A cautionary tale about the perils for wanting more than you deserve, desiring more than the universe offers you, or tempting fate, W.W. Jacobs’ supernatural short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” has been adapted into film, TV, and radio innumerable times since its initial publication in 1902, both directly, remaining faithful to the story’s three-wish conceit and the unintended consequences (death, resurrection, banishment) that follow, and indirectly, often in parodic or satirical form, like one of the segments from The Simpsons annual “Treehouse of Horror” (season 3, episode 7) episode that aired during the winter of 1991. The segment became a classic among fans of The Simpsons.
That ingenious mix of horror, comedy, and parody lingered in future filmmaker Curry Barker’s
(Milk & Serial, The Chair, Warnings) imagination through the next decade and a half, his sketch comedy career with partner Cooper Tomlinson and their “It’s a Bad Idea” video channel on YouTube, two well-regarded genre shorts, “Warnings” and “The Chair,” and the straight-to-YouTube slasher flick, Milk & Serial. Barker’s YouTube success naturally led to the attention of genre producers eager to discover — and profit from— new talent. In Barker’s case, they helped to bring his idiosyncratic vision to multiplex audiences through his brilliantly executed feature-length debut, Obsession.
Discursively inspired by Jacobs’ short story and by the above-mentioned “Treehouse of Horror” segment, Obsession more than lives up to its oft-used title, subverting an otherwise simple, straightforward, over-familiar premise (“be careful what you wish for”) into its gnarliest, goriest, and most absurdist form. Almost as importantly, Obsession deconstructs contemporary masculinity (no “nice guys” here, only stealth predators pretending to be “nice guys”), romantic desire mutated into its most toxic, destructive form, and ultimately, a misanthropic take on human nature (i.e., we’re all doomed, except maybe we’re not).
Fittingly, Obsession opens with one character, Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston), heartbroken and in tears over his house cat’s sudden demise, Sandy, and ends with another character (their identity won’t be spoiled here), awakening from a prolonged nightmare of virtual bondage and captivity into a never-ending, primal scream, their agency and autonomy stolen by indifference and malevolence, by turns facing permanent trauma, partial recovery, and institutionalization under the state’s aegis.
Before Obsession arrives at its predetermined terminus, however, Bear, a sad, borderline pathetic, directionless twenty-something, can’t bring himself to cross the romantic Rubicon that divides platonic friends from ardent lovers: Fearing rejection, Bear can’t tell Nikki Freeman (an undeniably standout turn from Inde Navarrette), his longtime crush, high-school friend, and current music store co-worker, how he really feels about her. Instead, he tells a waitress at his local diner while his best friend and co-worker, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), listens in bewilderment, suggesting a less heartfelt, more restrained approach.
Still at a romantic impasse and uncertain what to do next, Bear picks up a novelty item, “One Wish Willow,” at a New Age shop. Intended as a gift for Nikki to make up for a lost necklace, a Bear hopes to give Nikki the “One Wish Willow” after a trivia night out with Ian, Nikki, and mutual friend/co-worker, Sarah (Megan Lawless), an art school wannabe. Instead, Bear impulsively uses the “One Wish Willow” himself, clumsily wishing Nikki would love him more than everybody in the world. Unfortunately for Bear, he doesn’t realize he’s in a supernatural horror film, and his cruel, capricious, merciless creator, Barker, isn’t guided by what’s best for Bear’s short or long-term future.
Initially, it’s nothing but the bluest of skies and the calmest of seas for Bear. Nikki unconditionally embraces her new role as Bear’s exclusive girlfriend. Leaning ironically into romantic-comedy tropes, Barker segues into a cheerful montage of Bear and Nikki prepping and eating meals together, reading in Bear’s bed, and, of course, engaging in various forms of sexual congress. It’s every dream come true for Bear, right before his situationship with Nikki devolves into a nightmarish hellscape neither he nor anyone in his orbit can escape. Flipping Bear’s unrequited crush on Nikki, her obsession with him turns positively monstrous, occasionally violent, and eventually self-destructive.
Remove the “One Wish Willow” as the central plot device from Obsession, and Barker’s film would still unfold as horror, albeit in a psychological register, where Bear slots into the role of victim rather than perpetrator. He also would bear zero responsibility for Nikki’s psychotic break or its aftermath. With the cursed wish as the de facto inciting incident, Bear’s responsibility becomes all the greater for depriving Nikki of her agency and turning her into a possessed stalker and/or violent abuser. To his credit, Barker doesn’t absolve Bear of his responsibility or guilt for the latter’s actions. Barker makes Bear pay dearly for his decision to place his own desires over Nikki’s autonomy and agency. Bear sees Nikki purely as an object to be acquired and possessed, not a subject with her own wants and needs exclusive of Bear.
As Bear fitfully attempts to circumvent the unintended fallout from the wish, Barker deftly mixes cringe-horror and cringe-comedy with the confidence and assurance of a more seasoned genre filmmaker, delivering something best described as cringe-horror. For every wince-inducing decision a floundering Bear makes, Barker unleashes a world of blood-soaked, gore-filled hurt, mostly on Bear, but also on anyone unfortunately located in Bear’s orbit. Bear’s clumsy, increasingly desperate attempts to evade his inevitable fate provide the film’s second half with one half-laugh, half-shock, all-cringe after another, right up until Obsession ends with the aforementioned bloodcurdling scream. That scream also serves as the perfect coda to Bear and Nikki’s twisted tale of abnegated consent, nullified autonomy, and regained agency.
Obsession opens theatrically in general release on Friday, May 15th, via Focus Features.
