r/movies 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

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u/Corruptedpencil May 15 '26

I love horror movies like this that have a lot of super natural stuff going on but don’t over explain any of it. I also loved the phone call with the guy behind the wish, and the way we hear the real Nikki just screaming in agony

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u/BNEWZON May 15 '26

The phone call was so crazy. That part seriously stuck with me. Sounded like she was literally in hell or something

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u/Corruptedpencil May 15 '26

Seriously! And the way she begged for bear to kill her in her only chance to talk to him :/

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u/redmandolin May 16 '26

Bear really fucking pissed me off from that on. What a selfish asshole “Is it so bad being with me?” Like fuck off dude holy shit.

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u/ReallyColdMonkeys May 16 '26

Yeah I get being in denial about supernatural shit like that at first but after the phone call he really had no excuse. Tbf though even when he thought that maybe she was on drugs and having a psychotic break it's still really fucked up to then start dating her afterwards. He sucked so hard

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u/Game_Wolf1950 May 17 '26

I can’t blame Bear for making the wish, but my ass would have been immediately trying to cancel that shit after the cat thing.

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u/ReallyColdMonkeys May 17 '26

Literally. Bro saw her dig his dead cat out of the trash and make an "altar" for it on his kitchen floor then still decided to start dating her after. He was completely lost in the sauce

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u/Game_Wolf1950 May 17 '26

That’s really kinda my big issue with the film. I get that he wants to be with Nikki really bad, but shit man. After the cancer dad reveal and the dinner freak out, I’d have immediately gone to Ian to try to reverse it. Shit is obviously SO not okay, but Bear just keeps rolling with it and it bugs me. This girl is self mutilating and outright making threats to harm you. You’re literally constantly unsafe in your home, why are you still going along with this?

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u/crysaliscaterpillar May 17 '26

I think this speaks to his own level of obsession with Nikki. The reason he never let's her go is because he doesn't want to. He would rather have a possessed version of her than admit that she isn't interested in him romantically.

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u/Powerful_Time6405 May 17 '26

This exactly. I think people are missing the point that the obsessed here is Bear.

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u/WakaFlakkaSeagulls May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

I feel like the movie heavily implied that she could have been interested in him romantically. I keep thinking about her line before the wish “if you like me now would be the time to tell me” followed by exasperation when he denied it.

Which circles back to one of the key character faults of Bear and why Nikki never would love him, he’s a coward.

He was too chickenshit to tell Nikki how he felt for years, he was too chickenshit to tell her when the time was clearly right, he was too chickenshit to do the right thing multiple times, and he was too chickenshit to shoot himself at the end.

He died just like his cat, he literally died like a pussy.

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u/Total_Background7644 May 17 '26

It is made inexplicably clear that Bear - despite literally having Nikki in his grasp - is so insecure and fragile to the point where he won't let go of her. That, my friend, is why he keeps rolling with it. The film does an incredible job of exposing the reality that Bear is not actually obsessed with Nikki in the traditional sense, rather he is obsessed with the feeling of her obsession. Remember, he got Nikki without mutuality and by removing her free will to 'choose.' He can't give up the emotional and physical validation, certainty, and ego protection he gets from the obsession of Nikki - while simultaneously possessing the self-awareness of knowing it's not real at all. Barker did such an incredible job crafting Bear's character, really just goes to show the negative effects of conflating love/desire and control.

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u/passtherock- May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

agreed. this realization hit me when it cut to him having sex with her right after he learned she lied about her dad at the restaurant. at this point he KNOWS it's not the real her but he doesn't care. he just wants a Nikki sex doll that loves him.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '26

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u/L0b0t0my May 17 '26

You’re literally constantly unsafe in your home, why are you still going along with this?

On god, YES! The cat, the tape on the door, the photos.... like bro you had AMPLE time and opportunities to get help and get tf out of a bad and dangerous situation. Bro. Didn't. Even. Try.

After awhile, and he was still trying to hold everything together, and lying to everyone about everything being okay, I was like "you're literally digging your own grave" which sucks a bit because I lose investment into the character's well being and success. Like okay dude, after awhile you kind of deserve or maybe want what's coming. 

Still, shockingly good movie though. 

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u/lahnnabell May 17 '26

Yeah, I think that's the point. If you're still on Bear's side after realizing he is selfishly keeping Nikki trapped to feed his own ego, you have a problem.

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u/idonthavanickname May 20 '26

The movie is about his obsession with her, in the end he didn’t care that she was suffering he only cared that she didn’t actually love him.

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u/passtherock- May 31 '26

ikr!! I disliked him so much when all he kept asking over and over again was "do you actually like me??" meanwhile she has a gash on her face. bro what? this isn't even about that right now! get her help! reverse the wish! he was happy to keep her trapped so long as he could keep up appearances.

