Have you ever loved someone so much that you feel like you would do literally anything to make them love you back…? Many of us have had these feelings, but we have grown old enough and smart enough to realise that that kind of love is not really love at all, it’s forming a connection to who you imagine someone could be to you.

But what if you lack the emotional maturity to realise that fact, and you continued to believe that if you just said the right thing or found the right key you could unlock their reciprocation of your adoration?

Obsession starring Michael Johnston as Baron and Inde Navarrette (fierce!) as Nikki, looks into the natural consequences that would follow from wishing with all your might that someone could love you more than anybody else in the world, and having that wish come true.

What would it look like if somebody truly loved you more than anything else on the planet? But that love doesn’t come from anywhere inside them, it comes from a wish that you made. And maybe the part of them that doesn’t love you is still there struggling to be heard and seen , what does that look like? What does that feel like?

Without giving too much away, Nikki and Baron are about to find out.

Like the title suggests, this deals with an obsessive connection; the codependent kind that makes you almost crazy. His obsession with her leads to a wish that leads to her obsession with him – the unhealthiness of this is evident in every butt-clenchingly awful scene.

This is the feature directorial debut of Curry Baker, who has already enjoyed a successful career on YouTube; but after a series of short horror films that were very well received by the horror community, he has made a blistering debut here. By turns sweet, amusing, horrifying, shocking, compelling, this is like a car crash that you can’t look away from. It definitely goes on the list of films that made me supremely uncomfortable to watch but I would never have left the theatre regardless of how much I squirmed and winced.

There are things that happen that you almost know were going to happen and yet are still shocked when they do. This is beautifully directed, taking its time when needed, holding scenes when you want to cut away, creating both entertainment and revulsion in equal measure.

The fact that this film was written and directed by a man is something I find very interesting, as it is damming in its exploration of male privilege. Baron (or Bear as his friends call him) is a self-centred but not unsympathetic character. His decisions and the consequences of them are wholly of his own design and he never fully accepts responsibility; I think that may have you maddeningly yelling at the screen by the end of this film.

Many films have touched on male entitlement particularly when it comes to women’s time, women’s bodies, women’s affections etc. (see Don’t worry darling, Companion, Men, etc) but this one feels more pointed. In my opinion its more obvious in its targets which is the hateful incel movement and its misogynistic murderous ideals.

I love my horror with a dose of social conscious, and I particularly love horror when its as well acted as this one with both Johnstone and especially Navarette giving completely committed performances.

However, a word of caution, this is not a fun time at the movies, so prepare yourself.

And if you’re a heterosexual woman and you go to this film with your partner, and he happens to feel any kind of empathy for Baron, run for the hills!

8/10

Nb. Trigger warning – There is cat death in this movie but you do not see a cat die and it doesn’t feel gratuitous.