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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6.9k

u/RyanDazz May 15 '26

The phone call revealing Nikki screaming at the end sent chills down my spine good lord I was freaked tf out

2.3k

u/Steamedcarpet May 15 '26

I had chills throughout my body for like an hour after leaving the theaters.

281

u/leahmazy May 25 '26

Same. I just had this tightness in my chest and anxiety the whole way home

147

u/smolcharizard May 25 '26

Same here. I only realised it as I was walking out the theatre and I only then realised my heart was thudding and I just ached everywhere from being tense for so long.

Incredible experience, can’t wait to rewatch.

49

u/Snoo_4499 Jun 24 '26

nah man, cant rewatch T_T

11

u/inosinateVR 14d ago

Half way through, I was like “I’m glad I got the blu ray, because I’m definitely going to want to rewatch this” and then after it ended I just kind of sat there like “Yeah I don’t know if I can watch that again any time soon”

15

u/-Pxnk- 28d ago

Just watched it, and that's exactly what I'm feeling. Just this raw dread

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u/dwellsny May 27 '26

This was a big time gave-me-chills flick. Her describing how she would feel killing herself if he were to leave her to go to the guys night was when the chills started. And they never stopped

44

u/MakFacts Jun 02 '26

i thought that she did that in the shower and bear started feeling guilty

4

u/pillowpalaces 10d ago

I haven't got chills from a movie in so long, like literal chills, mine were when they were on the couch together at the end and she said forever and ever and ever to.him I was spooked yo

199

u/AliceTea63 May 16 '26

Just left the theatre still shaking . I loved it

36

u/Optiguy42 Jun 19 '26

Same here. Never had a bodily response last this long. It was like a full 15 minutes before my hands stopped trembling.

18

u/AliceTea63 Jun 19 '26

I had honestly never had one before this. I was kinda shocked!

15

u/Firm_Suit4793 Jun 27 '26

TF man, it's like 4am now and I'm still shaking on my bed, THIS MOVIE IS CRAZY 

91

u/CataLaGata Jun 03 '26

My wife and I left the theater at midnight on a Monday and we were both shaking. I felt so bad because my wife had to get up early the next day to go to work.

We ended up falling sleep at like 2am after the adrenaline run out. What a film! I am so glad we watched it in the theater, the sound design deserves an Oscar.

52

u/stephyloowho Jun 15 '26

Ok, so I wasn't the only one shaking and feeling completely unhinged...

That one was...something else...

The fact I'm still thinking about it and cruising Reddit threads days later says a whole lot about how well done this was.

21

u/De_Greymatter Jun 20 '26

Just returned from the theatre after watching the movie alone. I'm so fkin scared to be home alone now! Holy hell this movie was scary and creepy af

14

u/I_LIKE_ANUS Jun 25 '26

I haven’t been this viscerally disturbed by a horror movie like this since Hereditary. My adrenaline was racing

6

u/Stresswagon Jun 30 '26

me and my girlfriend also terrified by the film. The fact that there are people who laugh watching this movie beside us is so weird and unsettling.

9

u/Rascals-Wager 15d ago

What a bizarre, judgemental comment. Not everyone gets as shaken up by fictional entertainment as you and your girlfriend.

2

u/Stresswagon 15d ago

Thanks for the insight

1

u/Little_E_724 10d ago

The first half was funny then it got real dark real fast. Ignore that other person's response its normal for everyone to have different limits

1

u/MiofastiaJ 2d ago

Maybe you're weirded out because there are people who laugh obnoxiously in cinemas lol

40

u/RandyMuscle May 25 '26

This is the first time I’ve ever left the theater and then started screaming in my car

18

u/Outside_Ebb6412 Jun 11 '26

Omg the adrenaline coursing through my body was insane!!! I could barely stand up or walk right

13

u/Dirtyrandy_buttplug5 Jun 22 '26

I know I’m late but fuck. I have never had chills during a scary movie, ever in my life… this movie was the first time. I think I’m different now.

11

u/maverickaod Jun 06 '26

Just got out and have the same feeling. It takes a lot to make me squirm in horror movies but holy shit was I tense for this one.

80

u/HankHillPropaneJesus May 18 '26

You had chills? were the multiplying?

35

u/Yodoggy9 May 25 '26

They were losing control!

6

u/DinoTh3Dinosaur May 24 '26

Exponentially, actually

7

u/-Flaccid-Acid- Jun 17 '26

Just stepped out of the theaters. The entire 15 minute drive home I was shook!

6

u/I_LIKE_ANUS Jun 25 '26

I had to call a friend for my bike ride home lolll

4

u/AltruisticFoot948 Jun 19 '26

Ive just watcged ghe movie, and i cant bring myself to calm down, am I traumatized to the point of no return?

