[Spoilers] Annoyance with Obsession (2026)
I generally try to go into movies blind so after a screening of Obsession and some time to think on it I decided to check out some reviews and general discussions on the movie in the larger subreddits. I was surprised to see the overwhelming praise for this film! Not "8/10 it was God time" but "best movie I've seen in years", "11/10!" kind of reactions. So I guess I wanted a discussion about it without being buried in downvotes for not completely loving it.
* The Good
Inde Navarrette. A great performance that really dives into the roll even with some of the nonsense thrown at her. This film would have fallen flat on its face if it wasn't for her going 110%.
It is shot and paced pretty well. While it has the modern cinema look of desaturated colours while in Bear's place, it can be forgiven since maybe 1/4 of the movie takes place there. Pacing didn't drag which is important for a horror film, and thankfully is under 2 hours!
* The Not So Good
The plotting. So much happens in this movie because people act like aliens instead of real people. Noone talks to each other or reacts like any sane person would in these situations and it's all so that the madness of the movie can continue on at the cost of believability
* The Ugly
Cheap horror movie tricks. It seems to me that the filmmakers did not have total conviction to their premise. This film is full of modern horror cliches that are not needed at all. Creepy girl standing in the shadows, walking backwards, spider walking, jittery movement, jump scare gore, long shot of creepy smiles. Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.
You have a premise that is terrifying enough (sadly know all too well). Be sincere about what you are doing with it! The end result is a cartoon. Nikki's madness escalates too quickly. She is immediately so off that even going into this movie blind you know exactly how it's going to end up when she goes from 0 to 80mph on night one, leaving you with over an hour of movie time for the last 20mph. It's horror, build it up slowly and then let us have it.
/tldr: It's Blumhouse, not high art.