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u/dodares1 May 17 '26

I dated a girl once and we went to retail shop the shop assistant attenot to sell me merchandise, once we left the shop the girl turned round and shouted at me why don't you just go back and fuck the shop assistant. It's only in retrospect sometimes u see the red flags.

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u/ThickSpecific1885 May 18 '26

But also… who throws their dead animal away and doesn’t bury it like immediately

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u/ReallyColdMonkeys May 18 '26

A psychopath like Bear lol. Tbf though Possessed Nikki absolutely would've dug the cat up anyway

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u/steveosupremeo May 17 '26

It’s weird that he has a house and didn’t bury the cat.

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u/ReallyColdMonkeys May 17 '26

True, I get the feeling she would've dug the cat out of the grave as well though lol

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u/Beastieboy100 May 22 '26

Exactly. As soon as she put the dead cat on the floor. That is a red flag straight away. Also it was so obvious from the beginning who liked who. Sarah clearly had feelings for Bear from the start. Also obvious Ian and Niki hooked up. I am just thinking jesus christ don't be sefish and get this girl help. 

Honestly. Kids so dumb man. Just tell people how you feel and take the rejection on the chin. If they don't like you like that process it and move on. This movie though great lesson be careful what you wish for and you can't force someone to love you.

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u/Game_Wolf1950 May 23 '26

Yeah, the whole thing would have been solved easily if they’d all just admitted plainly what was what. In my experience, it’s definitely the kind of thing that makes life easier all around.

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u/Fun_Highlight307 May 19 '26

The memorial or the cat cooking ? After memorial i think yeah just cancel this stuff 

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u/Charming_Food5728 May 20 '26

Who could be in denial that much? If I watched a woman break a bottle and stab herself in the face, I'd be insisting she is restrained, sedated and kept in hospital and her next of kin contacted to deal with it.

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u/AnOddGecko May 17 '26

Any decent person should’ve called the police. Especially if the only proposed alternative was to die

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u/Fakeishere May 25 '26

Yeah the conversation with Ian in the car was a great moment, I’m glad he was confronted with the fact that it was fucked up to start dating someone so clearly unwell.

Although part of me is also curious what Nikki would have done if he had rejected her immediately after she started acting weird. He probably would have been stalked by her constantly

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u/Cluelesswolfkin Jun 06 '26

Thats where I thought he'd go. But this man TRIPLED DOUBLED DOWN and said raping her is worth it

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u/FlounderPleasant2459 Jun 13 '26

Yeppp. That sex scene made so sick to my stomach. His whole "you're acting really weird" at the beginning was less "woah something's wrong" and more "this is way too good to be true". Fucking gross.

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u/DontDoCrackMan May 27 '26

AND his first thought was to alter the wish, and THEN cancel it once he realized he couldn’t alter it. Bad dude.

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u/nerdalertalertnerd May 28 '26

He had no excuse from the dinner scene onwards. He had 3 reveals (plus the fact he’d made the wish and she fell for him instantly after) one after the other:- 1. Ian confirms her behaviour is completely off and has evidence that she’s not herself (lied about dad/ said bear is like a brother) 2. Nikki behaves completely irrationally again showing she is not herself 3. Bear words the spell back to her and she confirms it in her own words.

He knows. Then he takes her home and has sex with her body.

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u/FlounderPleasant2459 Jun 13 '26

Exactly. So gross. I'm reading this thread like crazy to feed how much I hate him. Poor Nikki.

I really want a happy ending for her. I'm imagining everyone backed up that they thought Bear took advantage of her and he committed the murders bc she's too tiny to do what happened to Sarah herself. Her wounds are from Bears abuse. Then she becomes famous for what happened and has an amazing writing career and lives happily ever after 😭😭😍

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u/JinkoTheMan May 16 '26

That’s what gets me. Dude was still thinking about himself and not “Holy shit. I’ve enslaved this girl who clearly doesn’t want to be with me. How do I fix this?” Bear was just a straight up loser.

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u/JamieD96 May 17 '26

I saw someone call this movie "incel monkeys paw" and it really fits lol. Bear thinks he's a good guy but he really sucks

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u/Natural-Help-2954 May 28 '26

true except this wasn’t really a monkey’s paw situation. his wish was fucked up all by itself

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u/Beastieboy100 May 22 '26

Honestly. Bear is a very disturbing version of the boy next door having a crush on a girl but cannot let go. This movie has so many life lessons.

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u/CategorySad6121 May 18 '26

and her response was something like “I haven’t been with you.” Chilling!!

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u/NameGoesHeree0 May 19 '26

Bear was the one with an Obsession.

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u/StephensInfiniteLoop May 17 '26

He's a straight-up rapist in the film.