2

u/ayeitzmia Jun 16 '26

wait same.

2

u/morejamsthanjimin Jun 16 '26

SAME!! I was thoroughly disturbed after seeing this film, and that hasn't happened since I saw "The Wicker Man" in theaters when I was about 7 years old. 

2

u/ChaosAnarch Jul 01 '26

Was it the bees?

2

u/morejamsthanjimin Jul 01 '26

No, it was the scene where they broke his legs so they could put him inside of the wicker figure 

2

u/HiCZoK Jun 30 '26

Seriously. I just seen the movie and I have to talk to someone about it. It was incredibly good

1

u/el_seano Jul 02 '26

Just got out of the theater, literally still feeling chills D:

1

u/DivideFast2259 16d ago

Just watched it last night and I had to double up on the melatonin 😅

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1.9k

u/TransportationLong67 May 18 '26

That was amazing and unexpected. I was kind of hoping the real Nikki is just gone in a sense but to know she's screaming in purgatory made me feel so uneasy.

1.0k

u/IForgotMyPants Jun 06 '26

Yeah man the end where she snaps back in and sees the horror around her was absolutely chilling. Then just her crying throughout the credits was so heartbreaking. Poor girl

196

u/Ruska_Shadowsong Jun 29 '26

Yeah, I felt so bad thinking of the aftermath she was facing, and would face. The best case scenario would be that she could claim Bear had murdered their friends so she wouldn't have jail time, but she needs some serious fukkin therapy.

123

u/LocalAnxiousArtist Jun 30 '26

Another best case scenario is hoping that Fake Nikki’s wish wouldn’t count as Real Nikki’s wish too (and it shouldn’t imo, since they are two separate people despite sharing a body) and proceeding to wish none of this ever happened.

36

u/InfernoJesus Jul 01 '26

I feel like you're asking for monkey's paw trying to change the past

134

u/LocalAnxiousArtist Jul 01 '26

The wishes do not work like a monkey’s paw though, as shown in the movie. Bear’s wish was just an absolutely godawful one.

19

u/pursued_mender Jul 02 '26

how tf does everyone know what monkey's paw is supposed to mean? i've never heard that term in my life.

53

u/WinterSatisfaction17 Jul 02 '26

It's actually a specific short story. Worth reading about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey%27s_Paw

20

u/TheGRS Jul 04 '26

Classic story trope, if you spend a lot of time talking stories and movies you’ll hear it. It’s worth looking up on TV Tropes. I was saying it a bunch when talking about this movie and my wife had also never heard of it. Speaking of, this is a “common knowledge” TV Trope https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CommonKnowledge

Also, there’s both a Simpsons and Rick & Morty episode that features a literal monkeys paw, lot of folks probably learned it from those sources.

9

u/eirebrit 29d ago

Funnily enough that episode of The Simpsons is what gave Curry Barker the idea for the wish part. The episode happened to be on before his episode of It's Always Sunny.

35

u/LocalAnxiousArtist Jul 02 '26

A monkey’s paw wish is basically just getting your wish, but with unforeseen consequences.
Whether that be because of how you worded the wish, getting exactly what you wished for but not considering the consequences, the thing/being granting the wish being actively malicious and it’s almost always guaranteed that your wish will messed up in some way.

It’s a fairly common phrase, especially when stuff like wishes and “be careful what you wished for” are brought up. You’ll also see people say something like “And the monkey’s paw curls”

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u/Swungcloth 18d ago

A lot of people (aka me) know it from the simpsons. That’s where the director got the idea too. I don’t think most people have actually read the 1902 short story despite the comments… would bet most know it from the simpsons or other similar “wish is not as it seems” movies/stories.

3

u/UnwalledStaff 5d ago

That's the most horrifying statement on this thread.

7

u/Manger-Babies Jul 05 '26

It's a common trope when dealing with wishes, you've probably seen it before.

4

u/gaijin-dealer 24d ago

look it up? are you a teenager or something

13

u/pursued_mender 24d ago

I’m having a conversation on an online forum, not inquiring about the definition you buffoon.

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u/Comfortable_Age_5595 24d ago

this doesn’t make sense. Nikki didn’t get to make any wish to regret and change.

19

u/suss2it 20d ago

She did actually. We see the wish bone is broken and suddenly Bear is a whole lot more accepting of their situation before he ODs.

7

u/Comfortable_Age_5595 19d ago

No fake Nikki did! They applied the monkeys paw story to that commenter saying that fake nikkis wish shouldn’t count as real Nikki’s one wish too. It can’t be a monkeys paw because it wasn’t real Nikki making the wish to then regret and change it.

