There have been several films to hit the 2026 movie calendar that revolve around relationships gone wrong. From The Drama to Over Your Dead Body to Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. This weekend we’ll add one more with Obsession. The horror movie premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Fest to rave reviews, so as it hits theaters on May 15, what exactly are those reviews saying?
Obsession stars Michael Johnston as Bear, who makes a wish to have his childhood friend and longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. Wishes just never turn out the way you hope they will, do they? In the case of the critics, it’s actually Navarrette who they have become obsessed with. Frank Scheck of THR says in his review that Obsession’s fresh spin on the wish fulfillment formula makes it “so fun and so disturbing,” writing:
Johnston displays an admirable willingness to make his character look pathetic at times rather than trying too hard to make him likeable. It’s Navarrette, though, who truly gives the film its mojo. The young actress delivers such a virtuosic performance as the spellbound Nikki that she’ll induce nightmares for anyone who’s ever wondered what exactly the hell is going on with their romantic partner.
Timothy Lee of Geeks of Color rates the movie 9 out of 10, calling it one of the best horror movies he’s seen in the past five years. Inde Navarrette’s performance “genuinely left me terrified,” the critic says. More from his review:
Inde Navarrette as Nikki is by far the best actor in Obsession, as she does a fantastic job balancing the craziness and scariness of her supernaturally possessed character. For someone who has never done anything in horror before (Navarrette stated in the Q&A after the Midnight Madness screening that this is her first horror movie), Navarrette manages to frighten me in every frame that she’s in. Whether it’s standing in place smiling while urinating or delivering a creepy passage about incest, Nikki is a haunting presence throughout the film’s runtime that I both wanted to look away from and couldn’t stop watching in awe and terror.
So smiling while urinating is not OK? Noted, and moving on.
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gives Obsession 4 out of 5 skulls, calling it “one freaky movie” that combines a variety of scare tactics and dark humor that keep audiences on their toes. It’s bound to become this year’s horror obsession, Navarro writes, in large part due to Inde Navarrette’s “potently nightmarish” performance. The critic writes:
Inde Navarrette quickly becomes Obsession‘s not-so-secret weapon in this increasingly disturbing masterclass of wish-fulfillment horror. Early introductions to the core characters present a crystal clear picture of Nikki as feisty, independent, and uninterested in Bear beyond their platonic friendship. But where Navarrette truly impresses is her disturbing portrayal post-wish. At first, Nikki seems caught in a manic breakdown, unsettling in itself, but that slowly gives way to more sinister behaviors as it becomes clear that Nikki isn’t Nikki anymore. Worse, the real Nikki occasionally breaks through the hollow, love-stricken shell.
Nick Schager of Daily Beast calls the horror flick “a curdled stew of nastiness,” with its grim laughs hitting almost as hard as the shocking horror. Of the lead actress, Schager’s Obsession review says:
Navarrette’s performance as Nikki develops in delightfully monstrous fashion, vacillating so brusquely between loveably devoted and maniacally deranged that she keeps the material perched on the knife’s edge of madness. With a smile that, at a moment’s notice, transforms from inviting to blood-curdling, and a honeyed voice that frequently erupts into hellish moans, wails, and screams, it’s an exceptional turn that perfectly harmonizes with the material’s bleakness.
Chris Bumbray of JoBlo gives it a “Great” 8 out of 10, agreeing with his fellow critics that this movie should put Inde Navarrette on the map. However, he thinks Michael Johnston might actually have the trickier role. Bear is who moviegoers will likely grow to hate, but Johnston portrays the awfulness without losing the character’s humanity. Either way, they both deserve their flowers for what Bumbray calls “a slam-bang indie horror gem.” He writes:
[Writer/director Curry Barker] guides the film with a sure hand and doesn’t shy away from hammering home his message about the difference between real love and obsession. Many will note the movie’s gallows humor, with gore-heavy moments happening so randomly and brutally that you can’t help but laugh at how demented they are—only to realize moments later that what you’re watching is, in many ways, a classic horror tragedy.
It’s not just these critics who enjoyed the movie, either. Obsession stands with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, so if wish-fulfillment horror is your thing, definitely don’t miss this one. It hits the big screen on Friday, May 15.