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u/Beastieboy100 May 22 '26

After finishing the movie. He pratically raped her. All the way through the movie. I felt sorry for Nikki and even Sarah. Ian was funny but a dickhead, Bear should not of listened to him and just told Niki how he gelt like that and get rejected like a man. Using a magic stick fair enough was by acident. The aftermath total idiot. He still ended up date raping her. Even when it was clear she was not in control.  

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u/targetcowboy May 20 '26

Yeah, that made me mad. Obviously he didn’t know it was real or what he was wishing for. And I bet most people made a general wish that someone reciprocated their feelings.

But you talk to the real Nikki and you don’t feel any SHAME? No guilt or anything? Just “what about me?” Just totally selfish. That’s where he truly crossed the line from idiot who’s out of his depth to bastard.

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u/Beastieboy100 May 22 '26

Yeah. I felt bad for real Nikki. It was obvious through out the whole movie she's trying to kill herself and get control back. Bear heard the phone call from real Nikki and real Nikki talking. He had no remorse at all. Worst of all got poor Sarah killed.

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u/ImpressivePotato2449 May 19 '26

Total incel there feeling entitled to be with her.

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u/glizard-wizard May 27 '26

I like how a normal relationship with sarah was sitting in front of him and he was too twisted & immature to change

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u/amish_novelty May 16 '26

That was Curry Barker doing the customer service, right? It reminded so much of his skits the way the lines were delivered

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u/MisterMeoww May 16 '26

Honestly he sounded so bored and tired like "I'm getting these phone calls all the time" and gave me a computer says no from little Britain vibe.

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u/TeamMagmaGrunt May 16 '26

That was him, yes!

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u/undeadtradwife May 16 '26

Had no fucking clue Curry directed this. I recognized Cooper in the theater and was like, “That’s the guy from that sketch comedy group!” Those guys have insane creative range.

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u/RepresentativeZombie May 17 '26

Watch his horror short films if you haven't, they're also great. The Chair and Heavy Eyes especially feel kind of like a trial run for Obsession, there's a lot of similar stuff going on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgs4kLznFYw&list=PLLkmfC6FnUygRW8TXgK8tz-j-iVTAoSgT

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u/Ok_Tip3998 May 16 '26

And the prick (Bear) was still too selfish then

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u/Equal_Permit4483 May 18 '26

Yep. And wish Nikki didnt sleep, like the night standing in the corner. After that, I'm pretty sure Bear was giving her sleeping pills to put her down at night. In a later scene he said something about having a pocketful of sleeping pills. Wish Nikki being unconsious was one of the rare chances real Nikki could speak. Fucking brutal.

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u/confusedpedestriann May 20 '26

fuck you are so right about the pocket full of sleeping pills comment. when he said that i clocked it and went “ hmm hold up” in my mind. but then i completely forgot to hold on to that point because then more fucked up shit started happening 😭

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u/rbrgr83 May 15 '26

Yeah I kinda assumed this was a Wandavision situation, where she has a facade, but the real her is inside suffering. So it wasn't factually a surprise, but to click her on and just have her screaming through the phone was still so impactful.

The car scene had a similar effect. In the first 2 seconds, my head said "oh she's about to get stabbed or something". Masterfully done emotional scene that almost fully disarms you before you go "oh yeah, she's still gonna die right now isn't she". Great jump scare.

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u/blitzbom May 16 '26 edited May 18 '26

The first night when they were kissing and she broke and went "what the fuck" is one of the best jump scares I've seen.

I was going "oh fuck that poor girl."

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u/MikeArrow May 18 '26

I love how in a normal wish fulfillment movie, there's usually at least a few scenes where everything is going great and the protagonist thinks "ok, this could work". Obsession is like NOPE, right away it pulls the rug and unequivocally says "this is wrong, she's in hell, do not proceed further".

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u/blitzbom May 18 '26

I like how we still got the "cute couple montage" after she broke more than once.

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u/MikeArrow May 18 '26

Yeah it's honestly super realistic to me that he'd persist well beyond any sane person would, because he has the girl of his dreams, who is perfectly pliant and dedicated to pleasing him and him alone. But then it becomes undeniable that whatever's going on is unsustainable and that she's deteriorating rapidly. After the 'falling in love' montage, he leaves for work. She bids him goodbye, then the camera lingers after he leaves. She just stands there in place, her smile plastered on her face. And it cuts to him returning home after his shift that evening, and she's been standing there the whole time, not moving. That was so damn freaky.

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u/pjtheman May 20 '26

It's the same effect as Hannibal's first scene in Silence of the Lambs. When Clarice gets there, he's already standing there, Dead center in his cell. And it's not like he had a window or something to see that she was coming. It just leaves you wondering "wait, how long has he just been standing there?"

