Be careful what you wish for, they say. Director and co-writer Curry Baker, along with Nicholas Giuricich, take this oft-used phrase and turn it into an elaborate supernatural nightmare in their new indie horror film Obsession.
Plot Overview
Ethan (Michael Johnston) is a socially awkward young man who has been deeply in love with Madison (Inde Navarrette) since childhood. Their mutual friends Jake (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sara (Megan Lawless) are well aware of Ethan's feelings, but Madison herself has no clue. That changes the day Ethan stumbles upon a mysterious supernatural object called the “One Wish Willow” at a local store. This strange item, priced at a mere $6.99, claims to grant one wish to whoever buys it, and a desperate Ethan gives in. What begins as a hopeful fantasy quickly turns into a series of terrifying incidents that spiral completely out of control in ways none of them could have imagined.
Performance and Direction
Set in a suburban California neighbourhood, Obsession is a dark, unsettling supernatural horror that is both unpredictable and, at times, deeply discomforting. The film finds its strength not so much in its premise, which is fairly straightforward, but in its execution and performances, particularly that of Madison, played with striking conviction by Inde Navarrette. She brings a layered intensity to her character, balancing emotional vulnerability with an increasingly unsettling edge.
Baker keeps the screenplay confined to a handful of indoor spaces, which enhances the claustrophobic tone and gives the film a constant sense of unease, almost as if there is no escape from what is unfolding. The only moments of lightness come when the group of friends are together, behaving like regular young people trying to distract themselves from everyday life. Michael Johnston is well cast as Ethan, a socially withdrawn young man whose inability to express his feelings ultimately triggers a chain of catastrophic consequences. The supporting cast also holds its ground and adds credibility to the world.
Visual and Audio Elements
The film’s limited scope in terms of characters and locations actually works in its favour, making it feel like a grounded, relatable take on modern psychological horror. Visually, the conservative and restrained setting occasionally gives the film a slightly retro, almost 90s horror texture, even though the story is firmly rooted in the present day. Aaron D. Woodley’s background score significantly elevates the tension, enhancing the unpredictability and emotional weight of several key sequences.
Critique
Where Obsession doesn’t fully deliver is in its sense of novelty. The jumpscares are relatively minimal, which is not necessarily a drawback, but the repetitive structure and the looping nature of Ethan and Madison’s interactions begin to dull the impact over time. At times, the screenplay feels like it is circling the same emotional and narrative beats without enough progression.
Final Verdict
Obsession, as the title suggests, is ultimately about love pushed beyond its natural boundaries, reimagined through a supernatural horror lens. The film’s strongest quality lies in its ability to gradually build unease and then deliver shocks that feel rooted in emotional consequence rather than spectacle. It raises a chilling question about how a single desire, if twisted just slightly out of shape, can unravel multiple lives. And that thought, more than anything else, stays with you long after the film ends.
