Obsession Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Obsession Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker July 23, 2026

From executive producer Jason Blum (Blumhouse-Atomic Monster) and written, directed and edited by Curry Barker ('That's a Bad Idea', 'Milk & Serial'), the theatrical horror hit 'Obsession' makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Universal. The film stars Michael Johnston ('Endangerd Species') and Indie Navarrette ('Wander Darkly') with Andy Richter ('Late Night with Conan O'Brien', 'Elf') appearing in a small supporting role. The release features a solid video transfer and a creepy Dolby Atmos audio track to ratchet-up the terror. On-disc extras include a behind-the-scenes short, and a commentary from Barker. A slipcover, and a Digital Code redeemable via Movies Anywhere are also included.

Bear (Michael Johnston) is smitten with Nikki (Indie Navarrette). Working alongside their friends at Cassell's Music, Bear is too timid and uncertain to ask Nikki out. After yet another failed attempt to tell her how he feels, Bear employs the novelty item One Wish Willow to wish for the love of the object of his affection. At first, everything seems fine, but very quickly Bear discovers that his wish may have gotten him something more than he bargained for.

Wishes have always been a tricky business. In our youth we are encouraged to wish on stars, our little brains happily envisioning what our lives would be like when the wishes came true. The same holds true with tossing coins in fountains or down wishing wells, getting the bigger half of the wishbone on Thanksgiving, or any of a host of other things deemed to have the ability to conjure one's heart's desire into reality. It wasn't until my early teens when I first started playing Dungeons & Dragons that I learned there was a darker side to wishes. When working our way through the classic Tomb of Horrors, our group's dungeon master (DM) saw fit to add a "Deck of Many Things" into the the items we stumbled across on that deadly adventure. For the uninitiated, the relatively harmless looking deck of cards calls forth a very particular result each time a card is drawn. Some are positive, rewarding the card drawer with wealth, magic items, and the like. Other cards result in negative things, the worst being instant death. Drawing the Moon card, though, was dicey - it granted the person who drew it a wish. As the DM's Guide encouraged, those running the game needed to pay close attention to how the wish was worded and were encouraged to "twist" the wording or interpretation. For instance, if a player said, "I wish I had one million gold pieces!", our DM might say something like, "Sure, you had a million gold pieces but it was stolen by a dragon years ago. Now you just have what's in your coin purse." A wish to be the most powerful fighter in the realm would be met with a reply that now all others are out to defeat you and claim that distinction for themselves. And so on. The point being, no wish ever worked as intended, there were always unintended and unforeseen consequences, and we quickly learned wishes, while an excellent way to challenge (read, "torment") players, weren't worth the trouble for those of us on the other side of the DM's screen. No, they're best left alone. Obsession's Bear clearly never played Dungeons & Dragons.

Having been to a fair number of weddings this summer, I have heard several couple's love stories and heard an awful lot about love in general. Ceremonies often inform us of all the things that love is; patient, kind, trusting, truthful, and more good things, besides. It's not one choice, it's a series of choices, and choosing that person every day. It's putting the other person ahead of one's self. When Bear, sitting outside of Nikki's house after having just driven her home, unleashes the mystical power of the One Wish Willow by intoning, "I wish Nikki Freeman loved me more than anyone in the [*bleep*]ing world.", this is the road I presumed the film would play in the middle of. Love there would most certainly be, but it just wouldn't work out as intended. Perhaps Nikki would love him deeply, but now he would find her revolting. Afterall, his wish didn't say that they should love each other. Or maybe she would leap to his "rescue" each time some real or perceived danger was about to befall him, causing her to become increasingly injured and disfigured, until she eventually died. Maybe Nikki would ask him to do perform some nigh impossible, horrific, or objectionable feat with her undying love as his reward for success. Or, more simply, since Bear didn't specify anything pertaining to time, Nikki might have loved him in the past but no longer, or perhaps she will love him but not for several decades yet to come. But no, Obsession plays on a much darker road, one without signs, guardrails, or street lights.

