Consent, blame, and the 'crazy girlfriend' trope in Obsession (2026)

I thought I'd come here to write some of my initial and unfiltered thoughts about Curry Barker's new film, Obsession. I just got back from watching this new horror film in the cinema, and I'm feeling unsettled and unsure. Objectively speaking, this film is a very well-made and very interesting take on the 'be careful what you wish for' idea, and it does a good job of keeping you on your toes and leaving you in a very uncomfortable pit of anxiety. The thing with this film is, it's also very funny in a Homer-sliding-back-into-the-hedge sense, and there's something about that which doesn't sit entirely right with me.

Obsession brings you into the lives of a group of friends who are about to have their lives blown up by the very bad, flippant decision of the male protagonist, Bear. Now, the atmosphere of this film feels quite fun, and you're expecting a dark humour, comedy-horror of sorts. But as the events that occur after that flippant decision transpire, I think it's very hard to ignore the absolutely tragic and terrifying story that you're actually watching.

Inde Navarette is phenomenal as 'Freaky Nikki' in Obsession, and I will applaud the laughs that she manages to evoke from her performance without breaking into silliness. Her character is built to make fun of the 'crazy girlfriend' trope, and I think she performs it with a clever awareness of the danger of that stereotype. But there's still something unsettling to me about a room of people laughing at Nikki's character.

It's interesting to me that depending on how you read the situation, you can be considered 'right' or 'wrong' for laughing at Nikki's desperate actions. As she is, possessed by a Nikki that loves Bear more than anyone else in the world, you feel entitled to laugh at her demeanour because she is the literal definition of the crazy girlfriend, and we know that she can't help it. So there's a permission there to find this funny. But if these were two people in control of their own selves having these conversations, then we can either read Nikki as a manipulative partner who is trying to keep Bear on the shortest possible leash - this is not a funny concept and actually something truly horrible. On the other side of that coin, we acknowledge that Nikki is there against her will and part of her desperation could be coming from a desperate desire to get away from Bear - again, not a funny situation and not one that most of us would laugh at. So why does this strange merging of the two, in this caricature of the crazy girlfriend who can't be blamed for being the crazy girlfriend, allow us permission to ridicule and mock?

This is a very difficult point to explain when it's almost 11pm and I've been working all week, but in a nutshell, I truly think this film is not funny, despite the funny moments that litter it. Nikki is trapped in her own body, at the will of the wish of a man who was interested in her but didn't dare to tell her, even when she directly asked him. Even that scene when he drops her off, I don't think he's inherently being bad to her, nor do I think he truly meant his wish when he made it, but we literally have the context of the first scene of the film, where he is confessing his obsessive love and admiration for her. I think it's important to remember that throughout the film, because it really changes the lens through which we see Bear and everything he goes through at the hands of... himself, in a way?

Bear is caught up in the spiralling validation of having Nikki be head over heels for him, and ultimately, he is the true villain of this story. Actions have consequences, and while I know he wasn't aware the wish would come true, there is a part of him that did wish for Nikki to love him more than anybody else in the world; otherwise, he wouldn't have.

I find it interesting that he had lots of options in that wish too. Instead of putting the burden on Nikki, he could have wished that he himself had the courage to confess his feelings; he could have wished that if Nikki wasn't interested, then she'd let him down gently; he could have wished for the chance to go on a date with Nikki. All these things still allow Nikki to maintain her autonomy, because what truly is a partnership if one of you is not able to give your consent to be in it?

Okay, I've written enough for one initial reaction, but basically, this film is very good and follows in the footsteps of one of my favourite pockets of horror with Weapons, Barbarian, and many others, but it also left me squirming in my seat and full of thoughts about representations of toxic relationships, blame, and consent.

Obsession is available to view in cinemas in the UK at the time of writing.