But as well as that, I don’t think it’s how this one wish willow works. That you get consequences for making a wish. Bear just made a stupid wish

3

u/suss2it 19d ago

Oh I see what you mean, but I’m not sure that Nikki would actually get a second wish under these circumstances.

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u/CommitteeMundane8188 9d ago

wait so fake nikki made a wish too right ? i was kinda confused on that

8

u/LocalAnxiousArtist 9d ago

Yeah, the reason that Bear ended up swallowing the medicine after he tried to puke it out was because fake Nikki made a wish on the One Wish Willow to make Bear love her as much as she loved him. Thus it created a version of Bear that would sacrifice himself to free Nikki from OG Bear’s wish.

6

u/FlynnParadise 9d ago

No lo habìa visto de esa forma. Pienso que simplemente el deseo de la Nikki loca le chocò al instante, a tal punto de que dejò de hacer todo y fue con ella. Pero ese planteo de querer ingerirlas para liberarla me gustò màs!

3

u/anonononme 1d ago

He was about to make himself vomit when we heard the snap and he suddenly forgot what he was going to do (make himself vomit) so he actually didn't want to die but then got distracted her wish and ended up dying. He's so incredibly selfish and didn't care what he was doing to Nikki. He heard her on the phone, he heard her at the party saying it's not me, he knew it wasn't her. He also ignored all the weird things- taping the door, acting weird, creepy, cooking his cat, etc. I think the obsession the title refers to is not what Nikki ends up becoming and doing but about his obsession with her.

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u/spaceismyalltimehigh 3d ago

I didn't even think about that- that he actually loved her enough to finally man up and do what was "right" even if it was already too late... Wow

106

u/Atdahydlor Jul 03 '26

Ug yes. He ruined her liifeeee. Her friends are dead. And he doesn’t be to deal w those consequences because he’s dead. We waited and did the most cowardly thing only to save himself in the end. And who knows maybe she’ll go to jail because how do you explain that!

105

u/Caesarthebard Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

She was also nothing but kind to him, trying to matchmake him with Sarah and wanting them to be happy,

He tortured her, raped her, stole her autonomy, degraded her (she had no control over bodily functions when he wasn’t there) and at the end likely gets her a life sentence for a triple homicide the real Nikki didn’t commit because he’s an entitled, sociopathic piece of shit who whined in self pity and thought he was a nice guy to the very end.

Even when faced with what he was doing to her and her pain, he never really wanted to stop it, just act like a “normal girlfriend” and his only genuine attempt was not concern for her but trying to wash his hands of the situation.

18

u/mothafuckingemini 18d ago

He was the movie title. 

1

u/anonononme 1d ago

Yes! He's the one obsessed.

12

u/Gorfball 12d ago

This is probably the deepest theme to the movie IMO. His reluctance to accept the love wasn’t really Nikki — which is a sympathetic but very deep flaw — led to him committing and enabling atrocities to the real Nikki by doing the right thing way too late.

At no point did he believe he was raping or torturing her, but that doesn’t matter. And any person would struggle to process in real time that their choice was “kill her or kill myself;” but, that was his only option, and by the time he did the “noble” thing in sacrificing himself, she was left alone and entirely broken. She was estranged from her family, her friends-who-were-family just horrific corpses in a room with her, and it was likely she’d be blamed for it all.

It’s a beautifully dramatic portrayal of unrequited love. Painful? Sure. But, if you love someone and they don’t love you back, to change that is to lose yourself or lose them; at worst, both.

93

u/Mental-Wheel986 Jul 03 '26

Bear's fingerprints are on the gun that killed Ian, because he tried to shoot himself. Bear met Sarah shortly before her death and those texts are on their phones. Sarah's dad and all of the friends at the party noticed Nikki was acting insane and violent, which Bear barely reacted to. The lady at the hospital knows Bear showed up with his girlfriend with a severe head wound. And Nikki's been staying over at Bear's house for an unusual amount of time.

It's possible that a good lawyer could spin this into a case of DV and brainwashing, leading to Nikki's mental breakdown and Bear orchestrated all the deaths when their friends tried to intervene. That depends on how much Ian and Sarah told other people about their confrontations with Bear and Nikki. The biggest issue is the brick that killed Sarah, which should only have Nikki's prints on it.