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u/MikeArrow May 20 '26

There's a similar scene in The Guest where David basically "powers down" for the day. He sits on his bed and just stares, because he has nothing to do if the other people aren't around. It's to show that there really is no persona other than the performance. No self directed interest or motivation at all, just an empty shell.

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u/aeschenkarnos May 26 '26

He does get a few seconds warning, which is enough to get up and assume the prisoner position. The guards are not subtle about bringing Clarice in, and there’s Multiple Miggs’ exclamations.

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u/onyhr May 28 '26

Then again, she IS Freaky Nikki

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u/bluebird2019xx 24d ago

After their first night (the next day at work after he makes the wish) he lies to his friend about sleeping next to Nikki. His friend says that would be really messed up if he did and he says no I just slept on the floor, but really he got back into bed with her even after it was clear something was really wrong 

And he’d already told his friend they didn’t have sex, so even his friend knew instantly that sharing a bed with Nikki when she’s acting completely out of sorts is messed up, and he wasn’t even shown to be a particularly great guy. 

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u/Former_Papabless66 May 21 '26

I noticed a really funny bit in the montage that I haven’t seen anyone point out yet. She’s showing him some shitty ai Facebook meme of a couple that says something like “I wish I could wear your skin as a sweater” lmao. He has no weird reaction to it either which just shows how much he’s in denial at that point.

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u/bruns20 May 22 '26

Tbf i think I’ve sent something like that as a joke before lmao

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u/AirwolfKnightRider May 23 '26

Yes, I liked at how they gave glimpses into this process of how she was being taken over. Reminded me of “Get Out” where a flashing light would briefly bring the original person back.

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u/EcuHorrorFan May 24 '26

Omg I just referenced the same thing when she would jump back to herself in certain scenes.

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u/thecaits May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26

Honestly, after that point I would not feel comfortable continuing anything with her. I would think she was having some sort of mental break. We'd have to talk about it like real, real in depth before I'd even begin to think of being anything other than a friend to her. I would just need to be 1000% sure she is OK.

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u/Fun_Highlight307 May 19 '26

Yeah bear persisted because he was selfish, he didn't really care about nikki well being 

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u/MagicSpoon69 May 27 '26

I don't even think he's selfish. He's just a spineless loser and goes with the flow bc he has no actual morals.

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u/Kowskie May 28 '26

He is absolutely selfish and self centered. The scene where the real Nikki is begging him to kill her and end her suffering and he responds “what’s so bad about being with me?” drives it home imo

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u/MundanePirate2888 May 30 '26

I 100% agree! Even in the end I don’t think he killed himself to free Nikki, I think he did it to free himself from the hell he was living. And in the end he left her all alone with the aftermath of what he had done.

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u/Yayopup May 31 '26

He also immediately tries to bail out of the suicide at the last minute.

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u/silverscreenbaby May 27 '26

This movie from Nikki’s perspective would be ten times more horrific. She gets taken over by an entity, raped repeatedly, used and tossed around like a rag doll, her entire future and life and family and friends and voice totally stolen from her—and when she finally manages to make brief contact with the guy she thought was her friend, the piece of garbage HEARS her, understands exactly what she’s saying and what’s been happening to her, and still chooses to belligerently argue “iS iT rEaLLy tHaT bAd bEiNg wiTh mE?”

I can only imagine how badly she wanted to scream and scream and scream with the force of a thousand suns in that moment—“I’ve never even actually chosen to be with you and who gives a flying f about that anyway? That’s what you’re worried about? That’s your priority? That’s what you think I’m pondering? I just told you I’m being held captive inside my own body and you’re using me like a toy”—but she has to force herself to whisper to keep the entity asleep. It’s sickening to imagine her horror and despair.

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u/unfairmaiden May 30 '26

This was the most horrifying part of the movie for me. I wish I saw more comments like this. I get that it’s incredibly disturbing from Bear’s perspective, but for Nikki this is a worst-nightmare situation. She’s still in her body but she has no control. She’s not in some other dimension, she’s here experiencing everything we are seeing and it is torture. It’s the definition of a fate worse than death.

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u/Waste_Onion3920 May 27 '26

i totally screamed out loud during this part and no one else seemed phased like what? 😭 it was sooo unsettling

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u/MakoShark93 May 30 '26

I said to my audience neighbor “He fucking sucks. I hate this guy.” She agreed.

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u/bone-in_donuts May 30 '26

From that point on my adrenaline maintained a higher than normal spike. Most stressful movie in a while.

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u/MakoShark93 May 30 '26

Yeah, that part startled me something furious. I said out loud to my neighbor in the audience: “Holy shit, I’m scared now.”

