Parents' Guide to Obsession

Curry Barker's feature filmmaking debut is a vicious, cutthroat horror tale that feels familiar but keeps things fresh with its humanity, its shocks, and a star-making performance by Navarrette. Many horror stories, going back to the 1902 story The Monkey's Paw and possibly earlier, have tackled the familiar theme of "be careful what you wish for," and Obsession does that with a vengeance. It's easy to identify with Bear (who's as unlike an actual bear as a person can be)—who needs to practice what he wants to say to others in advance and orders a piña colada at trivia night—as an insecure fellow who loves from afar. After his wish, he painfully understands everything that's wrong about what he's done to Nikki, from forcing his will upon someone else to the knowledge that he hasn't earned her love (it's not "real").

But it's Navarrette who makes the movie. We can feel the depth of her attachment to Bear, more agony than bliss. She throws herself fully, bodily and emotionally, into her performance, and she shows the skill of a Jim Carrey or a Bruce Campbell in her ability to switch on a dime, to go from zero to over the top in a wink. Meanwhile, behind the camera, Barker sets up every shot for maximum impact, doling out the most effective jump-scares in ages and truly making your skin crawl. Obsession may be too merciless to invite multiple viewings, but, then again, some horror hounds might not be able to stop thinking about it.