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There have been a number of the-little-indie-horror-film-that-could releases this year. One of them is writer / director Curry Barker’s first studio-backed feature film, Obsession, which Universal Pictures Home Entertainment just debuted on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD. Executive produced by Jason Blum, whose Blumhouse production company has a pretty decent track record for unique and fun horror films and franchises, the film had a decent amount of good buzz and for good reason.
The story centers on 20-something Bear (Michael Johnston) who has a crush on his retail coworker Niki (Inde Navarrette). However, instead of telling her how he feels – even chickening out when she asks him point-blank if he is attracted to her – he uses a novelty wishmaking device to cast a love spell on her. Cue “Monkey’s Paw”-level irony, and horror ensues. Pals / co-workers Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless) comprise the other principal characters.
While aspects of the script can be pretty clunky (e.g. Bear isn’t an especially interesting character, and the entire premise seems more suitable to a 25-minute Twilight Zone episode), Barker’s directing is strong, and the actors are all good – especially Navarrette, who does a number of unnerving and highly compelling things with her characterization. Thus, by the end of the film, I found myself enjoying the journey quite thoroughly. Barker cultivates a creepy atmosphere throughout and has several moments of extreme violence and gore that will definitely appeal to horror hounds; plus, what he and Navarrette do with the Niki character earns major points on the uncanny scorecard.
Cinematographer Taylor Clemons does a great job of balancing beauty with grotesqueness, and while many of the compositions are deliberately dark, there is a playfulness with obscurity that rides the line between frustrating and intriguing. Composer Rock Burwell captures the atmosphere of the narrative very nicely, and Ben Zarai’s sound design works perfectly in tandem with the score. Both the picture and the sound receive first class treatments with the Universal releases [at least the Blu-ray and 4K, which I checked out].
Additional features include a commentary track with Barker and a 19-minute featurette, titled “Obsession Unleashed.” While the commentary provides viewers with information about the film’s development, production, and post-production processes, the featurette presents testimonials from Barker’s cast, audition footage, behind-the-scenes clips, and an overall passionate belief in the project from its team members – especially Tomlinson, who has collaborated over the years with Barker on their sketch comedy / horror YouTube channel “That’s a Bad Idea” and the duo’s microbudget, found-footage feature “Milk & Serial.”
“Obsession” demonstrates that Barker successfully transitioned from YouTube creator to professional filmmaker, and it will be interesting to see what he cooks up next. Universal’s release may not have a whole lot of extras, but what it has got is a satisfying presentation of a solid film from a very promising young storyteller.