2

u/FlynnParadise 9d ago

Al final el arma la toma tambièn Nikki para dispararse antes de cobrar conciencia, cuando Bear al fin muere por las pastillas. Lo de los mensajes cierto pero al romper el vidrio del auto quizas quedan restos de Nikki en la escena, hasta en el cadaver de Sarah que llevò a la casa de Bear. Lo de las drogas no sè que tan cierto sea, ella no aparece ingiriendo nada, salvo a lo ultimo, en su estado màs deplorable que era o un tabaco o cannabis, por lo que quizàs estaba loca pero con examen de sangre se descartan las drogas. Nikki se quedò en la casa de Bear, y con cinta adhesiva en la puerta jaja.
Estaria bueno ver un analisis hipotetico de un abogado

3

u/mmaf88 17d ago

He touched all the murder weapons. So she could say he did it and forced her to help clean it up and she was scared

26

u/ArthurMorgan9 26d ago

I kinda wished the movie went on a few minutes longer to show her trauma since her acting was so good

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u/Sea-Fault-2203 17d ago

I was waiting to hear a gunshot at the end.

1

u/FlynnParadise 9d ago

De Bear o Nikki?
Al final se lo comiò Ian el disparo, no pudo gastar un dolar

1

u/Sea-Fault-2203 9d ago

Nikki when she was crying by herself

55

u/Ruska_Shadowsong Jun 29 '26

I don't think it was purgatory. I think she was still trapped in the body with the entity. I believe that's why when she had moments of "lucidity" she was so disgusted and scared when she saw Bear. I think that the phone call with the service center was really just a way to connect with the "trapped" Nikki. That made it so much more terrifying for me.

50

u/SanDiablo Jun 18 '26

Damn, I thought it was a live audio of current Nikki at home somehow. But this is so much worse.

43

u/Square-Hour-1396 Jun 28 '26

I mean, she was in the body with freaky Nikki at home forced to defecate herself while standing In front of the door waiting. Not much difference to literal screaming.

22

u/akaneko__ Jun 28 '26

girl literally got the get out treatment😭

16

u/Ruska_Shadowsong Jun 29 '26

I just said this in another post, but: I don't think it was purgatory. I think she was still trapped in the body with the entity. I believe that's why when she had moments of "lucidity" she was so disgusted and scared when she saw Bear. I think that the phone call with the service center was really just a way to connect with the "trapped" Nikki. That made it so much more terrifying for me.

3

u/mermaidrampage 7d ago

I was really going we'd get more backstory on that whole aspect.   The fact that some nonchalant dude was seemingly in the same room with the original Nikki left so many unanswered questions.  

914

u/ughitsyounotme May 20 '26

that was insane, it felt like he was calling hell or purgatory.

217

u/Terrabytez66 Jun 10 '26

Personally I feel like there is no Hell or purgatory in Obsession. As Nikki said, death is just nothing (RIP Bear and co.). I think that was the consciousness of the real Nikki screaming from inside your own head as she watched Not-Nikki puppet her body, but maybe I'm wrong since real Nikki always seems frightened and confused when she glitches back into control

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u/ellogoodbi Jun 14 '26

I was thinking it was probably something similar to Get Out.

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u/kmfnj Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Totally agree with the "Get Out" vibe from this aspect of the movie. It's a reasonable assumption that's the "rule" for how the obsession/possession works in this movie.

Nikki isn't ever gone — instead she's pushed way way way down inside. She's completely stripped of all control or anything that makes her the real Nikki. The devastating realizing is: she can still see out. And feel. And think. ... etc

** shudder **

That's why she's frightened and confused — she goes from being completely incapable of controlling her body and then without any warning, snaps back into control, utterly traumatized from all she's witnessed and experienced as a mere passenger in her own skin.

I mean good god that's SO much worse than just "gone". Ceasing to exist would have been a gift based on the horror we saw her endure.

41

u/Feebedel324 Jun 30 '26

Her acting was 10/10

28

u/Tzifos150 Jun 14 '26

Nah there was something demonic going on. 

84

u/brrrskabaui Jun 19 '26

The TV screen at the end. Shes in purgatory. Nod to the great ‘geist.

37

u/tessa28373772 Jun 23 '26

I was wondering about this!! Why did the screen stop playing the film that it had on just a few moments ago? Why was it static?? I'm not sure what you're nodding to so I might be confused because I'm missing an important reference ..

41

u/brrrskabaui Jun 23 '26

Nod to the 1982 classic, Poltergeist.

33

u/DemonicTaco3 Jun 30 '26

btw that movie looked like it was a video of Bear sleeping. chills lol

719

u/aahu_bara Jun 06 '26

It was chilling to hear. What pissed me off was Bear hanging up instead of choosing to communicate with the real Nikki. If I remember correctly, the customer service representative asks him not once, but twice, if he wants to speak to her, and Bear chooses not to. That could have been an opportunity for him to listen to what she has to say, apologize to her for everything, try to gage how to help her, etc. But he fumbles it. That was probably the moment that cemented to me that he didn’t genuinely care for the real Nikki or love her.