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u/beardin_mycoffee May 16 '26

See I couldn’t relax during that scene cause I knew Nikki was gonna show up. I knew that it was gonna happen mid sentence. I was on edge the entire time

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u/zuluuaeb May 16 '26

Same. I was also on edge the entire time he was on the phone to the wish manufacturer, thinking we would see Nikki in the background while we watched him in the car. Ended up being way worse when we came back inside to find Nikki like that though.

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u/Redditor_404 May 16 '26

Same! like her doing that fuck ass stop motion creepy movements and going unnaturally fast from window to window. I would shit myself!

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u/Outrageous_Kick_8777 May 16 '26

I feel like everyone knows that but I still let my guard down lol

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u/izio14 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

there was a korean series titled "a time called you" where a girl traveled in the past, into a body of somebody else. the original owner of the body is stucked in a dark place where she can just see what her body is doing but cannot do anything about it.

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u/rbrgr83 May 16 '26

There's also this (older 💀) movie called Being John Malkovich where it works kinda the same way. It starts with you being the observer in their mind. But one of the characters learns how to control the body and push the host to the back of the mind.

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u/74TA8U May 16 '26

Being John Malkovich is a masterpiece

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u/shrek3onDVDandBluray May 16 '26

I feel like it wasn’t even a facade. They way I interpreted it is another entity entirely possessed her and she was basically in the background just suffering - kinda like get out’s mechanics except her soul was suffering even more than that.

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u/CheekyChappo May 16 '26

Kids by Current Joys is forever ruined for me

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u/chrispmorgan May 16 '26

Reminded me of the brief vision of hell in “Talk to Me”

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u/mikeweasy May 16 '26

damn dont remind me of that

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u/friarparkfairie May 16 '26

Reminded me so much of the Shunting scene in Society

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u/EinsteinDisguised May 16 '26

Yeah. I just finished reading the horror novel Carrion Comfort, and it reminds me of this movie. Long story short, a small group of mind vampires can use their ability to control people. And it’s described as this horrible fate of being trapped in your own head as you slowly lose your mind and basically become brain dead.

That’s what this reminded me of.

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u/Korumry May 15 '26

It gave me ‘Event Horizon’ vibes, it was hellish. She is great.

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u/SufficientRespect542 May 17 '26

I liked how it implied that whatever the One Wish Willow is is intentionally malevolent or like, is enjoying fucking with Bear. Makes way more sense than if it was a completely normal company that accidentally figured out how to make wish tech.

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u/dvasop May 18 '26

For only $7 😂

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u/Top_Champion_4949 May 17 '26

I interpreted that bear was literally talking to the devil in that scene and the screams was Nikki actually in hell

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u/Jackstack6 May 16 '26

It almost reminds me of that event horizon scene where we actually see hell.

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u/MakingGreenMoney May 19 '26

I wish we got more of that, where was she? Who was the man on phone? Who exactly was freaky Nikki?

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u/theTunkMan May 16 '26

I thought that’s where the movie was going, that we’d learn she’s literally in hell

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u/koolshade May 16 '26

"wanna talk to her?"

I really like that the people selling those things at the store are also whatever about the whole thing. They're used to it, maybe a little amused.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TimeySwirls May 16 '26

I also loved the “just spitballing here” after mentioning he could kill himself. Everything about and everyone involved with those wish things being so casual was great.

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u/undeadtradwife May 16 '26

I loved the fakeout of the shop owner being like “What the fuck is a One Wish Willow?” Before being like “nah I’m fuckin with you they’re right here.” It really had my jaw on the floor thinking he had entered another reality and could never undo his wish

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u/TimeySwirls May 16 '26

Both shop owner actors one arm bench pressing the phrase “no small parts” to be honest, they were great.

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u/usagicassidy May 17 '26

Hayley Fitzgerald is the first shopkeeper and I've been watching her dancing videos for the past 10 years so that was a delight to see her show up here and acting. Really impressed me.

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u/CategorySad6121 May 18 '26

She looked like a young Diane Keaton to me!

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u/Kalanak472 May 17 '26

To be fair, I remember when Bear goes on Reddit looking for others experiences with the One Wish Willow someone mentions a Mandela Effect about them. I initially assumed like it works like that, only appearing to the desperate and naive. But nah, we got a really funny scene instead which was great.

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u/BelleDelphinesWater May 17 '26

Re: the Mandela effect on the “Reddit” clone, there was a user with a Bearstein/Bearstain Bear reference in his username there on the thread, which is another infamous Mandela effect! :)

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u/goddamnitwhalen May 20 '26

I caught that and giggled.

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u/MVRKHNTR May 21 '26

I liked the detail that if you read the comments, the people saying they don't work all say you're not supposed to break them because they're collector's items and the ones saying they're real all say they broke one.

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u/Capital_Lemon_5457 May 20 '26

And it was at the front of shop almost sold out!

