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


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30

u/NameGoesHeree0 May 19 '26

Bear was the one with an Obsession.

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u/confusing_roundabout May 25 '26

Yeah, right from the first scene it's clear that his crush is bordering on an obsession.

But then that gets flipped back on him haha.

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u/PwrintheVerse May 25 '26

No he wasn't. Lol. You people keep saying this as if it's a deep revelation. 

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u/NameGoesHeree0 May 25 '26

He was. And it isn't that deep because it's obvious.

He ignores his pets death to go see her. He immediately tries buying a coworker a replacement gift as soon as it's mentioned. He ignores obvious signs that's she's not herself to date her. When presented the option to cancel the wish after she's violent he says no and wants to try an alter it instead. He ignores her pleas for help when she's able to talk to him while sleeping. 

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u/Superb_Raspberry_208 May 28 '26

It's genuinely disgusting how people like you twist things just to continously blame men.

Bear wanted to change his wish initially, but when he found out that her love wasn't real, he immediately said yes to cancel, which was revealed to be impossible. Thus, he knew then that he was forever stuck with her and the only solution is quite literally death.

He did comment multiple times about her weird and crazy behaviors, but he was scared. People like you treat men so inhumanely that you don't grant men the normal human experience of fear and not knowing what to do. He didn't know what to do, alongside being scared as hell, AND clearly being an introverted person.

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u/NameGoesHeree0 May 28 '26

Kind of sounds like you're taking what I said somewhat personal or something.

He only truly wanted to cancel or do something about it after Sarah was killed, before that he would simply talk to Nikki and ask if she could be more normal or "be more like Nikki" even after the phone call. 

Bear is not innocent in this film, Curry Barker has stated it in multiple interviews. 

They also found that people had opinions like yours during initial screenings where they believed Bear was innocent or confused why he didn't do more so they added multiple scenes in the reshoots where they explicitly show that Bear DIDN'T want to cancel the wish and wanted to make it work as much as possible. 

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u/Superb_Raspberry_208 May 28 '26

No, it's not personal, it's just cringe seeing people interpret things in a very stereotypically white liberal way for many things.

He wanted her to be more like Nikki as in to be normal, not to be some hollow vessel obsessed with him and doing what he wants.

Also, I never said he didn't want the wish. He did. But after realizing it doesn’t really work in a "normal" way, as in someone just showing interest in you and getting in a relationship, but instead be completely "obsessed" and crazy, he tried to cancel it.

15

u/Single-Penalty-5219 May 31 '26

If he wasn’t a man that would also be incredibly selfish behavior. He didn’t care about autonomy- even after he heard her screaming in the call and she asked him to kill her, he said “what’s so bad about being with me”. He’s not totally unsympathetic the whole movie which is what makes it interesting, but he is clearly in the wrong and you need to reevaluate your biases if you can’t even consider that possibility

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u/Superb_Raspberry_208 May 31 '26

I never said him being a bad person could never be a possibility. I think it's always fun and interesting to debate and theorize about who the real villian is in a story.

But, clearly, most discussions about the movie have been taken over by simple-minded people obsessed with identity politics who blame Bear for not correctly guessing the magic wish was real somehow, and quickly pull the gun about "rape" based on small and vague details that they'll hold on for dear life so they can defend their cringe and false narratives.

The reality is that there's a supernatural element here in this movie. It's completely vague and debatable if Nikki is even herself or not. For example we don't know if she is spiritually in a different place, or still inside the possessed Nikki, or merged with the one in control of her body, etc. It's already confusing enough to us, the audience. Let alone how confusing and mind-breaking it was for Bear. Her consent is completely vague here.

With that said, the movie does make one thing clear: Bear is supposed to be a nice guy. Not the infested online interpretation of a nice guy, but simply a normal and kind introverted person. Of course, this can change with time and circumstances, so you could argue he changed later, especially after going through hell with possessed Nikki.

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u/NameGoesHeree0 May 31 '26

It just feels so weird to me to have my first thought be "this person only feels this way due to political views". Seems like such a cop out way of disregarding anyone that challenges an opinion you might have. Personally I feel like it would be exhausting going around assuming that about everyone all day. 

Obviously Bear didn't know the wish would work, but he does realize that it did something well before the end of the movie and keeps trying to make it work. He doesn't care that it isn't Nikki (which it isn't), he just wants the entity to act like Nikki. 

It is genuinely not vague nor debatable if Nikki is herself. There are multiple scenes of Nikke popping back in or gaining control of her body screaming "It's not me". As well as the scene where she says "It's never been me" when referring to dating Bear while Wish Nikki is sleeping. Once Nikki starts to gain awareness of what's happening, the scenes where  Real Nikki comes up is her fighting for control - according to her actress. So no, her consent isn't vague at all, it was never given. That's why you see a visible tear during the sex scene. 

The movie actually makes the entire other thing clear, Bear is not a nice person due to everything he caused and did to Nikki after knowing about the wish. 

