Obsession Review: Blumhouse Horror Film Gives Inde Navarrette a Breakout Role

Bear has long carried a crush on his childhood friend Nikki, but he has never found the courage to tell her. Both work at a music store with their friends Ian and Sarah, and Bear remains too timid to act on his feelings.

One day Bear stops at a mystic shop to replace a crystal necklace Nikki lost. He buys a novelty toy called the One Wish Willow, which promises to grant a single wish when a painted willow piece is snapped in half. Bear decides to use the toy himself.

"I wish Nikki Freeman loved me more than anyone in the entire world," he says before breaking the willow. The wish appears to come true at once. Nikki suddenly showers Bear with affection, cooking him breakfast and inviting him into her bed.

Bear soon notices disturbing changes. Nikki stares at him while he sleeps and reacts with sudden outbursts. She also harms his cat, Sandy. The once-welcome attention grows frightening.

Writer and director Curry Barker makes his feature debut with the film. He creates an eerie 1980s and 1990s throwback atmosphere, using low-key lighting that hides Nikki's face and leaves only her eyes visible in the dark. Barker mixes dread with a twisted sense of humor.

Michael Johnston plays the emotionally strained Bear. Inde Navarrette stands out as Nikki, shifting from joy to rage and from care to violence with unsettling ease. Her performance recalls Kathy Bates in Misery. Andy Richter appears as the music store manager.

Obsession is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. It runs 1 hour and 48 minutes and is now playing in theaters.