Obsession

At RiverBeat ’26, I saw Boo Mitchell’s annual soul revue play a transcendent version of “Love and Happiness” sung by “The Bishop of Soul” Jerome Chism. While the bishop did an outstanding job backed by members of the Hi Rhythm Section, there’s just no topping the majesty of Al Green’s original, which is one of the greatest moments in the history of recorded music. Green, who co-wrote the song with the great Memphis guitarist Teenie Hodges, is ambivalent about the true nature of love. Is it ultimately a good thing which binds us together and ennobles humanity? Or is it a curse of biology that overcomes our reason and leads us inevitably to heartbreak and destruction? 

It’s both, says Green. Love will “make you come home early” and “make you stay out late” he sings over a pulsing bass line. It will “make you wanna do right” and “make you wanna do wrong.” The music itself drones in a minor key like a dirge, until the end when the horns climb into the heavens while Green is overcome by “the power of love.” Love might be good, or it might be bad, but there’s no escaping it, and when it comes for you, you are no longer in control of yourself.

I thought of “Love and Happiness” while watching Curry Barker’s debut feature Obsession. Barker is a YouTuber with a horror obsession who has crafted a darkly hilarious film that sets “Love and Happiness” in the Twilight Zone. When we first meet Bear (Michael Johnston), he is confessing his love to a woman. His love is so strong, “I feel like I’m coming apart,” he says. They’ve been friends since childhood, when she was one the only person who was nice to him when he first moved to town, but he’s ready to take it to the next level.

Or at least he would be if he wasn’t fumbling the situation so hard. Good thing this is just a rehearsal for the real reveal, which Bear’s bestie Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) has arranged with the waitress at their favorite greasy-spoon diner. Ian doesn’t think gut-wrenching honesty is working (although notably, the waitress likes it) and suggests negging. But most importantly, Ian begs Bear not to profess his love at this week’s trivia night, for fear that Bear’s confession of affection will ruin the team dynamics before the big tournament. 

When we meet Nikki (Inde Navarrette), she’s every bit as awesome as advertised. She’s got news for Bear. She’s leaving the music store where they work together with Ian and their friend Sarah (Megan Lawless), whose father (Andy Richter) is the owner. It’s now or never for Bear. He goes to a New Age head shop intending to buy a crystal necklace for Nikki. Instead, he is drawn to a chintzy novelty called a One Wish Willow. Open the box, make a wish, break the willow twig within, and soon your wish will be granted. 

Trivia night turns into a disaster. Bear is so nervous, he can’t get out of his own way. He’s trying to suss out whether Nikki just likes him as a friend or if she really “likes” him, but every word out of her mouth seems calculated to maximum ambiguity. Even when he gets the chance to drive her home, he still can’t seal the deal. Frustrated and embarrassed by his own romantic incompetence, he opens the One Wish Willow and vainly wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world. 

It’s an empty gesture. It’s just a stupid toy, right? There’s no magic involved, just hucksterism. But Nikki’s reaction is immediate. Suddenly, she’s having a personal crisis and can’t be alone at her house. She wants to come over to Bear’s place, a crumbling ranch house he inherited from his grandmother. Can she just spend the night? Can she take off her top to get more comfortable? Can she sleep in his bed? 

Bear can’t believe his reversal of fortune and tries to be a gentleman about it. But Nikki wants what Nikki wants, and she wants it now. Might as well roll with it, right? But Nikki’s behavior becomes steadily more unhinged. She can’t bear to be away from Bear for even a second or she starts screaming. More ominously, she starts seeing things that aren’t there. Nikki used to be the thing Bear wanted the most. Now, she’s the thing that scares him the most.

Obsession could be subtitled “Co-dependence: The Motion Picture.” With a premise that turns common relationship issues into fodder for horror, it could have easily devolved into a misogynistic mess — the crazy ex-girlfriend as literal monster. But Barker is savvier than that. Bear’s dilemma is a crisis of his own making. Before being bewitched by wish magic, Nikki was poised to let Bear down easy. Living in the fantasy of perfect sex with Nikki, he can’t see that Sarah is perfect for him, and would actually like to date him. 

Between Johnston’s clueless bumbling from one emotional disaster area to another and Navarrette’s bravado bipolarity, it’s the great performances of the two leads that really elevate Obsession above the rest of the low-budget horror field. And a big shout out to Indie Memphis Youth Film Festival alum Vivian Gray, whose production design walks the line between creepy and cozy. Obsession is a great late-spring jolt of horror comedy — just think twice about choosing it for date night.