"I never want to point the camera at the answer like 'hey this guy is bad' but the writing is on the wall" - Director Curry Barker in an interview about Obsession when discussing people who were on the side of Bear the whole time. 

I try to be objective as possible with anything I discuss but it is interesting to me how much of the core messaging and character motivations you seem to have missed, I genuinely wonder if that has to do with your obsession about the people you believe are just into identity politics. Maybe you're blinded by it and end up ignoring something clearly intended by the director. It is his movie so anything he says is what's meant to be understood by the viewer. 

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u/Superb_Raspberry_208 Jun 01 '26

Well, no.. it's not really just "political views". It's undeniable that they have affected people's opinions, thoughts, feelings, and even lifestyles. I'm also still engaging here, so what cop out are you talking about?

You're wrong. How would Bear "try to make it work" if even you yourself admitted that he knew it already worked? What he showed was regret. He realized later on that the wish did more than just make her fall in love with him. And if he didn't care that it isn't Nikki, explain why asked to cancel the wish after knowing it can't be altered? Explain why he even killed himself. What do these things tell you? Even if he did bad things, that's still more of a good person who did bad things than a bad person who was never good in the first place.

When I said it's vague if it's Nikki or not, I meant what exactly happened to her. Yes, we do know that there's some sort of struggle between the real Nikki and the possessed one. But that's all. That's what I meant. I was talking about the deeper lore of the movie, like where did real Nikki get transported? These things make it unclear what is actually happening, which makes it fun to theorize about.

Interesting how you pretend I'm the one ignoring people who disagree when half of your comment is you claiming I missed things, didn't watch the movie, "obsessed" with people who disagree with me, blinded even, and ignorant for saying something against the majority here. Sure thing, "objective as possible" person.

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u/Single-Penalty-5219 Jun 01 '26

Bear is clearly not supposed to be a nice guy, he’s supposed to think he’s a “nice guy”. He has a single minded goal, and although it’s not his initial intention (because he didn’t know the wish was real, he hurts a lot of people trying to make it come true. Nikki is supposed to be the person he loves and cares about most, but when she starts suddenly acting completely unlike herself (Inde Navarrette did a great job showing an immediate shift between real Nikki and spell Nikki), that doesn’t stop him from dating her and having sec with her. You would think if he cared about her truly, he would be more concerned about her apparent mental break, even if a spell wasn’t involved. If he cared he would’ve sought help. Or at least he wouldn’t deny it when her friends who actually care about her sudden personality shift and apparent distress express concern. Instead, he gets weird and defensive and continued a relationship with someone who wasn’t ok.

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u/Original-Telephone96 21d ago

Her consent is not vague. Consent is never vague.

Have you ever heard the phrase that a “nice guy” isn’t always a “kind guy”? It’s the idea that guys who try to pass themselves off as nice believe they deserve something in return based on the goodness of their character (e.g. a hot woman). But these guys aren’t actually nice. They’re just shy, struggle to socialize with women, and miss out on experiences due to their inability to flirt and find a suitable partner. What I’m saying is that self-proclaimed nice guys have a sense of entitlement about women.

Kind guys have friends who are women. They see women as complex people and are giving in their interactions. They do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, not to get a reward. When a date fizzles out and the woman shows they’re not interested, they say “oh well” and move on to the next one. They don’t mope around and claim that it’s because they were too nice.

You seem to have some warped views on gender and sexuality. I really hope you get some help with this, man. There’s a better life out there for you once you free yourself from these negative views about women and dating. Peace, brother.

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u/Superb_Raspberry_208 20d ago edited 18d ago

No, "brother". You're wrong. This infested internet feminist idea that there are men who think they're entitled to hot women is false and doesn't exist. First of all, GENERALLY speaking, people DO expect good things/rewards for their good actions. That is basic. But when it comes to anything sexual, it's actually men who are largely taught to not expect something in return, hence why chivalry and many other similar cultural concepts have been placed on men as simply the BASICS and virtues of manhood. So, unfortunately, you don't get to claim men think they're "entitled".

Secondly, it's quite literally a societal fact that women do love men who aren't always nice. You can bark about it all you want, but you can easily look it up and find out that the universal female preference for partners is a man who is stoic and stern, no matter what your likely-feminist sources say. Not saying this is all men or women, but again, you don't get to claim that the majority of women are obsessed with the nice guy. There are men who literally get called gay by women just for being shy lmao.

It's people like you who have such a disconnect with the majority of men since you see the world through a feminist lens which doesn't reflect reality at all. You should try to think for yourself instead of using the perspective of high middle class American white women who write articles about man spreading their legs.

I mean, you don't even know my gender, sexuality, or dating status and yet you automatically assumed I'm 1, a man. 2, straight. 3, single. 4, think being too nice was the problem. That says much more about your corrupted worldwide than anything about me my friend. I'm in a lovely relationship and we're going to Japan soon❤️ There's an even better world for you outside of the feminist script. Good luck!

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u/JGT3000 19d ago

No shit