5 films to watch if you liked obsession (2025)

So, you've been to see Curry Barker's incredible new girl horror movie, Obsession, and you're wanting more? Well, you're in luck. I have a list of 5 incredible films that explore similar themes to Obsession. From the surface level 'crazy girlfriend' trope, to deeper themes of parasocial relationships, consent, blame, and of course, obsession - these films will have you reeling.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Directed by Adrian Lyne

Key cast: Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer

A defining text of the 'crazy girlfriend' canon, Fatal Attraction transformed contemporary anxieties around infidelity, female desire, and career women into full-blown psychological horror. The film follows married lawyer Dan after a brief affair with editor Alex spirals into obsession, stalking, and violence. Glenn Close's performance as Alex became culturally synonymous with the stereotype of the dangerous, unstable woman - a figure both seductive and terrifying to patriarchal domestic order. Beneath its sensationalism, the film exposes deep fears surrounding female autonomy and the punishment of women who refuse emotional containment.

Misery (1990)

Directed by Rob Reiner

Key cast: Kathy Bates, James Caan, Richard Farnsworth

Adapted from a novel by Stephen King, Misery reworks the obsessive woman trope through fandom and possession. After a car accident leaves novelist Paul Sheldon stranded, he is rescued by Annie Wilkes - a seemingly kind nurse who soon reveals herself to be his 'number one fan'. Annie's fixation turns domestic space into a prison, blending psychological torment with brutal bodily horror. Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning performance complicates the trope by making Annie frightening not because of seduction, but because of emotional dependency, entitlement, and rage.

Single White Female (1992)

Directed by Barbet Schroeder

Key cast: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber

Part erotic thriller, part identity horror, Single White Female explores female intimacy as something unstable and consuming. After ending a relationship, Allison advertises for a roommate and meets the shy, withdrawn Hedra. Their friendship quickly becomes obsessive, with Hedra copying Allison's appearance, behaviour, and relationships in increasingly disturbing ways. The film channels early 1990s anxieties around female independence, urban isolation, and blurred identity, turning female friendship into a site of paranoia and psychological collapse. Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance gives the trope a tragic loneliness beneath its violence.

Audition (1999)

Director by Takashi Miike

Key cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shina, Jun Kunimura

Few films weaponise the 'ideal woman' fantasy as viciously as Audition. Framed initially as a melancholic romance, the story follows widower Shigeharu as he stages a fake casting audition to find a new wife, only to become entranced by the mysterious Asami. What begins as a quiet courtship gradually mutates into surreal psychological horror and extreme violence. Miike's film critiques male entitlement and projection, revealing the 'crazy girlfriend' figure as something actively constructed through misogynistic desire. Asami's terrifying transformation becomes both a revenge fantasy and a cultural nightmare.

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Directed by Matt Spicer

Key cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr.

A darkly comic modern update of the obsessive woman archetype, Ingrid Goes West relocates the 'crazy girlfriend' trope into the era of Instagram performance and parasocial intimacy. After becoming fixated on influencer Taylor Sloan, socially isolated Ingrid travels to Los Angeles and engineers a friendship based entirely on imitation and deception. Unlike earlier entries in the trope, the film treats Ingrid's instability with uncomfortable empathy, framing obsession as a symptom of loneliness, online identity fragmentation, and the commodification of intimacy under social media culture. Aubrey Plaza's performance balances cringe comedy with genuine emotional devastation so incredibly well in this film.

Obsession is currently showing in UK cinemas at the time of writing.