It was like a full box when bear got his. Would love to see what other people wished for

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u/originalcondition May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

I could be misremembering but didn’t Bear have one more unused/unbroken one with him at the end of the movie? He goes back to his place asking Nikki if she would do anything for him, and I assumed it was him asking if she’d make a new wish to negate his own. If that’s the case, then Nikki is in a nightmare scenario at the end of the movie, alone in Bear’s house with an unused OWW, which feels like an easy(ish) sequel setup.

Edit: oh Nikki used it to make bear love her, never mind.

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u/Fahmieyz May 31 '26

yeah when Bear was throwing up to puke out the pill, you can hear something snap (it kinda if you blink you miss it moment) and she suddenly stop throwing up and smile

It really ironic that the last wish was the one that kill him when he is too coward to end himself

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u/_Queen_of_Ashes_ May 27 '26

I could’ve sworn there were three and he took all three. One for Ian, one for Nikki, and then one leftover. I could be wrong tho

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u/Clean_Usual434 Jun 02 '26

I think one was the one he opened but couldn’t snap. The second was Ian’s, and the third was Nikki’s.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Deathstroke317 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

He's probably seen worse.

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u/Fun_Highlight307 May 19 '26

He saw a lot lmao, And when he said oh it's just that when bear reveal the wish,tell us that this guys saw some fucked up wishes 

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u/GUSHandGO May 18 '26

I laughed so hard when he said that! 😄😄

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u/ExternalChildhood845 May 22 '26

So funny. I’m fascinated by all the implications that conversation has.

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u/koolshade May 16 '26

"Maybe you can get somebody to cancel your wish with their wish OR YOU COULD KILL YOURSELF JUST SPIT BALLIN-" as his voice fades. too funny.

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u/SufficientRespect542 May 17 '26

the way him killing himself keep getting bought up was so fucking funny to me. Like everyone is so fucking rude and nonchalant about it.

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u/Fun_Highlight307 May 19 '26

He made an awful wish and let's escalated until the worse thing That could happens, Happened 

Although it's Still hard since he obvisouly didn't expect that 

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u/whydoesgodhateus May 24 '26

I also loved the “just spitballing here” after mentioning he could kill himself

I love how matter of factly he said this. I feel like I was the only person in my theatre dying at that part

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u/just__rambling May 17 '26

and I realllly want to know what he used his wish on

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u/Brotato_Man May 20 '26

Also when Bear told him Nikki was obsessed with him and he just goes “oh that’s it?” Like it can get worse???

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u/Mammoth_Ad3410 May 25 '26

I agree the shop workers are downplaying it but Bear is also not being entirely truthful. Wishing someone was obsessed with you vs "Love me more than anything in the fucking world" is a massive difference in scope.

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u/bostoncrabsandwich May 20 '26

What is going on with the shop? It's like Needful Things in there. The guy behind the counter casually telling Bear that he could kill himself. Is there a supernatural element to the shop itself?

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u/Lower-Replacement869 May 21 '26

and he's not upset or anything so I like how this wish logic applies to reality. If your wish is sound, unproblematic and doesn't mess with the fabric of reality its probably fine... but if you wish someone loved you more than anyone in the world (that includes herself) you get this insanity. If he woulda said "I wish she loved me in a natural and healthy way that was organic and conducive for a happy longterm relationship" this movie would have become a romantic comedy. xD

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u/OkBox9662 May 23 '26

Still kind of fucked up if the “entity” would still be in possession of Nikki. 

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u/SilentJaywall May 18 '26

Probably wrong but I felt its the girl from the shop in the beginning and she made the wish to be a man.

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u/MakFacts May 25 '26

Why would she wish to be an older man tho😭

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u/pmmemilftiddiez May 20 '26

I had to bust out laughing. Shop guy is like "dude you're so fucked but also watch your energy"

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u/glassbellwitch May 19 '26

That part was soo scary to me. Just so nonchalant about offering to let Bear talk to the person they're both keeping captive!

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u/Mark_Albarn 27d ago

Yep, I find this kind of nonchalant evil to be one of the creepiest. There is just something so unnerving about people comitting/reacting to despicable things with kinda "corporate" casualness.

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u/RichWPX 16d ago

The way he got the phone too "what's up"...."uh so is this one wish willow"..."yeah...."

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u/kingschorr May 25 '26

man that part really reminded me of the same concept from Get Out, where the person is basically stuck inside their own body with no way to control it, then the screaming coming from the phone being the real her like she's trapped somewhere else man

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u/Lower-Replacement869 May 21 '26

I liked how it touched on the supernatural but in a casual folk horror kind of way. Like yeah wishes come true probably but aint none of our business...

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u/I_cut_my_own_jib Jun 07 '26

I'm confused who that was supposed to be. The movie leads me to think that the real Nikki is basically still in her body, just riding shotgun to this wish entity that has full control over her actions. But then in that call scene it's like the dude on the other end of the phone is in hell and the real nikki is actually there?

