Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in "Obsession."

Focus Features

Obsession, Curry Barker’s indie horror thriller about dangerous obsessive behavior, is winning over Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Written and directed by YouTube-creator-turned-big-screen filmmaker Barker, Obsession opened on Friday. The film is already defying expectations at the domestic box office and is projected by Deadline to earn $14 million from 2,615 theaters in its opening weekend, while early estimates pegged it at $8 million to $9 million.

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Obsession had a production budget of $1 million but was acquired by its studio distributor, Focus Features, for “around $15 million” at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter,

Obsession stars Michael Johnston as Bear, who, in a bid to win the heart of his best friend and longtime crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), breaks the mysterious “One Wish Willow.” Afterward, Bear is granted his single wish — to have Nikki love him more than anyone in the world — but things take an unexpected turn when that romance ventures to a dark and sinister place and she becomes dangerously obsessed with him.

As of Saturday, Obsession is a big hit with both Rotten Tomatoes critics and verified users who post ratings on the aggregation site. The film currently has an RT critics’ score of 94% based on 173 reviews, with a Critics Consensus that reads, “Taking an icky conceit and twisting it to deviously crowd-pleasing ends, Obsession is dauntingly disturbing while also skillfully amusing and thrilling.”

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The film has also earned a 94% “fresh” score on RT’s Popcornmeter based on 1,000-plus verified user ratings. The site’s Audience Summary is still pending.

What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Obsession’?

Guy Lodge of Variety is among the top critics on RT who gives Obsession a “fresh” score, writing in his RT review summary, “Obsession initially seems simplistic, and even a bit silly, in its rehash of the age-old monkey’s paw trope. Like the consequences of that ill-considered wish, however, it proves eerily hard to shake.”

Monica Castillo of AV Club also gives the film a “fresh” score, writing on RT, “With a simple premise and one unassuming wish, Barker immerses his audience in a dark scenario that only escalates in tension and carnage. It’s the kind of horror movie that makes a viewer uneasy almost from the start and doesn’t let up.”

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Barry Hertz of the Globe and Mail also praises the film, writing in his RT review summary, “Obsession might be marketed as a thrill-packed cautionary tale, but Barker isn’t letting anyone off the hook here, including himself. Like Bear, the director realizes that he’s unleashed something uniquely awful here. Buyers, and would-be lovers, beware.”

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast also grants Obsession a “fresh” score on RT, calling the film “a deliriously pointed cautionary tale about the perils of getting what you want, and an instant contender for classic midnight-movie status.”

Odie Henderson of the Boston Globe is among the top critics on RT who gives the film a “rotten” score. Henderson writes in his RT review summary, “Unfortunately, it’s the plot that gets Obsession into trouble. This is a movie about the sexes that wants to have its cake and eat it, too.”

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Keith Powers of The Reveal wanted more out of Obsession, and as such, he gives the film a “rotten” score. Powers writes on RT, “Some of Obsession works, but it’s ultimately only good enough to make it easy to wish it was much better.”

Kristein Lopez of The Film Maven also gives the film a “rotten” score, writing on RT, “Obsession is a skin crawling male fantasy film in the worst way. A screeching, grating tale of misogyny that doesn't want to get in the weeds of its female character's suffering.”

Also starring Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter, Obsession, which is rated R, is in new in theaters nationwide.

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