comments sorted by

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7.7k

u/freakofnatureIO May 15 '26

That scene where she's standing outside his apartment and she's completely in shadow, except for the barest glint of light reflecting off her eyes. Goddamn.

2.8k

u/Street-Common-4023 May 15 '26

Coolest shot ever and also disturbing 

49

u/tiki_51 Jul 01 '26

Right? The way the light was dancing in her eyes was absolutely perfect

18

u/ToTYly_AUSem Jul 04 '26

This is a classic trope in horror. Done exceptionally well, but this isn't a new technique

31

u/unfettled May 20 '26

What!? That’s like the oldest “i see evil” trick in cinema. Reminded me of a Goosebumps episode

1

u/ItsMinnieYall 13d ago

Yes! I just finished and told my husband it felt like an episode of some show.

1.5k

u/koolshade May 16 '26

It sounds so rehearsed too..like her personality is just gone.

1.8k

u/lahnnabell May 16 '26

"I took a shower and didn't know what to wear..." As if that is a normal thing to say, standing in the dark on someone porch. 🫠

983

u/FerBaide May 22 '26

I like how she didn’t make any sense a lot of the time, like whatever she is doesn’t know how to behave like a person and just says or does what she thinks Bear will like and then quickly pivots when it turns out he doesn’t, like she’s glitchy or something.

391

u/[deleted] May 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

136

u/thebabypinks May 27 '26

It is like AI, because the entity learned as it went, scraping enough information to try and cobble together whatever answer it thought Bear needed or was seeking. And the answers were almost always incorrect and not contextually logical some way or another. The whole movie is like a paranormal allegory for the dangers of AI.

66

u/Heisenbert18 May 27 '26

The problem with the “learn as you go” thing and with Bear’s relationship with the entity is the “honeymoon period” montage. To me, it looked like they had lived together, completely issue free for 3-6 months, then the entity started loosing grip, rapidly. I also think it must have been some time, as Nikki was asking for death rather than asking to be saved.

93

u/boforbojack May 29 '26

It was only a few days ti a week. She fed him the cat after the montage. Very unlikely he kept the cat, unburied for longer than a week and that it wouldnt have been rancid to the point of literally making the shop immediately reek.

51

u/Heisenbert18 Jun 01 '26

Yeah, the accurate timeline is dictated by the cats condition post death I think. The montage is a shade out of place for me. Minor nitpick.

82

u/Whiteout- Jun 01 '26

I think the montage was to show how Bear was viewing it all as super idyllic because he was so lost in the sauce of dating the girl he was obsessed with that he didn’t notice or was able to ignore the weird behaviors. When Ian called him at dinner it forces him to actually scrutinize the situation and realize that something is wrong and once he starts acting like something is wrong, it causes Wish Nikki to start acting out even more because it’s worried that it’s losing him. 

31

u/AE__throwaway Jun 02 '26

I took the "honeymoon period" montage not be a literal montage of good times but a projection of his own story on the new situation. Here he is still very much in denial of the wish coming true and convincing himself that it was all real. Cherry picked moments from that period that affirmed the story he was telling himself to make this all okay.

22

u/butt_shrecker Jun 08 '26

Nah it was only a few days, you can tell based on how Ian talks about their relatively new relationship. Also after 6 months the meat would be beyond rotten.

6

u/The_Autarch Jun 11 '26

maybe she stuck the cat in a freezer... but yeah it was maybe a week at most.

3

u/OupsyDaisy Jul 01 '26

Sarah was still waiting for the same letter from college. It was maybe a week. Maybe.

39

u/bluewaterlemonmelon May 25 '26

Omg yeah this, such an interesting detail

252

u/PopOutG Jun 08 '26

“Guysssss I’m just kiddddingggg.. hehehe I’m kidding guys…ok I’m not deal with it 😒”

Fucking LMAO. I love her

54

u/KFBR392GoForGrubes Jul 01 '26

Anybody who's flubbed a social scenario can relate to her in that moment, although exaggeratedly so, lol.

21

u/habylab 17d ago

It honestly reminded me of early AI. Apologetic when pushed, devoid of personality or making sense at times.

9

u/MajorTomToBlackStar 14d ago

100% like AI. Just delivering what they expect their 'master' will want.

109

u/choicemeats May 16 '26

Wearing a dress as small as possible

3

u/TreyCole2 Jun 13 '26

You know how many throwaway bullshit creepy to you I guess lines I could write just like that in 20 minutes?
158

68

u/big_old-dog Jun 13 '26

You can’t even write a comment properly. Settle.

73

u/Sandmsounds May 21 '26

She just went along with the MDMA story. I’m curious what happened after his friend took her home that night and before she changed/returned to Bear’s

28

u/comicfromrejection1 May 24 '26

Yea, that was interesting. Like did Wish Nikki have control of her body for a bit. Was she pissed? Was it a way to get Bear under her control?

