The “be careful what you wish for” genre gets a slick, swift jolt of electricity in “Obsession,” a finely crafted tale of a spell —and a crush — gone very, very wrong.
Bear (Michael Johnston, looking like a young Billy Crudup) is anything but the animal for which he’s named. He’s a shy guy carrying a flame for his co-worker and trivia night pal Nikki (Inde Navarrette), and he’s trying to work up the courage to confess his crush to her. Instead he finds a shortcut in the One Wish Willow, a corny novelty item that promises to grant its owner one wish.
After he drives Nikki home one night and awkwardly fumbles asking her out, Bear cracks open the package and makes his plea: “I wish Nikki would love me more than anyone in the f—ing world,” he says. And he gets his wish, alright, but he quickly learns obsession ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
There has been no shortage of stories that play with the Monkey’s Paw idea of “be careful what you wish for,” especially in the horror space; in the “Wishmaster” series of films, the titular villain would offer to grant people’s wishes but would inflict upon them the worst possible punishments given their choice of words, thus becoming a deadly game of semantics.
“The Substance” also played with these themes: “Oh, you want to beat effects aging? Try this. But there is a catch…”
These stories are thriving now because we live in a world of quick fixes and shortcuts, where social media has people convinced that there are many skipping steps toward success. People want what they want and they want it now, and they don’t care how they get it.
“Obsession” also dovetails with weak-willed notions of modern masculinity. Bear comes off as the sweet, unassuming type, but once he gets what he supposedly wants, he essentially willingly imprisons his victim, Nikki, for his personal and social gain. That he doesn’t see himself as a monster is part of what elevates “Obsession.” He wants to appear as though he’s got it all and is willing to pay the price to prove it.
Writer-director Curry Barker (“Milk & Serial”) takes great pleasure in making and watching Bear suffer. Johnston plays him as insecure and nebbish, but he’s too ineffectual to admit his wrongs, even as everyone around him sees something is up.
Navarrette — like Johnson, she’s a relative unknown, which works to the movie’s benefit — is excellent, taking the “crazy girlfriend” trope to wild extremes. She’s playing both the victim and the tormentor, and she navigates both sides of Nikki’s personalities. Barker, meanwhile, makes his world relatable and believable, which will help viewers see themselves in the characters, even as their behaviors become more and more unhinged.
It’s a modern twist on a familiar tale, and a lesson as old as time. But “Obsession” is proof that a simple story told well is the oldest trick in the book, especially when it works this well.
agraham@detroitnews.com
‘Obsession’
GRADE: B+
Rated R: for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity
Running time: 109 minutes
In theaters
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Obsession’ review: Twisted tale of infatuation is taken to extremes
Reporting by Adam Graham, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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