Obsession

To be honest, I'm not sure where to rate this. A 90 would say that I LOVE it. An 85 is basically I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT. An 80 is a bit too low. I'm actually writing this full review before the mini-review (something I never do because I always mean the full review to just elaborate on some points) because I want to work through my thoughts and then come to a conclusion.

First of all, as everybody says, Inde Navarrette is masterful here. Horror performances can be quite demanding while not garnering the same respect as dramas, but really, the best horror performances encompass all the elements of drama while incorporating the elements of horror.

For example, Inde has to wrestle being likable (at least for the first bit) and emotional, but then she also has to be creepy and sadistic. She contorts her face in ways that you sometimes assume are CGI, but aren't. She has to be menacing, grotesque and insane, but at the same time, you often see the tortured woman underneath, who isn't those things. But then she has to sell the entity's personality, which is essentially plastic, and make that compelling/believable. And she does. It's breathtaking stuff, honestly. The movie would be worth seeing for her alone.

Not to mention there are some legitimately creepy scenes, though I wouldn't say it's the scariest movie ever by any means. But there are times--such as her standing in the corner watching him sleep--that got me. Or there's a jump scare that you KNOW is coming--when Bear is talking to Sarah in the car--and it's so effectively done that it still gets you.

And I felt sad during basically the entire thing. Bear loves this girl so much, but you get the feeling that she already friendzoned him without him having to tell her his feelings. That kind of thing isn't always obvious when you're involved in it, but us as outside viewers can clearly see it. But he's still sympathetic. The discussion about autonomy is valid and ultimately the point of the movie, but when he makes the wish I didn't take it as a real serious thing because a) he didn't think it would work and b) it came across as an innocent "oh I wish she loved me swoon" thing rather than a "MAKE HER LOVE ME DAMMIT." Some people will hate that distinction but oh well.

And for a while he remains sympathetic. Look, nobody is instantly going to jump to the supernatural explanation because we have no concrete evidence that the supernatural is real, ESPECIALLY when you're blinded by your love and desire for someone. But as the movie goes on he becomes irredeemable. And to the movie's credit, it makes that abundantly clear. He's cowardly. He keeps raping her, essentially. It takes him way too long to try anything meaningful to save Nikki. He doesn't even try everything he could to save her. Even by the end, when he knows killing himself would save her, he tries to throw up. Now, ending yourself is not an easy decision because most people would rather live with some guilt than not live at all (if they're being honest), but everything leading up to that point clearly demonstrates his true character.

You just don't do this shit to someone you love (or really anybody), especially when they haven't even wronged you in anyway. He's despicable.

And Nikki. I mean, what's there to say? She's trapped in Hell while a version of her is forced to be around, love and fuck a dude she doesn't love like that. There's no way to not be sympathetic towards her if you're a normal person. There's no real argument against her in this movie. There is one point I bring up in my musings down below but it's not a theory that has much (or maybe even any) evidence about the real her. It's just interesting to think about.

I do have a criticism. It's minor. It's why I'm not sure if I land on an 85 or a 90 as I write this. I've seen some people say "oh the reveal that she's in there somewhere is horrifying" and I'm like... that's a big reveal to you? I've seen some people say AT THE END. It was obvious from me the beginning it happened. They literally had scenes where she'd be freaking out and then break into the real her, even for a second. And at the time I thought that was cool. It was a dynamic performance.

But it also meant that there was no mystery to it for me. It showed its hand early and it probably would have been stronger if they held onto it a little longer. One of my favourite scenes in the entire thing was when he finally calls the number on the back of the box and he's talking to the dude on the phone and the dude is like, "Do you want to talk to her?" and then while they're talking it's Nikki screaming. As it was, it amplified her torment, but it could have done that while also being a surprise had they held off. I think I would have preferred that but it's ultimately not a huge deal because as I reflect, I'm realizing that everything about this kept me invested.

Oh, also, I loved the ending. She makes the wish for him to love her, so he snaps into that, only to die because he's still ODing. And then Nikki snaps back to her real self, left with the destruction that "she" caused. Beautiful. I had such a smile on my face when he snapped into loving her. They could have ended it like that and I would have been completely happy because that's tragic in its own right, but I do enjoy the extra bit afterwards. I'm not saying cutting it off a little sooner is right or wrong, though I think I might have preferred it to end with them just "in love."


Here's a final musing. It's not a criticism of the movie. I actually think it enriches the movie for me because there is a conversation to be had, and it is part:

I stopped writing my review to talk to ChatGPT about this (yeah, I do this sometimes) because I enjoy back and forth logical discussions with AI. Sue me. Anyway, it's centered around the idea that Bear's wish, "I wish Nikki would love me more than anything in this world" created a homicidal girlfriend.


1: Does this say anything about the real Nikki?

I don't think it's supported by the text but it was a thought I briefly had. I saw others did too but it's not strong.

2: Can the entity understand love enough to manufacture it?

We know that Nikki doesn't genuinely love him, but One Wish Willow is not a monkey paw. Yes, in Bear's case it does get twisted and turns tragic, but the movie demonstrates one explicit case and one implied case that it doesn't NEED to twist. Ian wishes for a billion, gets it, no strings attached. The shopkeeper made his wish and seems content with it.

Is the entity malicious? Doesn't seem to be. Gave Ian a billion. Seems pretty literal. Does it simply misunderstand love? I mean, maybe. Maybe love to the entity is what Nikki ended up being, making Bear the only thing that mattered, so it would make some sense that she becomes murderous. My pushback to that is... I don't know why it would misunderstand love. There's no reason to believe that it can't. It alters reality. You could say it can't manufacture genuine love but why can't fake Nikki genuinely love him? If a robot thinks it's in love, why isn't it? What's the difference? Like I said, the entity embraces literalism. But there is a point there worth considering.

3: Or you know, it's a horror movie, so it just does shit occasionally.

My point would disappear if the wording of the wish changed. If it was something like, "I wish Nikki would do anything to be with me" or something then yeah, there's no gap in logic from love to homicide.

But at the same time, crimes of passion exist, so I get it. Some people do kill people they love. Though you could make the argument that if you loved someone truly you wouldn't kill them. And that would be obsession (WHOA, THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE). Anyway, people usually criticize horror movies for how characters act, but there would always be people who would act that way. Plus, sometimes emotion is more important than logic.


Let me repeat: these are just musings. They aren't criticisms. I enjoy that the movie made me think about it in this way. I'm not saying anything I wrote here is deep, but it made me appreciate the movie more. I land on point 3, where I do think there's a gap in the logic because of the wording but it's also a horror movie so obviously it's going to go that route.

You know, I think I'm going to land on a 90 with this one. The more I think about it, the more I like it.