By Bob Garver
In 1992’s “Aladdin,” one of The Genie’s few rules with wishes was that he couldn’t make people fall in love. “Obsession” is a movie about what happens when a wish for love is granted. It’s a horror movie, and a nasty one. The Genie was right to have that rule.
Awkward dork Bear (Michael Johnston) wishes for the romantic love of his longtime friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) on a novelty willow stick. The wish comes true, Nikki is immediately smitten with him, and Bear reaps the rewards of her vehement affection. The woman Bear loves may not have any agency in the matter, and that’s problematic if he thinks about it, so he decides not to think about it. But of course, things go south for Bear once Nikki starts inserting herself into every corner of his life and finding creepier and creepier ways to express her devotion. Her love becomes… wait for it… obsession.
This movie gamely features some of the sickest scenes from a stalker thriller ever put to film, even if they borrow heavily from other stalker thrillers like “Fatal Attraction.” And Navarrette puts in a horror performance for the ages, both when her character is and isn’t under the magic spell. But the movie falters when the story has to give us something other than Nikki spinning further and further out of control. The ending (not Navarette’s contribution to the ending, which is excellent, but the ideas that go into the ending) is a lazy letdown and ends what had previously been an engaging horror film on such a down note that I can’t bring myself to recommend it as a whole. “Obsession” doesn’t lose my recommendation because of anything it “does,” but because of how much potential it leaves on the table.
Grade: C
“Obsession” is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. Its running time is 108 minutes.
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