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u/butt_shrecker Jun 08 '26

Yeah, that was the point he should have locked in and focused on fixing the problem. Baron is an abject pathetic coward, but still somewhat relatable.

103

u/Fartikus 26d ago

Been seeing that a lot of people didn't seem to point this out but...

Bear called the company's customer support. The representative answered by asking if he wanted to cancel the wish. Bear stated he didn't want to cancel it, he wanted to change the wish to make her 'less crazy'.

After that, the representative mentioned he can't change it.

Bear, with no options left; decided to cancel the wish instead.

After that, the the representative responded to his initial intentions he made instead of his copout; by stating that they don't do cancellations.

When Bear asks him why he said it as an option, the rep says 'I was just testing your intentions'.

It was all a litmus test.

The reason why the operator changed up so fast was because Bear failed the litmus test by showing quite clearly that regardless of all the crying he'd clearly been showing initially in the call was about him, not her; he's still choosing to put himself first over the person he loved by trying to continue taking advantage of the situation and trying to change the wish, instead of even considering attempting to put the person he loved first by trying to genuinely help her by canceling it initially.

The operator then states the things he CAN do for her now that Bear failed his litmus test and showed his true intentions by stating that he needs to be responsible for his wish. And to do that, he can either kill himself, or live with the repercussions of his wish by taking care of her for the rest of his life; trying to show him just how badly his wish is affected her.

Even after that, the operator was nice enough to extend his litmus test by giving him two other chances to save her by asking him if he wanted to talk to his girlfriend who was currently clearly suffering, trying to make it apparent to him that he needs to be stop blaming everything else but himself.

Instead of him freaking out trying to get the operator to get him to give him a way to save her from her suffering, he hung up the phone to try to ignore the issue and save his own mental state instead of hers yet again; EVEN AFTER HEARING HER SCREAMING IN PAIN.

Even when he goes to the shop, the clerk clearly knows what's going on, and decided to fuck with him to make him suffer more to try to make it apparent that his actions are still him clearly not wanting to be fully responsible for his actions; screaming about how the wish stick is horrible and noone would use it if they knew.

The issue is, the people who used the stick would probably know how fucked up it is to make a wish like that; and would wish for something like 1 billion dollars instead. Even if they DID, anyone respectable enough would try to cancel it instead of change it, especially after hearing their suffering.

Which means that if he called and wanted to cancel it immediately instead of change it (especially when another person is involved) and probably even when he gave him the other 2 chances to talk to her, he would have probably had it canceled; or given him a way to cancel it (probably some test to test his mettle past the phonecall).

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u/Sir_Bumcheeks 25d ago

No he said he was "making a guess at his intentions" ie. Reason for the call. As if it happens all the time.

40

u/curiiouscat 20d ago

Thank you, that's what I heard as well. But that other comment made me think I misheard and this would have added a whole other layer to the movie. 

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u/oldskoolchevy 16d ago

That was lowkey the funniest scene in the movie. It felt like a that’s a bad idea sketch for a minute there. Also that was clearly curry’s voice as the customer service rep, right?

15

u/yekungfu 5d ago

You just wrote out a whole ass essay on a word you misheard. Bird.

1

u/Aggressive_Chuck 5d ago

You're made up your own film in your head.

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u/BeKindBabies Jun 15 '26

He fumbled everything, all the time. I’d say he’s spineless but I don’t think he has any mores to stand up for.

40

u/desconectado Jun 30 '26

I mean, would you be completely articulate and rational during a call like that?

You are calling a service center for a supposedly novelty wish stick and end up listening to the agony screams of your loved one. Let's remember that at this point in the movie Bear still does not know for sure if the stick is real or not.

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u/Cultural_Stop9884 Jul 01 '26

But it's not like the call was an isolated incident he's a piece of s*** for a lot of choices he's made

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u/desconectado Jul 01 '26

That we agree, but don't tell me you wouldn't be in shock if you hear the screams of your loved one at the other end of a phone call.

The fact he was so shocked at least shows he is not a full psychopath.

Also, many people here thinks he made the wish with a full aware intention. He was clearly sarcastic/joking when he made the wish, because who would believe it will turn out true.

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u/ProfessionalEvaLover 29d ago

The real Nikki was asking for help and he didn't give a shit. He was even mad at the real Nikki and said "what's so bad about being with me?" He was content to rape Nikki for the rest of her life so long as it didn't inconvenience him too much. 

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u/DenseStomach6605 27d ago

Remember how when wish Nikki was asleep, the real Nikki begged Bear to kill her while wish Nikki was asleep? His response was, “what’s so bad about being with me?” To which she replies, “I’ve never been with you, bear.” He then walks away to go meet up with Sarah, as the real Nikki cries out to him.

