‘Obsession’ Is an Unsettling Horror Movie With an Unconventional Edge

Curry Barker’s short film, “The Chair” (2023), traverses an artistic territory somewhere between Raymond Carver’s terse meditations on middle America, and Shirley Jackson’s stories about isolation and the discomfiting terrors it can breed. Literary allusions are, in Mr. Barker’s case, concomitant with cinematic wherewithal. “The Chair” is clever in its blocking, economical in its turns, and splendidly unnerving. It’s also funny. How did that happen?The narrative of “The Chair” is simple. Reese (Anthony Pavone) is driving down a suburban street when his attention is piqued by a vintage chair put out on the pavement. He stops the car, circles the chair once or twice, and places it in the trunk of his car. His girlfriend, Julie (Haley Schwartz), isn’t happy about the find: The chair conflicts with the apartment’s feng shui. An argument ensues and, in a flash, Reese is transported a week into the future with no memory of what has since transpired. We learn, in quick order, that what did transpire wasn’t good.You can find “The Chair” free on YouTube where it has amassed over 9 million views. In that number is a British-born producer who has made a go of it in genre films, James Harris. “I was blown away…” writes Mr. Harris, “[Mr. Barker] really understood scares but also the depth that it takes in a project.” A feature length version of the short film was scuttled when the burgeoning auteur came up with a script about untenable passions and unlikely aspirations. “Obsession,” it’s called, and the resulting movie is a rip-snorter.The iron law of genre films is that they meet established standards of form but admit to variations in approach and tone. And so it goes with that tale of our protagonist, Bear (Michael Johnston). He’s among a cadre of twenty-somethings living in a township that wouldn’t be out of place in a Frank Capra movie. They work in a family-owned music shop, participate in trivia night at a local watering hole, and harbor long-standing crushes for their best of friends. At least that’s the case with Bear and Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette who is headed for stardom. Notwithstanding his good looks, Mr. Johnston convincingly embodies slump-shouldered schlemieldom and makes Bear a hero worth rooting for. His yearning may be adolescent in nature, but only the hardest of hearts could deny having experienced something like it. When Bear finally gets up the gumption to tell Nikki about his feelings, he searches for a perfect gift for the occasion. The gift he finds is hugely imperfect: One Wish Willow.The preamble for “Obsession” is an approximation, and a pretty good one at that, of a 1970s television advertisement for the aforesaid product. Kin of the pet rock and mood rings, this novelty item, as per its name, allows the holder to one and only one wish. Bear finds it in a shop that caters to a post-hippie aesthetic —crystals, incense, chakra oils and similar otherworldly possessions. The owner of the establishment warns Bear that customer satisfaction for One Wish Willow is close to nil. But our lovelorn hero is desperate.When the big moment arrives, Bear blows it with Nikki, and subsequently uses One Wish Willow for his own purposes. The results are immediate and decidedly mixed. Mr. Barker tweaks the title notion — who is obsessed here, is it Bear or Nikki — and, against significant odds, simultaneously generates scares and laughter. Here is a filmmaker who treasures, rather than condescends to, horror movie conventions and does so in a manner whose subtleties, moralism and wit would’ve been the envy of Rod Serling, and, I insist, Guy de Maupassant.“Obsession” is the first step of a great career, but be careful what you wish for.

‘Obsession’ Is an Unsettling Horror Movie With an Unconventional Edge

‘Obsession’ Is an Unsettling Horror Movie With an Unconventional Edge

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