Obsessive states can be quite dark and consuming, and, as a result, there is an oppressive and consuming darkness that permeates most shots in the film. It's a darkness that serves multiple purposes. In certain shots, as an actor's face and features are obscured, it's unsettling and functions as a potential warning that things with them may not be quite what they seem. While it might be excusable or easy to explain away in nocturnal outdoor shots, for those taking place indoors, its another matter entirely. Inside, it adds to the general sense of unease as we can never quite get comfortable with the surroundings. As the tension between characters escalates, the darkened rooms add to the sense of danger. Nothing seems well defined, familiar, or safe. The fact that Taylor Clemons' cinematography physically manifests this darkness in the vast majority of the film amplifies the horror-soaked atmosphere that already exists due to the script and the stand-out performance from Indie Navarrette, whose presence and physical beauty rapidly transform into fuel for nightmares. Caution! Due to the nature of the film, spoilers are found beyond this point. Those who have net yet seen the film should skip to the next section of the review.

Instead of trading in anything that looks like love, as evidenced in the film's title, the plot skips right over this emotion that is so critical to the human experience and has Nikki fall victim to an obsession with Bear. Modern parlance has diluted the meaning of the word to a great degree. Regardless of whether I'm at a coffee shop, a brewery, or a concert, I'll often overhear someone excitedly professing to be "obsessed" with a diverse assortment of everyday things; from water bottles to nail polish, and from chai lattes to an up-and-coming local band. But do thoughts of any of these ever become truly so intrusive? To the point where they limit the person's ability to perform normal day to day tasks like eating, going to work, hanging out with friends, or sleeping? I have my doubts. Through Nikki's actions, Obsession reminds the viewer exactly what the word truly means. She is unhealthily fixated on Bear. She is controlling, manipulative, and jealous in the extreme. Her feelings drive her to self-harm and violence. And, serving as a relatively interesting statement on Bear, a person whom we're intended to believe is perfectly mentally healthy and and rational, her obsession finally drives her to take an action identical to that which Bear took earlier. Nikki does some truly horrible things in the during the film's runtime. That's not up for debate. At the same time, Bear's no hero. Having wished for this, everything that happens after that wish, for good or ill, is on him.

Prior to all of this, though, Bear can neither think nor speak of anything but Nikki. When we meet him, he's seated in a diner pouring his heart out to a lovely young woman who is seated across from him. Clearly struggling to put his emotions into the right words that will convey the depth and truth of his emotions, when he finally finishes, she is in the midst of responding when, due to the interjection of his only male friend, we learn that the person to whom he had been speaking is not Nikki. It's the server. This was a test run. Later, he buys her personal things though they're simply friends. He changes his plans to drive her home. He's careless with his pet due to the amount of time he spends thinking about her. Bear speaks of having feelings for Nikki, but in buying the One Wish Willow he clearly wants the reward without doing any of the hard the hard work. Without ever being brave, and having a real connection or working on having adult relationship with her. Without ever truly being in love. He simply wants the reward of having Nikki as his girlfriend above all else. But that path is paved with potential rejection. During the film, we witness Bear having several opportunities to tell Nikki how he feels or to at least ask her out. Having not ever spent time with her in a dating capacity, it is possible that he likes the idea of her more than who she is in actuality. But, because of his cowardice, he's not taken the chance. After employing the One Wish Willow, this doesn't change. No matter how extreme Nikki's actions become, and some are as surprising as they are evil, while he may sometimes raise his voice and implore her to stop, he never takes any direct action to put a halt her behavior. At best he is frozen by his fear and insecurities, at worst, despite everything that has happened since he made his wish, he somehow still likes having her as his girlfriend.