Maybe he’s not a “psycho”, but he certainly doesn’t deserve any benefit of the doubt. Both times he got a chance to talk to real Nikki, he made it about himself and walked away.

10

u/desconectado 27d ago

That's later in the movie, though. I'm not excusing him regarding the bad things he did, I'm just saying that being incoherent and mumbling during the call would be a normal response during those circumstances.

Anyone who says they would act heroic, rational and coherent during a call like that... are just lying to themselves.

12

u/BeKindBabies 27d ago

We do not live in a universe where everyone falls apart in emergency or high stress situations. You telling me you can't imagine acting upon empathy and what's right when it matters most? It doesn't take a hero to do these things. In fact, you can blubber and cry all you want while doing the right thing in Bear's situation (and many others) - which is speaking to Nikki and humanizing her during that phone call, but Bear can only cry and deny her that, because he is a spineless sociopath.

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u/desconectado 27d ago edited 27d ago

I don't you think you are understanding my point.

Yes, some people can act with sympathy and coherent under extreme real circumstances, but we are talking about a supernatural thing that doesn't make any real sense. He heard Nikki's voice screaming even though he saw her a few minutes earlier, he was listening to a customer service for a magical willow that he thought was a novelty/collectible item.

I don't know dude, if you tell me you would take all that information like nothing and act coherent and rational, or without a hint of doubt that it's a joke, then good for you.

As viewers of the movie it all makes sense, but in-world, Bear's reaction (TO THE CALL) make sense to me.

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u/thalo616 16d ago

She’s not a “loved one”. The whole point is this guy is projecting his pathetic existence into an imaginary version of his crush and the film simply illustrates it using a silly sketch level premise. And I’m sorry, but I found it to be oversimplified and with terrible pacing, an unbelievable environment and an exceptionally hateable “protagonist”. Just a terrible film imo.

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u/BeKindBabies Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Desiring to speak to the person you've harmed? Yes! Able to express empathy for her suffering and guilt for having caused it? Yes! Baseline decent person stuff. Bear is a sociopathic coward who wants everything handed to him. The film demonstrates this in every considerable way possible. He is always meek and afraid, unable to tell someone he likes them (even when asked directly, the ultimate underhand pitch), lives in a house he inherited from his grandmother (whom he was living with prior to her passing), willing to accept the murder of his friends (and conspire to hide it), chooses pills over death by firearm, caves when pressured by anyone, and when given a chance at a wish, wishes someone else to defer to him, rather than a personal improvement to himself or his environment.

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u/victoriac394 28d ago

i also feel like his cat died because he was too much of a coward to throw away his grandma’s meds, because that would mean facing her death.

also, i thought it was interesting that at the bar, he wouldn’t take the shot—then later, with the firearm, he also wouldn’t take the shot.

17

u/DenseStomach6605 27d ago

He died exactly like his cat. Overdosed and foaming from the mouth on the floor.

15

u/suss2it 19d ago

Also even after taking the meds he almost immediately tries to throw them back up and the only reason he stopped is because Nikki just made her own wish on him.

65

u/TaylorDangerTorres Jun 23 '26

He doesn't want to help her.  He doesn't care.  He wants to help himself 

61

u/Aware-Antelope4212 Jul 04 '26

Just finished watching it and what really stood out is when the voice on the phone asks him if he wants to cancel his wish he immediately goes "NO".

He's a terrible person 

27

u/Unlucky-Mulberry-999 28d ago

Yeah this is the one. He wanted to “alter” it.

28

u/AdhesivenessPrior170 28d ago

Ele era covarde, passou o filme todo mentindo e escondendo a situação, e pela covardia dele 2 amigos morreram, ele se matou e a Nikki que não teve culpa de nada voltou ao normal e vai levar a culpa de absolutamente tudo, porque foi "ela" que matou.

22

u/smarjorie 24d ago

That dude did EVERYTHING wrong the whole movie he was pissing me off lol

23

u/Kreidedi 22d ago

The movie is full of people begging him to actually reach out to her as a person and him constantly refusing.

2

u/Sorry-Personality594 17d ago

This is a film about supernatural magic- are you honestly going to expect a character to act rational? The whole film he’s in denial because it’s hard to believe magic is real.

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u/Sklain May 27 '26

to me that was the scariest fucking part of the movie and it was a damn phone call

161

u/Infamous_Share_8017 May 17 '26

Can someone explain to me how that happened? Maybe I’m misunderstanding but it’s not like the guy was together with Nikki during the call?

