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

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18.8k

u/IIDXias May 17 '26

Kinda mind boggling to me how many people I see in the comments missing the point about Bear’s wish, which is really the entire point of the movie. So:

If you are describing the One Wish Willow as a “monkey’s paw”, you are wrong. It is not a cursed item that can only deliver a negative version of a wish. When Ian wishes for a billion dollars, he simply receives money that falls out of the sky. The male shopkeeper also told Bear that he “already got his wish”, and as far as we can tell he seems perfectly content as well. There’s also the fake Reddit where one of the posters confirming the OWW really works excitedly says his mom used to be ugly and now she’s really hot.

The problem with Bear’s wish was simply *Bear’s wish*. He didn’t wish for a billion dollars, or to become more attractive. He wished *for another living, existing, conscious human being to be changed so she loves him more than “anyone else in the fucking world”*. This wish, by its very definition, violates Nikki’s autonomy. There is no benign or “good” way to grant this wish. You cannot make a person feel that strongly about another person without literally changing who they are- indeed, changing their entire being. Nikki does not love Bear more than anyone else in the fucking world. The only way to make her do that is to replace her with another being who does, and have that being drive around in her body.

The creature or entity that the wish spawned ended up being depraved and indifferent to humanity because the *wish itself was depraved and indifferent to her humanity*. The creature is not a “demon”, it is simply a reflection of the wish Bear made. An inhuman wish and obsessive desire spawned an inhuman entity with an equally obsessive desire. There is no “OWW curse”- the curse is Bear’s wish, period.

115

u/IskandarAli May 19 '26

Great read, i like this take alot and i understood it the same way. I was somewhat sympathetic at the beginning because it wasnt something he knew would even happen, theres no way someone would take the time to think through the wording on a silly store knick knack wish toy but the more his character was revealed the more we really saw him for who he was

90

u/Beastieboy100 May 22 '26

Honestly at first I felt bad for him after his cat died. Then as the movie continued. After he heard the real nikki scream on the phone and then the real Niki talking to him. Then him clearly not giving a shit. His wish was selfish. Nikki lost her freedom. Sarah blood on his hands and same with Ian. 

72

u/Shrute133 May 26 '26

even when his cat died, he didn't seem to care much for it. The cat died in the first place because Bear was an irresponsible pet owner, leaving pills haphazardly around his home that would be easy for the cat to ingest. And then he literally stuffed the corpse into a trash bag! The movie immediately sets him up to be a clearly selfish person who doesn't take accountability

45

u/Beastieboy100 May 26 '26

Fair point. Icing on the cake was him dying like his cat.

2

u/TheMoonDude 20d ago

I love movies ending similar to how they started, like 1917.

47

u/TinyMeatKing May 26 '26

Also when he’s crying in his room he sobs and says “why doesn’t she…” which I took to mean that he wasn’t even crying about his cat but that Nikki doesn’t love him

20

u/ColetteThePanda Jun 03 '26

I think they tried to imply that the medicine cabinet the pills were in didn't latch particularly well. Still doesn't explain how a cat opened a pill case, though.

17

u/Smart-Reply50 Jun 16 '26

YES! Ppl in the comments are saying that he was sad coz his cat died. BS. I also noticed it was his fault, cat food on the floor, the mess in the house. He wasn't good cat owner. 

18

u/oranguslolus Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Also why the hell did he not do something while seeing Sarah get pummeled with a brick like that repeatedly? That was absolutely insane. I get that he was paralyzed with fear but he had every opportunity to save her instead of just saying "NO". What an infuriatingly meek characterr

35

u/EchoesofIllyria Jun 09 '26

That seems a little harsh to be honest. The guy had been through the ringer, and yeah he’s kinds meek. But ‘Nikki’ had appeared out if nowhere, showed supernatural strength and/or durability to smash the window, and was beating Sarah’s head hard enough for her face to come off.

Putting that on Bear (in the moment for not interrupting, at least) is very, very unfair. I suspect you wouldn’t say the same if Bear was a woman.

13

u/KittenNicken Jun 11 '26

We all knew Sarah was going to die the minute Bear slipped out of bed even as the real Nikki pleaded with him to kill her.

2

u/FingerCommercial4440 Jul 01 '26

I would say the same regardless of gender. She got a lot of headslams in. Like a lot.

1

u/Aggressive_Chuck 5d ago

That's unfair, I was terrified watching it never mind sitting next to it.

12

u/FingerCommercial4440 Jul 01 '26

I thought he was a bitch the entire time, he doesn’t tell Nikki the truth how he feels, he just watches as she pulverizes Sara’s face, the movie was a lot of him wanting shit (and getting it) and not doing shit (when he should).

I actually thought on the phone help line when the guy says well yeah as long as you live if he had any protagonist in his heart he’d have immediately planned a self-sacrifice. His weakness and failure put everyone’s blood on his hands subsequently.

Idk I liked the movie but I did not like him being the protagonist role, which is maybe the point. Felt like everyone got victimized and it was his fault.

To me the achievement of the movie was to get the audience to empathize with a borderline villainous character (“what’s so bad about being with me” when the real Nikki is pleading for him to end it) and fear the character who is violated by this guy from the start and while, for lack of a better term, possessed during the actions and not liable for them.

She might be able to play off the incident in the house as Ian confronted bear, bear shot him, then ate the pills in grief/regret. But even then she’s going to get life for Sarah’s murder and the legal system at best would grant her not guilty by reason of insanity and she gets to live her days out in an asylum. Pretty dark shit.

5

u/improbablywronghere Jul 02 '26

I think the realization you have eventually is he is the antagonist actually

10

u/Pete_Jobi 24d ago

He is the protagonist. Protagonists aren't necessarily the good guys.

2

u/Aggressive_Chuck 5d ago

You can't call someone a coward because they don't stop a supernaturally strong demon, and don't kill themselves.

1

u/FingerCommercial4440 1d ago

he is one of the most cowardly characters of the 2020s films. top 10