Obsession - Film Review - Fremantle Shipping News

Gayle O’Leary says: ‘I wouldn’t change a single second of this film.’ Here’s her review.

Obsession is refreshingly modern, challenging tired gender norms and dated portrayals of romance with the pursuit of love at all costs.

After learning that Nikki plans to resign from his workplace, Bear makes a wish, using an arcane novelty willow branch, that Nikki would love him “more than anyone in the f***ing world”.

He gets exactly what he wishes for.

Bear’s life spirals out of control as Nikki displays increasingly volatile, bizarre, violent behaviour in her ceaseless attempts to satisfy Bear’s wish.

The casting is perfect. Inde Navarette delivers a chilling, utterly convincing lead role as Nikki, the unfortunate love interest of Bear, played by Michael Johnston, a so called timid ‘nice guy’ and ‘hopeless romantic’ who has been infatuated with Nikki for years.

Navarette’s performance without question steals the show in Obsession, her unhinged hysteria and movement reminiscent of Isabelle Adjani’s emotionally groundbreaking portrayal in Possession (1981, another dark ‘love story’, that featured Sam Neil).

I’d been looking forward to watching this movie for at least a year ever since I saw the first teaser image. I felt intensely curious about the events that could have led up to it and what it must mean for the ending. Is it a spoiler?

It’s best enjoyed in a movie theatre, even though for me the beginning was continually interrupted by inconsiderate Hoyts Millennium patrons changing seats or even chatting on their phones. So it says plenty that about ten minutes in, all that nonsense was forgotten as we were all glued to the screen, completely immersed in the story unfolding before us.

This debut feature from Curry Barker, a 26 year old professional Youtuber who made his name first in comedy and horror shorts, was filmed in just 26 days with a low budget and emerging actors.

Curry Barker is one of a new cohort of horror directors who first made their bread and butter in comedy. He joins the ranks of Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, and Nope), Zack Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), and the Philippou Brothers (Talk to Me, Bring Her Back), to graduate the genre slightly away from patient, slow burn dread.

Barker’s practice in maximising the value of every scene for impact translates really well to the horror big screen. It’s almost constantly tense, you anticipate the worst that could happen continuously and watch helplessly as the main characters manipulate each other to drive themselves into ruin. There’s also sharp relief to the tension with humour, and surprisingly funny moments won laughs from the audience between the scares.

Expertly crafted cosy rooms are rendered terrifying the next with clever lighting and framing that keeps the mood unsettling with the actors kept uncomfortably boxed in the centre of the frame for most shots. There’s also little clues strewn throughout to foreshadow disaster, reveal Nikki’s unravelling state of mind, and Bear’s selfish motivations. The makeup artistry is also superb, no CGI was used which makes the practical effects all feel much more lifelike and visceral.

The soundtrack is pitch perfect and deliciously ironic. You could hear a pin drop in the theatre at pivotal moments and easily jump out of your skin after agonising tension. I certainly did, with one scene of shocking gore – that I won’t spoil – successfully eliciting a scream from me. Which I NEVER do in ANY horror films!

I enjoyed watching the film again via an online media review screener, while I knew exactly what to expect this time it was still fun to have the benefit of hindsight and use it to decode the scenes.

Ten out of ten stars.

Running Time: 108 minutes

Rating: MA 15+

Obsession was extended for cinema viewing due to its critical acclaim after releasing locally in May, and can still be enjoyed in front of the big screen for at least another week.

* By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!

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