Every now and then, a genre film arrives out of nowhere to completely rewrite the theatrical rulebook, and this year, that lightning strike is Curry Barker’s Obsession.
The story kicks off when hopeless romantic Bear uses a eerie "One Wish Willow" to make his long time crush, Nikki, fall for him. It works, but with a massive catch: her newfound "love" instantly mutates into a blood soaked, obsessive situationship.
Produced on a shoestring budget of under a million dollars, this relentless piece of supernatural terror has exploded into an absolute box office success in the US. At the center of the madness is breakout star Inde Navarrette, delivering an incredibly unhinged and nuanced performance, cleverly using the horror framework to look at deeper anxieties surrounding control, consent, and women's bodily autonomy. Judging by the squirming and collective nervous laughter from our team during our preview screening, you are going to want to witness this instant cult classic in a packed theater full of gasping, screaming filmhomies.
In English.
Rated M18 for Violence and Sexual Scene.
If you’ve spent any time on the weirder corners of the internet, you’ve probably heard of the "liminal space" Backrooms phenomenon. For the film adaptation, A24 handed the keys to 20 year old YouTube prodigy Kane Parsons, and he delivered an indie hit that is currently leveling the US box office with a genre piece that skips cheap gimmicks in favor of high art psychological horror.
Struggling furniture store owner Clark discovers a bizarre, glowing doorway in his basement that leads directly into the Backrooms—a seemingly infinite, yellow-walled maze that defies all laws of physics. When Clark vanishes into this reality-bending labyrinth, his therapist, Mary, goes in looking for him, only to get trapped in the exact same surreal, mind-warping nightmare.
In English
Rated NC16 for Coarse Language.
The film contains an utterance of religious profanity that exceeds IMDA guidelines. The line has been muted to be kept in line with guidelines.
TW: contains scenes with flashing lights, photosensitive audiences are to be advised
