Spoiler warning: We’re talking about the whole movie, including that ending. Proceed accordingly.
If a magical little trinket ever promises to make somebody fall hopelessly in love with you, put it down and go home.
That is today’s lesson.
Obsession, written and directed by Curry Barker, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 before Focus Features released it widely in U.S. theaters on May 15, 2026. It stars Michael Johnston as Bear and Inde Navarrette as Nikki, with Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter in supporting roles. The movie runs 1 hour and 48 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, language and brief graphic nudity.
And baby, this movie takes “I wish she liked me back” and turns it into “PLEASE GET THIS WOMAN OUT OF MY HOUSE.”
Bear Gets Exactly What He Asked For
Bear has been carrying a serious torch for his longtime friend Nikki.
Unfortunately, Nikki doesn’t feel the same way.
Rather than accepting that like a normal human being and perhaps buying himself some ice cream, Bear gets his hands on a strange novelty item called the One Wish Willow.
The instructions are simple: break it and make one wish.
So Bear wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world.
Sir.
You couldn’t wish for a paid-off mortgage?
Good credit?
Winning Powerball numbers?
You went directly to supernatural relationship manipulation?
And because this is a horror movie, the Willow says:
Certainly. No problem.
At first, Bear gets what he thinks he wants. Nikki suddenly becomes interested in him.
Very interested.
Then interested turns into clingy.
Clingy turns into disturbing.
And disturbing gets on the express train toward “I need a restraining order and possibly a priest.”
The official premise really is that simple: Bear gets his wish, then discovers that getting exactly what he asked for comes with a dark price.
Nikki Is Where This Movie Gets REALLY Good
Inde Navarrette has the hardest job in this movie because Nikki has to be romantic, funny, unsettling and absolutely terrifying—sometimes within the same scene.
Once the wish takes hold, her love for Bear isn’t really love anymore.
It’s possession.
She watches him sleep. She doesn’t want him leaving. She becomes increasingly frantic whenever anything threatens their relationship. And as things get worse, Nikki becomes genuinely dangerous.
There’s something especially uncomfortable about watching Bear realize that what he thought he wanted was never actually love.
He didn’t wish:
“I hope Nikki genuinely develops feelings for me.”
He wished for something absolute.
He wanted to be the center of her universe.
And honey, congratulations.
You got the deluxe package.
No friends.
No boundaries.
No personal space.
No cat.
We’ll come back to the cat.
Actually, no.
I don’t want to talk about that cat.
This Is More Than a Crazy-Girlfriend Horror Movie
What makes Obsession work is that it could easily have become one of those tired:
“Look out! Crazy woman!”
movies.
But Nikki isn’t really the villain.
Bear’s wish strips Nikki of her ability to choose.
As the movie progresses, we get disturbing glimpses suggesting that the real Nikki is still somewhere inside, or displaced somewhere else, while this obsessive version of her controls her body. At moments, the real Nikki appears to break through, terrified by what’s happening.
And THAT makes the movie nastier.
Because now you’re not simply watching Bear being stalked.
You’re watching Nikki trapped inside a nightmare created because somebody else decided her feelings weren’t acceptable as they were.
Suddenly this ridiculous little monkey’s-paw romance has something serious to say about entitlement and consent.
Bear wanted Nikki’s love.
He never bothered asking whether Nikki should get to decide who Nikki loves.
There’s the horror.
Then Everything Goes Completely Left
Eventually, obsessive Nikki becomes violent enough that Bear’s friends Ian and Sarah end up dead.
And yes, things involving Bear’s poor cat also happen that I will politely describe as:
absolutely disrespectful.
By now Bear is desperate to undo his wish.
He learns that getting rid of it isn’t as simple as saying:
“Actually, never mind.”
Because apparently supernatural customer service has a strict no-refund policy.
Bear eventually discovers that his own death can break the curse and free Nikki.
Which brings us to that ending.
Obsession Ending Explained
Bear swallows a bottle of pills intending to kill himself and end the wish.
Then reality hits.
Dying?
Not fun.
So he starts backing out.
And right around that same time, obsessive Nikki gets hold of another One Wish Willow.
Her wish essentially mirrors Bear’s original mistake:
She wishes for Bear to love her the way she loves him.
Suddenly Bear becomes just as unnaturally consumed with Nikki.
For one horrifying moment, they’ve both gotten exactly what they supposedly wanted.
Perfect, unconditional, all-consuming love.
Except it isn’t love.
It’s programming.
Then the pills take effect.
Bear dies.
And because Bear’s death ends his original wish, the real Nikki finally returns.
She wakes up to the nightmare left behind: Bear is dead, their friends are dead, and she’s surrounded by the consequences of something she never chose in the first place.
Girl.
Therapy isn’t covering this with six sessions.
Horror Tea Verdict
I actually like Obsession quite a bit.
It’s gross.
It’s funny.
It’s uncomfortable.
And underneath all the supernatural foolishness, there’s a surprisingly sharp idea holding everything together.
Bear thinks he’s wishing for love.
But love without choice isn’t love.
It’s control.
That’s what makes Nikki scary, and also tragic.
And Inde Navarrette absolutely sells both sides of that character.
The movie currently sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 300 critic reviews, with a 94% verified audience score, so clearly plenty of people also came out of this one pleasantly disturbed.
Would I use a One Wish Willow?
Absolutely.
I’m wishing for my mortgage to disappear.
I have watched enough horror movies to know you do not waste supernatural magic on a man.
Horror Tea Rating: ☕☕☕☕ out of 5
Dark, weird, funny, nasty, and one more reason to simply accept when your crush says:
“I think we’re better as friends.”