How Obsession Subverts Tropes to Deliver the Best Horror Movie of 2026

Obsession continues to be the talk of the town weeks after its release, spreading like wildfire through word of mouth. The Curry Barker film delivers a tight and horrific ride from start to finish, following the morally reprehensible protagonist. What started out as a wish for love turns into a parable of the nightmares surrounding codependency in relationships.

On one level, the movie works really well in ramping up tension through the brilliant performance from Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki. Rather than a physical hostage, Nikki is psychologically trapped by the One Wish Willow’s curse, forcing her into a terrifying, total obsession with Bear (played by Michael Johnston) that distorts her entire reality.

The tropes in the film are used against you while reinventing the allegorical storytelling of relationships. What is it about Obsession that has made audiences obsessed with the best horror movie of 2026 so far?

⁠A Fairytale Only In Premise

Obsession starts out as your regular make-a-wish fairytale story of a lovestruck man who just wants the girl of his dreams to be in love with him. Using the elusive One Wish Willow to desperately turn his life around, things immediately work in his favour. Or so it seems.

After a series of montage sequences where Bear and Nikki have a wonderful relationship with a few Freaky Nikki scenes sprinkled in, it appears that Bear is more or less happy. One phone call changes everything, with a reveal that Nikki has been lying all along. From here on, the movie becomes a unique example of “be careful what you wish for.”

Rather than going the regular route of things going permanently bad for the protagonist, there is a morally grey area for the first half of the film. Nikki switches from being an ideal girlfriend that Bear wants to a total nightmare fest when she doesn’t see Bear reciprocating her undying “love.” Moving back and forth creates a split view of their relationship in Bear’s eyes, creating his core indecision: “I want my fairytale romance without all the bad parts that come with it.”

Meanwhile, Nikki spirals out, creating chaos in his life if he does not match the energy she is putting out for him. The hook of Obsession is the concept that loving someone more than anybody else is only romantic in theory.

⁠Realistic Co-Dependency Issues: Who to Root For?

When somebody loves you more than anybody else, jealousy and ownership add to the foundation of the relationship. Nikki becomes co-dependent, slowly chipping away at Bear’s life. Bear brought this on himself, innocent at first, and then compliant in Nikki’s state.

At first, we felt bad for Bear because who knew such voodoo-type objects would work, right? Nikki becomes a reflection of the “obsessed girlfriend” archetype, following him around everywhere and demanding more and more from him. From the diner scene, things only escalate into psychologically horrific territory.

Freaky Nikki is on full display, and one of the most terrifying examples of her codependency is when she freezes her life (quite literally) when Bear leaves for work. Staying that way until she’s back proves that her life doesn’t exist without him. Multiple scenes that follow show a devastated Nikki constantly craving validation and company, not even letting Bear use the restroom without her following him.

At the party, we see an interesting turn of events. The real Nikki resurfaces and exclaims that it is not her in control. Bear immediately registers it but does nothing about it. When the real Nikki resurfaces during Freaky Nikki’s sleep time, she begs to be killed, prompting Bear to reframe the narrative as the victim in this scenario.

Until this point, we were mildly conflicted about Bear’s constant justification to himself and his friends that Nikki really wants to be with him. His choice of letting Freaky Nikki continue to exist is without a doubt self-incriminating that Bear is the real villain. The following scene in the car with Sarah sends things over the edge for their relationship.

Predictable Plotting Used Against You

We all saw it coming a mile away, but did it make it any less scary? Nikki destroys Sarah in the most horrific manner, taking things to a whole new level. The seed of this was set from the beginning, with Nikki’s constant intrusion. The plotting follows usual horror tropes of an obsessed person doing twisted acts, so we, as the audience, know that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Curry Barker uses the expectation against us. Any scene without Nikki is just as paranoid-inducing as her being around. When Bear talks to Ian separately or Sarah, the tension still exists. When will Nikki come and wreak havoc? Or more importantly, how is Nikki going to respond to Bear’s actions?

Barker takes a relatively cookie-cutter plot and turns it into constant dread. Using tropes from the stalker textbook, we are kept on edge, on purpose. A brilliant and effective way the director does this is to take all the tension and break it with jump scares.

Effective Jumpscares Created From Permanent Tension

The jumpscares in this film are loud and creepy. From the way Nikki contorts her body and face, shadows and silhouettes are used to leave more things to the imagination. As the tension and stakes escalate, the sound design and musical score are used to keep people worried.

We are not treated to soft musical pieces or comforting sound design, and the minimalism juxtaposes well with the eventual jump scare. Barker effectively crafts the jumpscares at moments when Bear is unaware of Nikki’s unpredictability. Her wildcard actions and blending into the background terrify him as much as they terrify us.

Obsession never really eases the tension, even after the jump scare, by utilizing the erratic behavior of Freaky Nikki. Multiple scenes show her freaking out loudly after the tension builds up. With the expectation that things will worsen, her character does a quick 180 and behaves nonchalantly.

Using the contrasting Real Nikki and Freaky Nikki interchangeably not only heightens the storytelling, but also tells the audience that nothing has been resolved. Things will only get worse.

⁠The Real Nikki: A Cosmic Horror Perspective

The real Nikki is buried… somewhere. Calling the helpline on the One Wish Willow box, we hear a bored voice telling him that his wish can’t be undone. During this scene, the voice casually tells him that he can speak to the real Nikki. It is here that we are greeted with one of the most psychologically intense scenes. Guttural screams from Nikki are heard briefly through the call before it disconnects.

We now have enough proof that the real Nikki exists, but the billion-dollar question is where? Theorizing from Nikki’s own words during a scene, do we have a clue? When Bear tells Nikki he has to go out, she tells him that she will slowly kill herself. In her own words, she will enter a state of “nothing,” where even the darkness of death doesn’t exist.

This goes beyond the realm of human comprehension. The idea that the real Nikki might exist in the realm of nothing induces a fear of the unknown that enters cosmic horror territory. We know that Nikki is trying to break out of the shackles of Freaky Nikki, but it is never explained whether she exists subconsciously. Since there is no concrete inference or idea of the magic behind the One Wish Willow, it goes to show that the real Nikki’s cries for help and attempts to die show she’s in a state of despair.

If any of us were trapped inside our own bodies, wouldn’t we want to break out and come back to ourselves? The only information given to us is that the real Nikki is going through a scenario so unimaginably bad that she is constantly screaming and begging to be killed. Absolutely terrifying to think about, considering her mental breakdown at the end of the film.

Obsession lays it all out for us. From an obsessive girlfriend to horrors beyond comprehension, Curry Barker has very effectively created the best movie that 2026 has offered to us so far.

What did you think of the movie? Let us know your take.

Obsession is currently running in cinemas.