“If you could have one wish, any wish of yours, come true, which would it be?” A perplexing, yet conflicting, question that people could spend hours debating. A “One Wish Willow” sounds like the perfect method for making that wish come true. Once the wish is spoken and the wooden stick is broken, the wish comes true. But is a wish always good in reality?
Psychological horror film “Obsession” began playing in theaters on May 15. Curry Barker, a former YouTube comedian, derived the plot from inspiration from “The Simpsons” and one of his previous horror short films. Filmed on a $750,000 budget in October 2024 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, “Obsession” was bought by Focus Features for $15 million.
The movie begins by revealing Baron “Bear” Bailey’s (Michael Johnston) feelings for his co-worker Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette). In preparation to expressing his feelings for her, he buys her a gift: a One Wish Willow. Due to his fear, he is unable to share his feelings with her and therefore uses her gift to make his own wish: Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world. Immediately, her indifferent personality toward Bear becomes creepily caring and affectionate.
Nikki’s actions turn more and more strange as the film goes on, breaking out in screams and acting psychotic. The worse she acts, the more concerned Bear grows to be, confronting Nikki on her behavior. Their friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless) notice Nikki’s odd behavior after an intense group game and attempt to bring it up to Bear. Though they saw it as help, their involvement ultimately put them in danger.
From a viewer standpoint, the movie is far more disturbing than it is enjoyable. Though the majority of the plot is predictable, I was on the edge of my seat from the get-go. The storyline of Bear’s cat Sandy and what Nikki did to it was repulsing. Her breakouts of physical violence toward herself and others startled me more than I had expected.
As uneasy as I felt watching, the acting was impeccable. Renowned “Call of Duty” streamer and rising actress Inde Navarrette had acted in shows and movies before, but is truly recognized due to her acting in “Obsession,” earning her the 2026 Seattle International Film Festival’s award for Best Performance. “I would expect this to be a breakout role for her, without question, and I am not kidding about the Oscar potential,” Forbes writer Paul Tassi said.
Before making his leading role debut in “Obsession,” Michael Johnston voiced characters in video games alongside acting in shows such as “Teen Wolf.” His preformed reactions to Nikki’s insane behavior are authentic and chilling.
Despite much of social media being in agreement that the movie leaves viewers “up at night” and “traumatized,” I found it to be bearable as someone who does not particularly enjoy the horror genre. As opposed to an average heart-racing horror movie, “Obsession” is a freaky, less pleasurable watch.
