As someone who uses the word ‘obsessed’ for every single thing in life, I don’t think, after watching “Obsession”, I’ll ever describe anything in the same way. 

On my way back home after watching this movie, I was convinced someone was going to pop out of the bushes. I had the keys between my fingers, and everything. That’s how scared I was. 

We have to agree – Curry Barker absolutely cooked. 

The movie definitely made me sleep with my lights on. Not just the night I watched it, but the night after that too, and honestly, the one after that as well. The unsettling feeling was not just fear; it was something quieter and harder to understand. 

The plot of the movie is that Bear liked Nikki. But he didn’t have the guts to tell her, so he wished that she would love him more than anyone in the world.  

What we saw throughout the movie was never love, though; it was limerence. It was insanity. More than anything, it was an obsession.  

Bear bought the One Wish Willow for Nikki, but he used it for himself. That’s the whole movie right there.  

Bear, who was supposedly in love with Nikki for so long, felt absolutely nothing watching her fall out of love with herself. Because all he wanted was never her, he just wanted her to want him.  

Unsurprisingly, the obsessed person was never Nikki; it was always Bear.  

There’s a scene where Bear doesn’t ask Nikki if she loves him. He says, ‘Does Nikki love me?’, like she’s not even there. And he knew that she wasn’t there. She was right in front of him, and he couldn’t recognise her, but still couldn’t let her go. 

Are we as humans that desperate for love that we are willing to settle for the illusion of it? 

The movie has its fair share of horror, don't get me wrong. There’s a scene in a parked car that will make you never want to be in one after dark again, and another where Nikki walks backward in the most unnatural way possible. But the part that made me actually gasp was quieter than any of that. It was a single line when Nikki said,  

I was never in love with you, Bear” 

Again, she was never in love with him.  

Not fell out of love. Not loved him and lost it. Never.  

She was never completely herself after Bear broke the One Wish Willow. She was under a spell that rewrote everything she felt, everything she wanted. 

And when Nikki did get control of her body, even if it was for mere seconds, she tried to kill herself. Bear’s biggest wish was her greatest enemy. Not because she didn’t love him, but she didn’t even possess herself anymore. 

But somehow she was still in there. That much was clear. The moments she broke through, desperately, terrified, trying to end it just to get out, were proof that somewhere underneath all of it, Nikki was still fighting. But fighting for what? Every exit was sealed. Every second she reclaimed was borrowed time in a body that no longer answered to her. 

And yet after all this, somehow the most ruthless part was that Bear had the chance to cancel the wish but still requested to alter it instead. Even when he knew that it wasn’t really Nikki anymore beyond any doubt. 

He didn’t stop. He didn’t care.  

Everything from her body to her soul was under his control. 

And when she finally found her exit, it was supposed to feel like freedom. But she was left all alone to clean up a mess she never made.

Is it obvious that the movie is still sitting with me? 

And none of this would have landed as hard without the performances. Michael Johnston playing ‘Bear’ was scarier than any ghost. He played someone ordinary; someone you might know, and someone who genuinely believes their own story and is more terrifying than the monster under your bed.

Inde Navarrette playing ‘Nikki’ absolutely delivered. Such an Icon. 

You can see Nikki lose herself to the wish and fight her way back, over and over again. The way she portrayed someone slipping in and out of their own mind was absolutely heartbreaking..  

The movie grossed over $178 million with a budget of under $1 million, which is not surprising at all. The actors played their roles so well that I was thinking what I would do if I were also a character in the movie. That's how involved I was. It didn’t have massive plot twists, and that's what made it better cause I knew what was going to happen, I was expecting it, but I was still scared. Overall, it made me think about things I’d rather not think about.

Anyway, after the movie, I carried on with life and saw others do the same. But I noticed the hunger for greed, for power, and all the more for something that is supposed to be love. We are always wanting something from someone. The question is how far you are willing to go and whether it’s worth it to go that far? 

But here’s the thing. Bear’s story isn’t just Bear’s story. Sorry, my bad. 

It’s actually Nikki’s story. 

We live in a world that is constantly trying to author us. Someone is always deciding what our story should look like without even giving us a chance to write it. Our choices, our desires, what we wear, who we want and what it should look like when we want it. And most of the time, we don’t even notice the wish being made on our behalf. 

Control is so ubiquitous. It’s something we are always warned we could be a victim of. But we never wonder if we are feeding into it. How many times do we carry on with life, thinking this is what I deserve, even if it isn’t fair? 

To make you feel worse, Bear didn’t think he was the villain either. 

But then, how many times have you held onto something thinking it’ll get better, even though you never had any say? 

As someone who is 22, with several decisions to make and an insane amount of uncertainties to face, I, just like you, wonder if the grass is greener on the other side and if it’s better to make that wish. 

But the thing about real life is that wishes are just choices we haven’t made yet, and every choice has consequences. So, the more interesting question is: 

Do you still want to make that wish? 

PS: If someone acts absolutely insane at a party, do not text their partner at 2 am. Or maybe you should? 

Sarah can tell you more about that, oh wait, she can’t!

(Watch the movie. Then come back and read this again)

Yashu is a 3rd year economics student trying to find her optimal self. She often uses phrases such as ‘YOLO’ or ‘we won't be this young again’ to make bad decisions. When she’s not doing that, she spends her time reading trashy romcoms, doing random side quests and plotting her next move.