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Film School: Obsession (2026)

Obsession (2026) Obsession (2026)

Lessons from the horror smash – and its 26-year-old writer-director’s journey from YouTube to making box office history.

As a scaredy cat, my way of processing genuinely upsetting horror is to learn as much as I can about how it was done. So this entry is a grown-up’s version of, “You’re safe. See? It’s not real.” Fortunately, there’s plenty to unpack and learn from the cultural and box-office phenomenon that is Obsession.

Low-key lighting in Obsession (2026)

The film showcases a masterful play on darkness and light, thematically and literally (does this movie channel the terrifying VHS noise-in-the-darkness effect for the clean digital era? Absolutely). Its horror is effective and timely, exploring themes of codependency, consent, abuse, and accountability. It’s made by prodigious young first-time feature writer-director-editor, with a pedigree in comedy skits on YouTube and TikTok – and you can feel that experience guiding every twist and fright throughout the symphonic dread. The film features a generational performance from its breakout star. There are more jump scares than the film’s otherwise perfectly-calibrated horror and humour warrant. Oh, and its success has prompted a larger conversation about the business of independent film-making. Let’s get into all of it.

That’s A Bad Idea

Coop & Curry, “a horrible comedy duo“, made their bones creating viral video comedy skits – and that well-honed sensibility powers Obsession:

@thats.a.bad.idea

Santa needs your consent this year #sketchcomedy #skit #snl #relatable #keyandpeele #santaclaus #elf #cancelculture #thatsabadidea

♬ original sound – That’s a Bad Idea
@thats.a.bad.idea

This guy is definitely possessed #sketchcomedy #skit #snl #keyandpeele #relatable #possessed #exorcism #exorcist #priest #thatsabadidea

♬ original sound – That’s a Bad Idea

Product of YouTube Film School

“YouTube Taught Me That a Modern Horror Audience is Actually Very Smart,” Obsession writer, director, and editor Curry Barker tells Phantasmag:

“Every single aspect of even composition is a tool that they used to use.” The film’s long takes, precise camera movements, and dynamic blocking aren’t exactly the ingredients for engagement and retention on social media. Simply referring to Curry Barker as a “YouTube film-maker” belies the classic cinema literacy he brings to Obsession (via Scene It):

Inde Navarrette

The phenomenal lead performance (fuck that supporting noise) frightened even its performer (via EW):

Curry Barker highlights a crucial element in Inde’s portrayal of pre-curse Nikki – and it speaks to the depth of their collaboration and his trust in her performance to carry the film:

Behind the Scenes

Curry Barker reveals a dancer performed some of Nikki’s creepier physical movements in moments such as the flowers scene (via The Hollywood Reporter):

Some special effects were achieved primarily through makeup (and of course, that performance):

Old-fashioned rear projection (more on how they did this in our look at this classic film-making technique):

BTS of the pivotal car scene:

A word from the film’s props master:

Marketing

Inspired, risky, and, given the success of the film, spot-on (via frothybax and Discussing Film):

@frothybax

Check out these billboards from Obsession 💻 they told a story through the ad space, and did a great job, all without mentioning the movie even once. This is a great example of experiential marketing #obsession #experientialmarketing #horrormovie

♬ original sound – frothybax

… and what happens when you txt Nikki’s number (via tasiaari):

@tasiaari

lolll i did not think it was going to work. 10/10 movie💀😭 #nikki #obsession #obsessionmovie #fyp

♬ Love is in the Air, Pt. 2 – Rock Burwell

Spoilers

Alternate Ending (clipped from the longer interview, via Collider):

“If she’s not being perceived, does she exist?”

Spoiler interview with writer/director Curry Barker (via Collider):

And in case it isn’t clear enough in the film, Curry Barker explains the true curse in the story (via Collider):

Profitable – But Not For All

Variety tracks How Obsession Became an Unprecedented Box Office Horror Hit — and One of the Year’s Most Profitable Movies. Meanwhile Obsession‘s art director, Sally Choi, has called for industry reform after being paid less than $7,000 as the film went on to make $175 Million…

… which subsequently sparked a conversation about payment structures in independent film:

‘Obsession’ Payout via The Wrap
Analysis by George Fields

“That’s not a sustainable model… that means a lot of people didn’t get paid.” Director Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong, 2021, and Death Note, 2017) elaborates on the reality of passion projects vs movie budgets (via Screenplayed):

Further Viewing

It’s grim, but sadly not surprising, to see film execs, young boys, and self–reporting incels all miss the point of the film so tellingly. However, this take from this commentator is wild. Aside from the fact that the film clearly communicates the horror of what Bear is doing to Nikki, it makes sense thematically that Nikki (her torture, and her true self) is only glimpsed through the lens of Bear’s monstrous cowardice. Even Pop Culture Detective, it seems, can fall prey to the ‘portrayal = endorsement’ trap of media illiteracy:

Possible inspiration? Pulse (2001), directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa:

Curry Barker’s earlier horror work, Warnings, The Chair, and Milk & Serial:

Classic examples of rear projection, some inside info from the crew of Obsession, and tips for how to do it yourself:

Film School: Rear Projection

Obsession (2026) costume designer Blair James shares a bunch of inside stories on her TikTok. We include a couple of examples in our look at Costume Design in Storytelling:

Film School: Costume Design in Storytelling

If you’re looking for another movie about dark male wish fulfilment, but less horror and more off-kilter comedy à la Being John Malkovich (2009), from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine (2006)… well, it actually exists, and it’s called Ruby Sparks (2012):

As DP Taylor Clemons explains to ShotDeck, one of Curry Barker’s references for Obsession was another modern horror film which does amazing things with low-key lighting, Hereditary (2018):

@shotdeckfilm

#obsession has been breaking box office records for the past 2 weekends. We had a chance to sit down with DP Taylor Clemons to discuss the independent spirit behind the making of the film as well as what he took away from the production for his future projects. You can catch Taylor’s work on Obsession in theaters now. #filmtok #filmmaking #filmmaker

♬ original sound – ShotDeck
Review: Hereditary (2018)