Obsession gave me an anxiety attack
I’m not much of a horror fanatic or claim to be an expert on horror movies, but Obsession genuinely might be the scariest/creepiest thing I have ever watched in all 25 years of my life.
I’ve watched hereditary, all the conjuring movies, all the insidious movies, most of the mainstream horror films and have watched some pretty scary asian horror films before but none have given me the sense of dread, psychological terror and helplessness that Obsession gave me watching it in the theatres just a few hours ago.
For the first time in my life I experienced a panic attack while watching a movie. I have experienced panic/anxiety attacks in the past before, though it’s not something that happens too often for me to need medical attention (Happens once in a blue moon). Going into the theatres today, I had pretty much no idea what the movie was going to be about other than a girl was super obsessed with a guy (no shit) and that it was marked as a horror film. So it was pretty much standard protocol for me to expect jumps cares, scary cuts and the music that goes with all horror films I’ve watched before.
Obsession genuinely threw me off guard.
The film starts with a pretty melancholy vibe and atmosphere, including a sad comedy feel as well, so psychologically I was already trapped in a completely different state of mind that wasn’t prepared for any unsettling moments to happen. It started to slowly shift the vibe for obvious reasons when Bear made the wish but that wasn’t the part where I got my anxiety attack. That part of the movie was much expected.
It hit me at scene where Bear took Nikki back to his place for the first time and they were in bed about to make out. The moment where she pulled away so suddenly mixed with the twisting unsettling music playing in the background genuinely made my stomach turn. I literally dropped the popcorn I had in my hand and couldn’t feel my legs for a few minutes after that. It was at a point where I looked around to see if anyone else felt the same way and if I should just get up and leave but I ended up closing my eyes for a few minutes and pulled through.
For the first time watching a horror film in my life, I dreaded and genuinely feared the music and sounds of the film during “scary” scenes. Like most people, I also can look away in fear when I think the scene is too scary or at least half cover my eyes for psychological protection but never have I genuinely covered my ears in fear of a music score in a movie before. I thought that hearing it would trigger an anxiety attack loop again so I was constantly plugging my ears during certain scenes.
What made it even worse for me is that the story was genuinely captivating and kept me in a loop of forgetting that it’s scary at times then pulling me back to the uncanny and unsettling again. The acting was also very very good and convincing, especially from the actress who played Nikki.
Overall, this was an excellent movie, probably one of the best horror films I’ve ever watched and most definitely the scariest film I’ve ever watched. Anyone else experience something similar watching this movie?