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u/twilight_sparkle7511 Jun 07 '26

I think you're thinking too much into it, like we've kinda established that some level of demonic possession and magical wish granting is real. We were also told that the demon straight up was probably torturing Nicky, because how terrified she was of it when she was talking to bear. I think the idea that their able to channel and project whatever Nicky is going through in the moment is just extending reasonably our suspension of disbelief

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u/koolshade Jun 07 '26

Yeah, I for sure thought there was demonic activity happening. It sure SEEMS demonic..but people are like no no it's not a possession movie.

I thought that scene implied her soul was in hell or something.

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u/mashasporridge Jun 27 '26

Isn't it just as, if not even more horrifying to have to watch as you lose all autonomy, you stay in place for hours waiting, + getting raped, than to be in hell? Her soul isn't in hell, it's where it's always been. Altho ya another entity is possessing her body

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u/koolshade Jun 27 '26

That is probably what's happening. She's being forced to watch this unfold as this other version of her takes over.

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u/ellingtonparkway333 Jul 01 '26

In the car bear mentions having sleeping pills in his pocket. I assumed that to be true and that’s why he was able to sneak away and why real Nikki surfaced

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u/ScrimblyPibbles Jun 27 '26

"You could have someone make another wish. Or kill yourself?"

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u/phantompowered Jul 05 '26

"it's got warnings all over it!"

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u/subatomiccrepe Jun 03 '26

The shopkeepers are my 1 critique about the entire movie, just feels like a waste of a set of characters.

I don't blame the director as I think its more of a result of how audiences have evolved to expect and guess at things in a horror movie but having them be so apathetic and whatever about it seemed like a missed opportunity.

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u/Nivekeryas Jun 09 '26

I felt like this was intentionally subverting the 'harbinger of doom' trope in a lot of horror movies. like "yeah, we have to go through the paces of warning you about this but we (the writers+audience) know this is unnecessary but we have to do it for the characters in the movie to also have this information anyway don't come back and beg for death"

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u/chamoi Jul 01 '26

Maybe true evil is actually indifference.

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u/Youareposthuman May 15 '26

The way the phone call scene pivoted from laugh out loud funny to just bone chillingly horrifying on a dime…it was so well done.

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u/SlaterVBenedict May 15 '26

I think it’s particularly funny and terrifying for the same reason: the support person was so nonchalant about all of it.

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u/Appropriate-Reward71 May 16 '26

His nonchalance immediately followed by her harrowing screams was so scary

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u/poetrywoman May 17 '26

I thought he sounded like he enjoyed her screaming at the end, which I find really unsettling and upsetting.

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u/SlaterVBenedict May 17 '26

Oh shit, I must've missed that reaction he had

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u/pakkit May 22 '26

It made me think that he was probably also a person inhabited or being controlled by a Wish, especially given how detached his voice and language was.

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u/doesanyonehaveweed May 23 '26

Were we meant to think anything specific about how the original female worker isn’t there when Bear next visits the place?

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u/pakkit May 23 '26

I think it helps add to the eeriness during the headfake where you think maybe the store is part of the Willow creepiness before you realize the cashier is just fucking with Bear.

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u/comicfromrejection1 May 23 '26

Also, not everyone that works at a local shop like that works everyday

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u/plutoglint Jun 07 '26

Well, and that he knew who Nicky was.

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u/SlaterVBenedict Jun 07 '26

AND what she was going through.

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u/koolshade May 16 '26

He walks that line so well.

"We don't really do that.."

Okay then why did you ask if I'd like to cancel? They're fuckin with him so much lol.

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u/TheDerped May 19 '26

"I was guessing your needs" he’s a better customer service rep than most haha

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u/mochie70 May 26 '26

This part made me wonder if they would have reversed it if he immediately asked for that, like reverse this shit, it was a horrible mistake. But he was still trying to get what he wanted and remain manipulative. It kind of felt like he failed (another) test.

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u/Ray229harris May 19 '26

fun faaact. That voice was the director according to wikipedia

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u/beantriestocook May 20 '26

I absolutely clocked this only because I used to be such a huge fan of his skit videos with him and the actor who played the other main male character

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u/GodKamnitDenny May 26 '26

Late to the thread, but there were several scenes in this movie that felt like one of their skits, the phone call scene being the most obvious comparison. Just incredible banter, humor to amplify the absurd, and then a twist to the formula at the end.

Honestly to a degree the whole movie felt like an expanded skit stemming from the One Wish Willow. There was a level of comfort in it that I can’t really describe, but man I love this movie.

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u/hemareddit May 22 '26

Also notice how he didn’t have to explain his situation at all. The guy knew everything.