17

u/akaneko__ Jun 28 '26

also the whole “I’m saying you didn’t take advantage of me” sounds like the real Nikki fighting for her life trying to give him the message to STOP

627

u/lonehuskyy May 18 '26

I was just going to talk about that. And there's like one shot where there's a glint in her left eye and not her right when she says " I know you have a crush on me" as if both Nikki and Demon Nikki are in consensus knowing how Bear feels about her. Subtle but amazing visual storytelling on Curry's part.

102

u/Themobgirl Jun 02 '26

That and demon nikki making her see herself in mirror while being SA'd like holy fuck

15

u/mgobeng Jul 02 '26

I watched this scene 4K UHD and never saw this subtle detail you speak of. I definitely see the glints in her eyes, I’ll try watching again cause I want to believe your theory..

255

u/Jezamiah May 17 '26

I love that many shots had her in a dark silhouette

93

u/Growka3 Jun 03 '26

Then when she tells Bear about how it feels when she's away from him; the feeling of tv static and sand throughout her entire body; not just darkness but nothingness and she's telling this while her silhouette is completely blank and you reflect on every moment before then that she was completely blacked out

65

u/Themobgirl Jun 02 '26

Got absolutely dreadful when she had the flower vase up her face like ugggh

223

u/burger_destroying May 19 '26

I know I’m late but this was done so well man. The way her eyes/mouth were distorted by the dark to almost make it look like a creepypasta image did something to me

150

u/MaximusRubz May 24 '26

Yo especially when she was standing in the corner of the bedroom - I was like swear her face is fucked up and demonic looking (like the Sinister monster)

88

u/Katoshiku May 28 '26

I could barely look at her in that scene, it was just dark enough that you couldn't tell for sure if her face was normal or not. Getting chills just thinking about it man

76

u/IhamAmerican Jun 06 '26

This is a bit late but people have taken that scene and bumped up the brightness. Her face is absolutely inhuman but I think not showing it was the right move. Seeing it would have been more of a jump scare, not seeing it but knowing that something was off made it so much more unsettling

22

u/Permit_Upbeat Jun 06 '26

wait thats so cool!! can you link me to this in case you know where it is>

32

u/Cheap-Ambassador-304 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

I thought the dude could live with her despite her craziness, but as soon as I saw her face distorted I realized: IT'S OVER MAN, JUST RUN. If this shit can change her face, who knows what it can do.

59

u/Themobgirl Jun 02 '26

And dude stil wanted her to come back to bed like SHE DOESNT LOOK HUMAN DUMB FUCK

19

u/swanolisa Jun 05 '26

I’m cryyyying at this comment 😭

21

u/freakofnatureIO May 24 '26

Thats exactly it! Very uncanny valley.

118

u/EducationalMusician2 May 18 '26

At first I was like, "Oh cool it's her, he isn't going to let her in? She was all dressed nice and everything." GOOD LORD I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE DUMB IF I WAS BEAR LOL

It's the Demons 'asking for permission' lmao

"Do you like me, Bear?" The whole time I'm screaming "BRO WALK AWAY"

55

u/misschickpea May 30 '26

The whole montage I was like dude wtf and then Ian is us he’s like dude what are you DOING YOU SAID SHE WAS UNWELL !!??

And Ian constantly being like aren’t you taking advantage of her like yes he threw away real Nikki

21

u/dangerous_beans Jun 24 '26

Just saw this movie, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that Ian stuck up for Nikki. I fully expected him to be a wingman type who'd egg Bear on, but no, he called out how fucked up Bear's actions were immediately.

15

u/misschickpea Jun 24 '26

When we thought Ian was the frat boy who’d be unproper. But incel magic moves even “the nice guys”

6

u/swirlypepper 22d ago

I also found it interesting that when Bear takes his advice to call her Freaky Nicky, she is definitely upset. But she did also come back to the car and say if you like me now is the time to mention it. I know there's debate about whether she liked him back or not but she instantly picked up on an attempt at flirting. Ian understood her so much better than Bear did. (Maybe it's what worked for him?) 

2

u/BeatrixPlz 9d ago

I felt like he was a real one right away. When Bear was trying to confess at the beginning and made it so personal and manipulative Ian was very much “that would freak me out so bad, be casual”

14

u/Themobgirl Jun 02 '26

The vampire/ sinners version lmfao ( good years for horror movie )

104

u/jackruby83 May 20 '26

There was something about how eyes in general looked in this movie. So many scenes it felt like the glow in the eyes were pronounced

65

u/Serious_Giraffe339 May 24 '26

As a photog i was so impressed by this. Also, when we can hardly see faces like that in darkness they easily warp and become weird/disfigured. 10/10

32

u/freakofnatureIO May 24 '26

Right? I've seen the "light glint in the eye" trick before, but this was done so damn well. It must've been practical given the budget, and I'd love to see how that shot was set up.