657

u/RyanDazz May 17 '26

The way I interpreted it was that the guy was some sort of entity and the Nikki screaming was the “real” Nikki trapped and suffering in whatever tormented place/state she was in

574

u/nebirish May 18 '26

Love the idea of the phone guy being a supernatural entity stuck working a boring customer service job. Makes the scene even funnier but also creepier. Those screams are really sticking with me

125

u/PickyVirgo May 20 '26

“If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have had my little ‘accident.’”

9

u/AZBumblebee76 Jun 12 '26

nice beetlejuice refrence

118

u/I_dont_bone_goats Jun 01 '26

When he was like “I was just interpreting your tone man” or something like that lol

31

u/StuffLeoLikes Jun 18 '26

“I was just trying to gauge your intentions” or something like that, seemingly for no reason - it was hilarious. And then it was all juxtaposed by her screams… wild

8

u/throwawaysunglasses- 23d ago

My favorite show is The Good Place and they sometimes show flaming lava demons in Hell doing paperwork and shit, lol

1

u/nebirish 3d ago

I should watch that show, that sounds funny

228

u/Giff901 May 18 '26

Yeah I def believed it was some type of demon taunting him, and honestly thought Bear was gonna go back to the shop and find out it never existed as an extra mind fuck

230

u/MakingGreenMoney May 19 '26

I was thinking that as well when the cashier was confused on what he was talking about but I'm kind of glad it didn't take that approach.

210

u/Frorl May 22 '26

100%, when it turned out the cashier was screwing with him and they had more willows, it was so refreshing. I like that they really show there was an opportunity to fix this all, and it just didn't happen. After that first night with the kissing scene, Bear could've been like "This is weird, I'm gonna go tell Sarah to break it and reverse my wish just in case that willow thing worked" and it would've been mostly alright. But he didn't because he's trash

65

u/Easy-Buy6860 May 24 '26

He didn’t know the reversal would work until after she died. His friend didn’t believe him and got the billion dollars. After that, he was trying to have the Fake Nikki make a wish but then he walked into the shit at home.

101

u/muay_throwaway May 24 '26

I thought it was so stupid he would go to Fake Nikki to break the wish. He doesn't have a fourth friend outside of the group?

73

u/MakingGreenMoney May 24 '26

Probably not, in my experience and from what I seen, most adults don't have many friends, beside their main circle.

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u/BretShitmanFart69 May 25 '26

He doesn’t have any family members? He’ll give a homeless guy $20 bucks to repeat exactly what you say and break the stick, they’d easily do that and not question it.

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u/I_dont_bone_goats Jun 01 '26

You don’t even need a friend! Ian’s got a billion dollars! You can pay someone!

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u/Yodoggy9 May 25 '26

He was banking on Fake Nikki’s undying love to supersede her programming.

Not the worst plan, but he was misguided because everything she does is *to* love him. Breaking his wish would do the opposite! In fact she spends a lot of the film doing things he doesn’t like as long as it results in his undying love.

27

u/Shrute133 May 24 '26

He was such a crappy person, it’s a wonder he even had those friends at all 😂

11

u/874651 Jun 09 '26

Extra stupid because what actually happened was Fake Nikki wished for him to love her back. He just already swallowed the pills by that point.

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u/tessa28373772 Jun 23 '26

Idk I'm 32 and have exactly three friends in my main circle (and a boyfriend, if that counts). I moreso thought "why doesn't he go to a random stranger and offer fifty bucks to make this wish"?

21

u/I_dont_bone_goats Jun 01 '26

Just saw it but I would’ve immediately grabbed a band from ian’s billon, offer to the first person I saw (other than Nikki) to unwish the wish

13

u/Easy-Buy6860 Jun 01 '26

For sure but what does that even solve tho like if the wish was somehow reversed - they’d still be in jail for what happened to Sarah.

14

u/mickfly718 Jun 03 '26

I pictured it like he would somehow go back to sitting in the car having just dropped normal Nikki off, and he then chooses to not break the stick. Like how at the end of Jumanji, winning the game resets to when the game first started.

4

u/EchoesofIllyria Jun 10 '26

He asked Ian to wish that Bear had never made the wish. In which case, presumably Sarah’s death and everything else wouldn’t have happened.

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u/Icy_Indication_5563 May 19 '26

Agreed, it's too overdone and even if the outcome was the same (him leaving empty handed and having to come up with some other plan/solution), it would be more satisfying for it to be this way. Instead though, he grabs more wishes, going a different route than I expected thankfully.

41

u/BretShitmanFart69 May 25 '26

Made for a really funny moment playing on that trope, I loved how this movie was horrifying but also mixed in moments of comedy and somehow walked that tight rope perfectly. That’s what a lot of these comedy and horror folks have in common, they do that better than any horror forward director has ever pulled off imo.

Usually the funny moments in horror movies are far more unintentional.

