Obsession

"Be careful who you wish for…"

2026 1h 49m EN

🙌

8.2

BANGER

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★8.2TMDB · 6,004🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 291,494

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Be careful who you wish for…”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael Johnston
Bear
Inde Navarrette
Nikki
Cooper Tomlinson
Ian
Megan Lawless
Sarah
Andy Richter
Carter
Haley Fitzgerald
Viola
Darin Toonder
Harry
Anthony Pavone
Reggie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Curry Barker
Writers: Curry Barker
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $520M — a 693.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Curry Barker, shot by Taylor Clemons. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rock Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Curry Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette and Cooper Tomlinson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Curry Barker directs. Taylor Clemons behind the camera. Rock Burwell scores. Curry Barker cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $520M — a 693.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
5Directed by Curry Barker, shot by Taylor Clemons. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Rock Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Curry Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette and Cooper Tomlinson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Be careful who you wish for…".
10IMDB entry: tt37287335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "obsession", "supernatural", "possession", "wish".
12Released under 22 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Taylor Clemons
Original score: Rock Burwell
Editing: Curry Barker
Production design: Vivian Gray
Costume design: Blair James
Makeup / hair: Allie Shehorn
VFX supervisor: Drew Lewis Guerra
Sound: Ben Zarai
Stunt coordinator: Jen Albert
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $750,000
Box office: $520,006,715
Return: 69334% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Obsession (2026)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 291,494 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

7 wins & 15 nominations total

Also by

Curry Barker

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Chris Sawin2026-05-10
★ 6/10
Curry Barker has crafted something mostly special for an almost non-existent budget. The story is compelling, the acting is solid, and Obsession feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison to similar horror films. However, it’s disappointing that one shrill character trait nearly ruins the entire film. It’s because of this that Obsession will have to settle for being a well-made, well-written film dominated by one aggressively irritating character, which will hinder future rewatches much like Frank Darabont’s The Mist. https://bit.ly/1WishWillO
CinemaSerf2026-05-17
★ 7/10
"Bear" (Michael Johnston) has a crush on his pal "Nikki" (Inde Navarrette) but it's a love that dare not speak it's name. He hasn't the courage to even ask her out! When she decides that she has had enough of their two-horse town and wants to move away, he decides to buy her a gift and alights on a "make a wish" toy. Make your wish and it will come true as surely as if it were rubbed out on that lamp of "Aladdin". Well he gives her a lift home, but their parting is a bit wobbly and so in a fit of pique he snaps the gift and makes his wish after she has gone. What he doesn't expect is that it will come true, but that's just the start as the consequences of his hastily considered prayer begin to take over just about everyone's lives - and not necessarily for the better, or the safer, either. Things don't improve much for him when he discovers that his options to reverse his heart's desire are limited in the extreme. It's a toss up between the pair at the top of the billing here, but I reckon Navarrette might just have edged it on the acting front as both deliver positively visceral performances with this horror as it takes on an whole new perspective of maniacally tempramental behaviour and turns any sense of romance into something positively hysterical, menacing and at times quite menacingly gory and funny too. I really did enjoy the denouement and I reckon this is the best I've seen from this genre in 2026 so far. Never mind careless talk, just beware what you wish for?
James Berry2026-05-20
★ 8/10
Full Review: aisleseatreviews.com "Waking up in the middle of the night with the eerie sense that you’re being watched, only to look down and see your kid standing pitch-black next to your bed staring at you. That is the exact level of visceral dread this movie locks you into." Obsession is one of those rare, deeply unsettling horror films that doesn't just want to jump-scare you—it actively wants to get under your skin and suffocate you. You get about 15 minutes of relative safety at the start, but the exact second that One Wish Willow snaps, the air is completely sucked out of the room. You could literally hear a collective wave of tension ripple through the theater. Inde Navarrette is phenomenal. Her ability to instantly pivot from an obsessed, psychotic girlfriend back to a normal, completely terrified Nikki who realizes she's trapped, and then snap right back into the madness is chilling. The bedroom scene where she watches Bear sleep is going to stick with me for a long time. Massive props to director Curry Barker for making a flawless leap from YouTube horror to the big screen. He relies on old-school atmosphere rather than cheap audio cues, masterfully weaponizing camera placement, shadows, and lingering silence. There is a shot of her just standing there smiling that goes on for so long it made the entire crowd audibly uneasy. With all the respect in the world, this is a "one-timer" for me because I am in no rush to put myself back through this emotional meat grinder. But it is an absolute must-experience with a theater crowd. Verdict: Front Row (An Absolute Must-See)