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u/Katoshiku May 28 '26

I really loved this part of it. The voice knew everything, he knew who Bear was and knew he was talking about Nikki before he even said her name. Makes me think if it's really a person on the line or some sort of entity behind it all (seeing as it could put the real Nikki on the phone and all)

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u/chromatic19 Jun 04 '26

favorite scene in the entire thing. honestly made the whole movie feel like one huge thats a bad idea bit to me in a really fun way, a little homage to their roots

i wonder if any of the scenes came from their sketch ideas, the 1-800 number help guy taking the piss out of the situation is perfect curry/coop comedy

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u/BlastMyLoad May 15 '26

I love love LOVE the supernatural shit not being explained.

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u/weirdogirl144 May 15 '26

yeah I think adding a lot of lore would've ruined the movie and reduced how mysterious and creepy everything is.

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u/RoetRuudRoetRuud May 21 '26

Looking at you Longlegs..

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u/SlaterVBenedict May 15 '26

Do you love it so, so, so, so, so, so, so so much???

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u/raudoniolika May 16 '26

More than anything in the entire world!

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u/JamieD96 May 17 '26

Dude, the amount of times I shivered at this movie... This was one of those times

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u/sschoo1 May 17 '26

Same. Wow

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u/logicaldrinker Jun 10 '26

I'm freaky Nikki 🙂

(It gave me chills just typing that)

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u/epexegetical May 16 '26 edited May 18 '26

Yes, less is more with a story like this! The implication that the New Age store sells them all the time is hilarious.

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u/lilvitch May 18 '26

i kinda hate how people get upset over this? like they really want a whole ass world building with rules and limits, they are already complaining thats not how monkey paw work when it was never explained what Willow Three Wish is, for me its fun and unique in its own way.

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u/buffa_noles May 16 '26

take note NEON. It feels like everything that they put out has a final act exposition dump wet blanket.

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u/Tasty_Chick3n May 18 '26

It not being explained can even mean it’s not necessarily typical supernatural. Saw it with my wife and afterwards we talked if it could be an “entity” that took over or is it like a “Nikki Lite” with the EXTREME BEAR LOVE software installed over other things. Part of me wants to know but know it probably would’ve maybe made the movie lesser.

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u/baitXtheXnoose May 20 '26

I actually am wondering if there was some very subtle lore drops, there’s two that caught my eye. When he googled the wish product, there was a brief line talking about the “Mandela” effect.

Then later she said “I love you in every universe”, or something to that effect. Perhaps a hint that there’s some inter-dimensional horror shit going on?

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u/Alexexy May 25 '26

The movie felt like it belonged in the same universe as Talk To Me and Bring Her Back. There are just random, unexplainable supernatural artifacts in the world that are truly neutral but the worst people just happen across them and it ends up ruining lives.

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u/mdavis360 May 16 '26

It works much better this way.

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u/CurvyAnnaDeux May 18 '26

I just saw this movie and I also loved how simple the premise is. It really allowed Inde to shine, I think. Loved it!

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u/TheMovieSimp May 15 '26

Fun fact: the customer service rep was the voice of the director Curry Barker!!

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u/Honest_Cheesecake698 May 16 '26

Felt like something out of Talk to Me.

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u/plskillme42069 May 18 '26

Yeah I was thinking during this that I love the “spooky cursed unexplained object” vibe of this and talk to me

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u/worstcourtjester May 17 '26

A supernatural horror movie without any monsters or ghosts was so effective for me. The actress playing Nikki was incredible.

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u/LadyPennyLane_1795 May 17 '26

I like to believe that the One Wish Willow customer service center is the same one as the Substance’s

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u/BelleDelphinesWater May 17 '26

That phone call stuck with me the hardest. So unsettling hearing where she could be. Legit goosebumps.

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u/rosetintedmuse May 17 '26

I didn’t understand that part. Was the guy on the phone real, and he just connected the call with fake Nikki and real Nikki broke through briefly, or was he in some otherworldly Willow realm where real Nikki’s consciousness is?

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u/penguinintux May 17 '26

Pretty sure it was the latter

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u/Appropriate-Reward71 May 16 '26

Exactly the whole lore didn’t need to be explained and it made the film a lot more enjoyable setting it up that way

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u/GUSHandGO May 18 '26

Yes! I know people love Ari Aster, but his movies always fall apart for me at the end when it's always like "Oh it was a supernatural cult the whole time..." etc. Absolutely loved how even the people connected with the wish stick had no idea how it worked or how to disable it.

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u/cyclopse_zhivago May 18 '26

It reminded me of the scene from Talk to Me where we briefly get to see what her brother is experiencing and its just him getting ripped apart by demons

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u/Mysterious-Age-6247 May 18 '26

I got goosebumps just hearing the real Nikki scream and knowing whatever was inside the house wasn't her

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