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.
(C) Focus Pictures
We've seen the "careful what you wish for" story countless times already, and one can even name several recent high-profile releases. Fortunately, leave it to Curry Barker and co. to make something more sinister out of it.
The whole thing is icky, as the new generation would describe it, and Barker builds the film's tension and thrills around that. There are no cheap jump scares here, but when the needle drops, they work very effectively. The film knows when to give you goosebumps or make you chuckle at some of the absurdities. One can never be bored here.
It does, however, fall short a bit in the writing department, with lines that could've benefited from another round of drafts. I'm not entirely sure as well if the film's core theme registered the way they wanted it to. But Inde Navarrette's wicked, nuanced performance not only makes up for the film's flaws, but truly helps this pic rise through the ranks of good horror films this year. Michael Johnston holds his ground really well here, and I'm fascinated by the characterization given to him. In a story where he made his problem everybody else's, one still can't take their eyes off his next move.
As cliché as it may sound, obsessing over Obsession won't come as a surprise to many. It's a fresh, sinister take on a classic trope, anchored by a star-in-the-making performance from Navarrette. I wish more people would see films like this. 4/5.
