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Anyone following “produced by Ari Aster” knows we are in for a treat.

To be fair, Curry Barker’s Obsession is undoubtedly a horror movie first (or at least upon first watch). Watching it the first time I was disturbed, anxious, and terrified. However, the film had a lot of dark funny moments. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising a former sketch comedy director/actor would end up including so much humor in their film.

It was the kind of film that just stayed with me such that I had to see it another time. Upon the second watch it felt much more familiar and while still disturbing in many ways, it felt much more like a black comedy upon the second watch. I found myself laughing out loud at moments the rest of the audience was probably feeling disturbed.

Black comedies can do that. For instance, as a big Ari Aster fan I knew he had a keen sense for including that kind of humor and I felt like the only one in my theater laughing at certain parts of Eddington (I don’t think that audience was much aware of Aster’s previous work).

It certainly seems like black comedy is becoming more mainstream see other recent hit The Drama. This seems to be more of a societal thirst as Kristoffer Borgli has had this style of humor across his films even before The Drama.

Black comedy films are some of the most fun to see at a theater because it always gets this extra punch of “you’re not supposed to laugh at this moment, your teacher just announced their child passed away and your friend gives you a diabolical look” type of moment. It’s funny how audiences almost seem hesitant to laugh until they hear someone else letting it out. You just won’t get the same feeling watching this at home on streaming. So I definitely encourage anyone to see Obsession while it is still in theaters. Also seeing it in Dolby makes a huge difference for the sound design so definitely choose that if you have the option.

Coming August 28th, 2026

Coming July 2026