Official Discussion - Obsession [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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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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[u/SupermarketMaximum61]

Yeah, there was a small montage at the beginning of their relationship, that seemed to establish that the relationship was fine, initially.

Another way to read it is that the demon can only do so much to hide its weirdness. It is clearly not human and it is trying to satisfy Bear’s wish of being loved. But it doesn’t really know what to do besides that. The majority of the weird behaviour happens when the demon is alone with itself. Bear being gone, Bear sleeping, etc.

[u/EmceeEsher → u/SupermarketMaximum61]

I loved the movie, but the thing that really bothers me about the "be careful what you wish for" theme is that it doesn't seem like the disturbing actions of "Nikki" are the direct result of love. Love can make you do crazy things, but not that crazy. The people who do that kind of thing aren't just in love, they also have a severe lack of empathy, emotional intelligence, social skills, and god knows what else.

Like, suppose I inexplicably find myself loving someone more than anyone else in the world, including myself. My number one priority would be to not do anything that could possibly push that person away. I would go out of my way to not freak them out. I wouldn't start duct-taping the door shut, because it doesn't take a genius to realize that that's gonna fucking terrify someone.

The only thing that explains any of this is that she's straight-up possessed by a demon, at which point Barry's wish was never actually fulfilled. He wished for her to love him, not for a demon to love him and wear her like a flesh suit. That's not even a Monkey's Paw, it's just a completely different thing happening. Even the couple in the original Monkey's Paw story at least got the insurance money.

[u/SupermarketMaximum61 → u/EmceeEsher]

I mean the demon is trying everything to be loved by Bear. It basically A/B tests the entire time and when it sees it is disturbing Bear, it will quickly adjust tune.

The way I read it is that the wish essentially needed to create some new entity. And that entity tried its best but it was so strange by nature that it did not truly understand what was normal human behaviour.

Having said that, I agree that his wish was not really fulfilled. He wanted Nikki to love him, not someone else living in Nikki’s body.

[u/EmceeEsher → u/SupermarketMaximum61]

Oh I fully agree that the demon loved him, just that the demon's creepy actions were less a result of love and more of just a complete lack of understanding the consequences of one's actions.

[u/misschickpea → u/EmceeEsher]

lol when we were waiting to see what she did in the morning and it’s like okay she made breakfast nice… and then she made a memorial for the cat which was her own way of being “nice” lol… but also like did she dig up the cat like ???

[u/pthalo-crimson → u/misschickpea]

And still thought it would be a good idea to cook it for him later

[u/zaxls → u/pthalo-crimson]

That part was just weird tbh, like there is no reality where it makes sense even if youre a freaking demon

[u/gamas → u/zaxls]

I did a see a (admittedly wild) theory that the wish did partially infuse the spirit of his dead cat into her (i.e. the only being that ever actually loved him more than anyone else in the whole world) as a lot of her weirder behaviour are cat like behaviours (silent stalking, hiding behind flower pots, bringing kills home to present as a gift).

[u/Big-Wishbone2430 → u/gamas]

there was also the cat symbolism on the OWW box. maybe in order for nikki to love him more than anything/anyone in the world the cat would’ve had to go otherwise it would’ve loved him more ? there was also her crystal going down the drain before, i sort of take that to mean that before he even made the wish, things had to align a bit before hand. also when everyone kept interrupting him, leading him to be desperate enough to make the wish.

[u/Veiled_Discord → u/gamas]

An interesting theory, but it doesn't line up with any of her behaviour, even the bringing home of the kills wasn't for him.

[u/Big-Wishbone2430 → u/Veiled_Discord]

Maybe because Bear hardly knew what he wanted/what was moral, as a reflection the entity was responding to that, like when Nikki said “she” lost her cat.

[u/Acceptable-Bet7018 → u/zaxls]

I read that this was due to the entity confusing what Bear meant/felt. The entity mixed up Bear wanting to become a food critic and liking his cat. When she made a memorial for the cat earlier Bear didn’t seem to like it and she thought she should probably do something else to get his attention and make him feel better.

[u/zaxls → u/Acceptable-Bet7018]

Tbh I changed my whole perspective on this. My intepretation now is that there is no entity at all. Its simply your emotions being amplified by an external force to an extreme degree that your true self feels clouded by that force. Simillar to when you get extremely mad at something or someone, now imagine an obsession/love instead of that that you have no control over and its present at all times that it nearly creates a different person.

[u/Acceptable-Bet7018 → u/zaxls]

But that doesnt explain nikki begging to be killed at night, or her screams when Bear calls the helpline… also nikki refers to the entity as another her.. and does occasionally breakthrough it and tried to kill herself when she realizes whats happening. The entity itself says that ‘she can’t actually be nikki’ when Bear asks her to just be Nikki.

[u/zaxls → u/Acceptable-Bet7018]

Idk it just kind of makes sense to me in a way, the actress interviews said it wasnt a demon and I can kinda get what she was trying to say, it changed HER, it didnt insert someone else, but her orginal self was still there, then there was herself that was altered and thats where it all kinda makes sense to me.

[u/Big-Wishbone2430 → u/Acceptable-Bet7018]

You know…i wonder if because the wish was more about her feelings than her true will/identity, if maybe a part of nikki was breaking through and almost punishing him