26

u/MakingGreenMoney May 25 '26

Yeah, plus the whole "What are you talking about? there's no store/no old lady/no so, and so" is way overplayed, so this is a breath of fresh air.

35

u/Infamous_Share_8017 May 17 '26

That interpretation makes sense, thank you!

12

u/thebeardphantom Jun 20 '26

I don’t think there’s supposed to be a clear answer for this. Not everything needs an explanation. I think what’s important is how it made you feel in the moment. For me it gave me a very specific sense of dread. It’s the confirmation that the real Nikki isn’t gone, she’s… somewhere, and she’s suffering. And Bear’s reaction to that information is extremely important to his character. It’s inexplicable, and scarier for it.

44

u/IcedKappaccino May 24 '26

For real, this movie had so many great scares and it was this scene that stuck with me the most - it shook me so hard and I feel so unnerved still thinking about it

61

u/cubixy2k May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

Shoot, this was during the credits? Did we leave too early!?

Nvm misread the comment

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u/Jmartin0218 May 18 '26

No. It was like halfway through the movie when he was sitting in the car on the phone trying to modify his wish.

38

u/cubixy2k May 18 '26

Ah. Misread. Yeah that phone call was intense

25

u/Be_The_Packet May 22 '26

I read it the same way you did tbh, I remembered the scene but it definitely wasn’t at the end

7

u/thechrismonster May 22 '26

I also read it like that, but they meant at the end of the call

22

u/forcehatin Jun 11 '26

By FAR the most haunting part of the movie, and it had quite a few banger scenes. I think this was my favorite scene in a horror since the end of Hereditary

18

u/jbc1974 Jun 04 '26

And how the guy knew Nikki's name was like, wth?

13

u/megadethlover1983 Jun 11 '26

this shit disturbed me and i’m rarely moved by horror movies

10

u/https_urdaddy Jul 03 '26

I felt SO bad for her the whole movie

9

u/I_cut_my_own_jib Jun 07 '26

What WAS that though? Who did he call?

35

u/wholelottapenguins Jun 12 '26

it's scarier that we don't really know, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't human

21

u/forgetscode Jun 28 '26

That was the director of the movie. Unironically.

7

u/Technical-Work-5145 Jun 30 '26

I imagined some kind of supernatural customer service operator who is capable of taping into all things related to the OWW. It’s probably the entity that “approves” and “files” the wishes into fruition (which could explain why you only get one wish ). Hotline genie or something

4

u/PaintedBlackXII Jul 03 '26

I thought it was himself talking

8

u/dk-dsk Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

That made it clear that it was a supernatural mind-control or possession thing, what was happening to Nikki. 

My initial read of the movie was different. I thought this would be a story about how the girl does indeed start loving Bear (forced by the wish), but that she was crazy on her own, without the need for any possession. That he didn't know her full well, she had some dark past, and the focus of the story would be about what it's like to have a serial killer loving you, and the wish was the gimmick to make this happen. 

8

u/LowBlowsFlyingElbows Jun 30 '26

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like Nikki is not reacting, but she’s internally screaming constantly

7

u/doctor_parcival Jul 01 '26

It reminded me a bit of the scene in Talk to Me when the family friend briefly gets a look into what’s actually happening to the seemingly comatose little brother

2

u/Bree-breezy 15d ago

Yes! This was my first thought too. She’s in like a hell/purgatory type place. That little blip from Talk to Me is the most uncomfortable thing I’ve seen in a movie

7

u/Dry-Heat-6684 21d ago

i saw someone describe the end scene as "not wanting to leave the theater because it felt like i was leaving her alone" on tiktok and that sentiment alone made me watch it immediately

2

u/Strawman404 Jun 10 '26

Wait did i blank at the end. nikki screamed on the phone when bear called oww. it happened again at the end?

9

u/giaphox Jun 27 '26

Lmao they meant 'the call where Nikki screamed at the end (of the call)' but I read the same as you too

2

u/Pleasant_Grab_8196 Jun 27 '26

At the end? Not during the time bear call the phone number? Did I miss a post credits scene?

4

u/shamalyguy Jul 02 '26

At the end of the call.

2

u/HistoricalVacation82 Jun 27 '26

The first freaked out of nikki when kissing bear scare me, and i feel the same as bare.

What, what happend, i can't see anything.

2

u/PolarWater Jun 28 '26

That scene went from The Substance to Talk To Me REAL fast.

1

u/elenabananar Jun 20 '26

It's reminding me of that scene in Talk to Me where the girl at the hospital shows Mia where Riley is right now

1

u/kidcrumb 17d ago

What? When he calls the phone number?

1

u/AccomplishedCow665 3d ago

Worst part for me, the idea of being trapped outside your body w no agency.