Some films consciously engage with the present. Others function more like lightning rods, pulling in ambient bursts of cultural electricity and channeling them into films that crackle with the energy of their times. With Obsession, director Curry Barker has crafted a lightning rod for the 2020s—a film that distill’s the ambient gender-based resentment of our internet-saturated culture into a harrowing, EC Comics-style pulp morality tale.
In my view, Barker’s work is a disturbing exploration of the power of your story gone wrong. We follow Bear (Michael Johnston), a “nice guy” who finds himself trapped in a double journey: the outer, mundane reality of trivia nights and childhood friendships, and the inner, darker descent into the abyss of his own selfishness. When he makes an innocent wish on a novelty toy for his crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), to “love him more than anything,” he unwittingly sets into motion a trajectory that tears the fabric of their reality.
Barker’s film is cruel and unforgiving, navigating the twelve archetypes with a nihilistic twist. Bear, the misguided Innocent, is quickly eclipsed by the emergence of a volatile Shadow—a doppelgänger of Nikki who embodies the cosmic consequences of his unchecked desires. The film is a masterful, if brutal, execution of the seven basic plots, specifically The Monster and The Tragedy, as Bear selfishly clings to a hollow prize while the true Nikki suffers in an existential Hell.
Throughout the film, we see the 36 dramatic situations played out in high, grotesque relief. From The Sacrifice to Madness and Cruel Misfortune, Barker creates a sense of dread that is both visceral and inescapable. His background as a YouTuber gives the film an off-kilter, destabilizing flow—a rhythm that feels less like traditional cinema and more like a fever dream. It is a messy, blood-splattered experience that forces the audience to confront the “bad vibes” of a generation that often struggles to see others as full human beings rather than prizes to be won.
Navarrette’s powerhouse performance is the film’s moral anchor. Her portrayal of a woman trapped within a misogynistic caricature is haunting, reminiscent of the intensity found in the greatest psychological horror. Yet, the film’s largest blind spot—the lack of a true female perspective—reminds us of the danger inherent in the power of your story when that story is told exclusively through the eyes of someone who cannot yet see the humanity in others.
Barker is clearly a filmmaker in rapid development, capturing a lightning-in-a-bottle moment with Obsession. Whether this is a “one-wish wonder” or the start of a legendary career remains to be seen, but the film succeeds in its primary goal: it forces us to look at the darker recesses of our own modern, digitally fueled obsessions.
Uncover the Story Within You
Every life is a masterpiece of archetypes, dramatic situations, and evolving journeys. Do you feel like the protagonist of your own life, or are you—like Bear—unwittingly trapped in a narrative of your own making?
Are you ready to stop being a spectator of your own life and become its conscious author?
Book a 90-minute Story Coaching session with me. We will identify the recurring themes of your personal myth, navigate your “double journey,” and unlock the creative flow needed to move beyond the tropes of the past and into the truth of your own voice.
- Investment: Euro 295 (excluding VAT)
- Duration: 90 minutes
- Contact: To book your session, please email peterdekuster2023@gmail.com
As you consider the dangers of “obsession” and the way we project our desires onto others, how do you ensure that you are seeing the people in your life as individuals rather than characters in your own narrative?