Given the film's plot and focus, Bear should the person for whom we're rooting. He simply can't be. And due to Nikki's increasingly unhinged actions, it's easy to assume that she and her behavior are the source of the film's title. But this doesn't entirely ring true, either. Bear's cowardice and his insurmountable fear of rejection holds him back from growing as a character and having a real relationship. And, though his actions, initially, may seem innocent and ordinary, it is clear, after considering the film in total, that his the obsession for which the film earns its title. Before he makes his wish, Nikki is his constant focus. When he makes his wish, what he's looking for is not a real emotional connection. It's not real love. What Bear wants is to possess Nikki, to have her, to own her. Through his wish he aims to control her. He'll bend her to his will with little care or concern for what she wants or what is best for her. He's not showing her any kindness through this act of manipulation, and he is definitely not giving her any ability to choose. Bear doesn't know how to love. He's obsessed. And given that fact, when he makes his wish is it any wonder that Nikki doesn't display any real love, but simply reflects an amplified version of Bear's obsession back at him? Molded by the wish, she is what Bear made her. His obsession is the root of all of this ruin.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Obsession looks quite good in motion and is presented in it's original 1.50:1 aspect ratio. Emotionally and cinematographically, the film is quite dark and as doesn't lend itself well to garish colors or heightened detail. As a result, the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD presentations have a great deal in common, with the differences between the two being rather slight. In its more brightly lit moments such as the opening scene in the diner and those set in Cassell's Music, we get a good look at the world of the film and the characters who reside in it. In these scenes, detail levels are impressively high, allowing us to observe pores, stubble and other fine details on the cast's faces. Colors, too, are healthy here, and are nicely saturated. But these moments rarely last. Instead, the film consistently pushes for a darker look, one that builds a sense of claustrophobia, oppression, and isolation. Cinematographer Taylor Clemons shot the film with an Arri Alexa 35, and isn't afraid of crafting scenes that are dominated by impenetrable darkness. Environmental detail withers away, rendering darkened rooms and external environments undefined and capable of playing host to virtually any horror. While those selecting the 4K disc may be able to discern marginally more in Bear's home, for example, such differences are incremental rather than quantum. As Nikki sinks deeper into the One Wish Willow's power, characters, and Nikki in particular, can be consumed by shadow, leaving her as little more than a silhouette such as when she stands outside Bear's residence at the 36-minute mark to discuss the events of the previous night. Other similar shots populate the film with some frequency, leaving us wondering as to Nikki's expressions, her motivations, and her mental state. Blacks here are as deep all-consuming as they are intended to be, and this blotting out of detail and the inability to adequately investigate the rooms and locations where the film's action transpires is part and parcel to the film's mission. While not among the ranks of the most highly detailed presentations that the format has to offer, its appearance is as the filmmakers intended.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Obsession is outfitted with an effective Dolby Atmos audio track that efficiently assists in crafting a relentlessly creepy atmosphere. Moments of immersion are frequent, such as the early scene set in Barker's Pub where Bear has a clumsy and awkward conversion with Nikki as he struggles to connect with the young woman who so greatly occupies his waking thoughts. Here, the viewer is placed in the middle of the crowded and noisy watering hole, with voices, clinking glasses and other related sounds emanating from all around. At other moments, the film's score seeps into the sound stage, gradually swelling and growing more dominant in critical, tense moments. Music is rendered with excellent clarity and fidelity. Sound effects likewise impress, whether they be more mundane elements such as footsteps, closing doors, and the like or more dramatic sound effects that define the film's more violent moments. Both these elements and the music is handily supported by a healthy bass presence with adds needed depth and realism. Dialogue is clean and clear and is typically front and center focused. Screams are as intelligible as whispers. Directionality is accurate with viewers able to easily track voices, characters, and objects as they move through the space. Based on the intimate nature of the film, the demands placed on the track are not excessive or outlandish, and it's more than up to the task of supporting this tale of domestic disharmony.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Obsession is outfitted with a small selection of on-disc extras.

• 'Obsession' Unleashed (19.13) - This EPK feature leverages the film's cast and Writer/Director/Editor Curry Barker as they discuss casting, rehearsing, filming, locations, and other topics.

• Feature Commentary - Writer/Director/Editor Curry Barker is on hand to discuss the film as it unspools. Spoilers come out rather quickly, so viewers are advised not to enjoy the commentary prior to watching the film. Barker shares information about friends of his who show up in smaller roles, as well as a few ways in which his mother assisted in the production, and taking time to point out his father's contribution as well. He provides advice for filmmakers, data regarding shooting locations, and audience reactions as well. Working without notes Barker is sometimes silent, waiting to be inspired by the on-screen action. Overall, it's a casual track that is an interesting and informative listen

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Obsession owes much of its success to its intensely creepy atmosphere. What begins by feeling akin to a romantic comedy steadily morphs into a terrifying and more sinister film, and while there are a few humorous moments to break the tension, this is an increasingly grim affair. The film is elevated by the performances from the two leads, with that of Indie Navarrette being particularly noteworthy. More mature tales of fictional wishes rarely turn out well, and this film is in keeping with that tradition. The story of Bear and Nikki is as frightening as it is memorable, and its box office receipts of over $400 million against a budget of under $1 million are well-earned. It's one of the best modern horror films I've seen in recent memory. Having little to do with love everything to do with something darker, Obsession comes highly recommended.