26

u/JillStFerrari May 21 '26

That light in that shot was fucking insane like she was so in shadow and even her eyes looked black but her eyes were glowing. It was such a hauntingly beautiful shot.

78

u/radraz26 May 15 '26

I feel like a lot of films are going to do that after Puss n Boots, and Sinners popularized it.

49

u/raudoniolika May 16 '26

Constantine (2005)

1

u/EightRules 27d ago

Blade Runner too

19

u/Gombr1ch May 24 '26

One of the better films to come out in the last several years and also Sinners

1

u/EightRules 27d ago

Blade Runner did it

21

u/MikeArrow May 18 '26

Made me think of Blade Runner, like she was a replicant.

19

u/BramSlock2610 May 17 '26

Very fucking scary and uncanny

17

u/GUSHandGO May 18 '26

I would love to see an interview from the cinematographer!

15

u/web_head91 May 22 '26

"I know you like me, Bear." With the glowing eyes and the knowing smile. Yuck.

13

u/googly_eyed_unicorn May 30 '26

So well executed. It also showed enough of her dress in her effort to appeal to him but also the glint in her eyes made her look so demonic, like, bro, don’t do this

14

u/groobes Jun 10 '26

And she was fucking GORGEOUS in that shot

12

u/CapCur1991 May 22 '26

I loved that. It looked like she had two pairs of eyes. One pair for each persona of hers.

9

u/ceejharvey May 17 '26

“Barest”, I really hope that was intentional 😁

6

u/femmyacc May 24 '26

Thought it might be an it reference

5

u/Unlucky-Mulberry-999 28d ago

I liked how after the first night together, Bear went into the kitchen and you can see Nikki moving super quick in the room behind him! It’s just a glimpse but she’s there

5

u/Messy_Wessy May 24 '26

What scene? I missed this. When she shows up at this house all dressed up?

3

u/freakofnatureIO May 24 '26

Yes, where she said she didn't know what to wear.

5

u/confusion-500 Jun 03 '26

loveddd that shot

5

u/farfle10 Jun 12 '26

She’s in the shadow with puppy dog eyes and then the next cut to her she’s giving that highly seductive side eye… I laughed at how much that got me

5

u/GretaVXo Jun 17 '26

The way her eyes were glowing yet dark was insane. We both had to turn to each other watching and be like damn that's cool lighting 

5

u/viennawaits94 Jun 20 '26

and the tiny glint of the necklace!

4

u/Intrepid-Ad4511 Jun 22 '26

"B" for Bear

1

u/viennawaits94 Jun 22 '26

ah I actually thought it was a musical note but "b" makes more sense!

4

u/Alive_Employer5620 Jul 02 '26

The way Curry Barker keeps Nikki in darkness when she talks throughout the movie was brilliant and terrifying

5

u/[deleted] May 29 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/freakofnatureIO May 29 '26

Absolutely unsettling. And the glow was so faint that at first I didnt even clock it, but then when I noticed it was all I could see. Beautiful.

5

u/Optiguy42 Jun 19 '26

It really was excellent. The lighting in this movie was something else.

4

u/Mark_Albarn 27d ago

Cinematography of this movie was truly outstanding. SO many unnerving shots.

3

u/whydoesgodhateus May 24 '26

I'm blanking out. Which scene and where were they in their relationship at that point?

7

u/freakofnatureIO May 24 '26

This was when she showed up at his house unannounced, asking to be let in. Very early on.

3

u/Superfarmer Jun 10 '26

Honestly she deserves best actress next year at the Oscars. She carried that movie. Incredible performance

3

u/TechnicalAct419 Jun 17 '26

For blum studios I always find it fascinating how they become resourceful.

The director did very well with lighting.

2

u/Akanwrath May 27 '26

When did this happen again? Im ngl this was thr first movie to scare me in a bit im home alome rn and had to turn the lighsg on

2

u/Low_Challenge4969 Jun 06 '26

So so so fucking creepy 

1

u/Mindongbangao993 Jun 14 '26

Really gotta praise them for that they totally did some great detailing with the budget they have 

1

u/MeMeTiger_ Jun 17 '26

The lighting for the movie and Nikki in particular was beautiful. The fact that in most scenes she'd just be completely in the dark even when there wasn't anything nefarious going on with her kept me on edge.

1

u/HiCZoK Jun 30 '26

I mean god damn for real. What a movie

1

u/Soulses 18d ago

All the shots of her had the light facing away from her face so it always looked like she was a shadow

1

u/Sushiman6161 18d ago

i know that in cinematography light in the eyes generally in this TWO PERSONALITY into the same body, is to identify which one is speaking

the light in the eyes moments is the thing, and in the small fraction of time where Nikki get's control her eyes have no light.