It's one of the biggest horror hypes of recent years: "Obsession - Du sollst mich lieben" by the only 26-year-old screenwriter and director Curry Barker is thrilling film critics and audiences alike. With a budget of "a maximum of $750,000", as stated by the filmmaker himself, the film has so far brought in over $330 million at box offices worldwide.
"Obsession", which also opens in Germany on June 25, is undoubtedly a money-printing machine. But the creep factor is also wonderfully high here.
What "Obsession - Du sollst mich lieben" is About
A simple yet ingenious premise: The rather shy and introverted Bear (Michael Johnston, 30) has been longing for his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette, 25) for quite some time. He acquires a so-called "One-Wish-Willow", a small object that is supposed to grant a wish when broken. Bear wishes for Nikki to finally love him too. But the dream quickly turns into a nightmare.
Something Entirely Its Own
Be careful what you wish for... goes the saying. In "Obsession", Bear's wish for love has completely unforeseen consequences. After initially believing himself to be at the destination of all his dreams, Nikki's behavior changes, becoming gradually stranger and stranger - until it only fills him with fear and terror.
The inspiration here, it hardly needs to be mentioned, is the classic horror short story "Die Affenpfote" by William Wymark Jacobs (1863-1943), which also inspired "Die Simpsons" episode "Albträume" from the third season of the legendary series.
But the familiar premise is not what's decisive about the horror hype "Obsession". Rather, it's the special narrative style of newcomer director Curry Barker that creates something entirely its own. It almost feels as if the baton of horror cinema is being passed to the next generation here. Barker's young protagonists behave in a true-to-life manner, for example repeatedly asking for permission in conversations before even being able to proceed to the next step in the dialogue.
Newcomer Inde Navarrette Impresses Across the Board
In addition to these realistically drawn characters and believable dialogue, lead actress Inde Navarrette particularly impresses - she hasn't had any major cinema leading roles to show for herself until now, but with "Obsession" she is likely at the start of a bigger Hollywood career.
Without the excessive use of special effects, Navarrette plays Nikki's extreme, increasingly uncomfortable emotions and her disturbing facial expressions so convincingly that many in the audience will likely have their blood run cold.
"Obsession" often appears most terrifying in the most mundane scenes of the film, such as when Nikki directly asks Bear whether he has feelings for her, and he simply cannot admit his love to her even then.
Incidentally, director Barker has already finished filming his next horror movie - this time with a bit more budget and bigger stars Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad", 46) and Bryce Dallas Howard ("Jurassic World", 45) in the leading roles. Horror fans and audiences will likely see quite a lot more from the 26-year-old in the coming years.
