Every so often, an independent film comes along and completely disrupts the cinematic landscape. This year, that lightning in a bottle is Obsession, a brilliant indie thriller that has been shattering box office records. At the absolute centre of this phenomenon is Michael Johnston, who delivers a chilling portrayal as he builds psychological tension as Bear. The role walks a razor-thin line between protagonist and antagonist — a tightrope walk that keeps the audience hopelessly hooked.
Obsession, which is now available to watch at home, follows a shy seemingly nice guy named Bear, who is unable to ask Nikki (Inde Navarrette) out on a date. When he comes across a One Wish Willow, he makes a wish that has terrifying consequences.(Warning: Spoilers below.)
In an era dominated by predictable character arcs, Obsession owes its brilliance to fierce artistic integrity. Director Curry Barker, who makes his feature debut with this entry, was offered a cool $2 million to make Bear a traditional hero. Curry turned it down.
It was a gamble that beautifully illustrates the raw power and necessity of independent filmmaking. Johnston wholeheartedly agrees with the creative defiance. “I think that’s just the beauty of independent filmmaking,” Johnston tells me in an interview. “Curry, the producers, the team, and all of us were able to do things the way that we wanted to do them… I wouldn’t change a single thing.”
Instead of a sanitized hero, we get a profound, slow-burn descent. Johnston plays Bear with an incredibly sweet, innocent demeanour that intentionally subverts expectations. He captures the audience’s empathy early on — you find yourself actively rooting for him in the beginning, desperately hoping for a redemption arc that never comes.
The film was always designed to challenge the viewer, Johnston affirms. “It was always the plan to kind of subvert the audience’s expectations with Bear. It was really fun to play… he starts off as the protagonist and then turns into the antagonist.”
“I kind of love that he doesn’t redeem himself,” Johnston admits. “He comes off so sweet and innocent. I think the key, really, was that he does have a sweet demeanour, but it’s only because he’s so selfish. He only sees what’s best for him. He doesn’t have the ability to think about how his actions affect other people. I think that’s what resonated with people.”
When it comes to modern dating and individual agency, Bear is an absolute walking example of warning signs. Asked about the character’s ultimate red flag, Johnston pointed directly to a deep-seated lack of identity and a desperate need for external validation.
“I think that he cares too much about what people think — so much so that he’s scared. [Bear is] willing to hide the truth, to change his story. I think that’d be his biggest red flag: he’s so self-conscious, he lacks so much confidence that he’s trying to do what he thinks would please other people in the moment. But ultimately, if you zoom out, he’s incredibly selfish.”
If Bear were to write a dating app profile today, his deeply insecure nature would translate, Johnston says. The actor imagines a digital presence entirely devoid of any real substance.
“I feel like his bio would not be very descriptive,” Johnston says. “I think that he would waste the prompts. Like, he’d probably try to tell a joke or sound cool. He probably wouldn’t really reveal anything about himself because the truth is, I don’t think he knows who he is. He just cares about what people think, so I feel like his pictures would be, like… he’d have sunglasses on or something. There would probably be a lot of, like, bathroom mirror selfies. His bio would use a lot of emojis in it or something. It would not be very deep.”
Yet, it’s this exact trying-too-hard energy that gives the film some of its lighter, character-defining moments. For example, take the hilarious bar scene in the beginning, featuring a very specific tropical beverage: piña colada. “The drink was originally a Shirley Temple,” Johnston laughs. “I remember being like, ‘Yo, that’s too far.’ We all were brainstorming on what the drink [could be], and I remember Megan [Lawless] and Inde [Navarrette] were throwing the most pink, girly-sounding drinks I’d ever heard. But you know what? I would totally order a piña colada!”
Thanks to the independent set, the cast enjoyed a fluid, collaborative environment. The team operated on a dynamic rhythm. Sometimes, Barker would just do one take and move on; other times, he would push a sequence through dozens of iterations.
“That’s just the beauty of independent filmmaking: Curry, the producers, the team, and all of us were able to do things the way that we wanted to do them.”Michael Johnston
“Curry had such a specific vision,” Johnston explains. “Oftentimes we would just do one [take] and be like, ‘Are you sure, are you sure?’ [Curry] would watch it back and be like, ‘Nope, we’re done.’ Then, sometimes, we would do things a lot. There was one day, where we had this one scene, and we actually did, like, thirty takes. It wasn’t even anything… it wasn’t a big scene. It was very simple… we were just, like, cracking up.”
This creative trust opened the door for Johnston to shape the film’s climax based on his deep understanding of Bear’s internal wiring.
In the original script, the heavy bathroom scene didn’t include Bear throwing up after taking the pills (and thus backing out of his final action). The cast had already shot a version without it; but, while filming against a ticking clock, Johnston had a sudden breakthrough.
“I got the idea that Bear is such a coward. I think he would even chicken out of taking the pills. So, I ran up to Curry and I told him the idea. I remember that day, because we had to get out of there — like, we were out of time. We were about to get kicked out of this house and [Curry was] like, ‘Oh, one more. Going again.’ So we did it, and it made it into the film.”
It is a chilling addition that provides the ultimate character insight. “We’re all so proud of that,” Johnston says. “It was great [before], but [taking a lethal dose of pills] was another thing that wasn’t necessarily going to redeem him — but it was the one thing that he could have done [to redeem himself] — and he doesn’t do it. I think that perfectly sums up who he is.”
Following horror predecessors like 2025’s Sinners and Weapons — which were given much-deserved recognition, right up to awards season — Obsession is having a huge moment. I’m willing to bet that Obsession, and its actors, Johnston and Navarrette, are names you’ll be hearing this year, too.
A brilliant tool for tackling human psychology and challenging societal norms, horror films spark incredible conversations. Obsession taps directly into that, holding up a mirror to the anxieties of modern dating without giving the audience easy answers. When unpacking why it’s still nearly impossible to secure a good seat in theaters, Johnston credits the film’s refusal to preach.
“I think [the film’s success] is because Obsession presents all of these ideas, but […] it’s not preachy. It’s not telling you, like, ‘This is what’s right and this is what’s wrong.’ It really is leaving it up to you to have a conversation about it. People have very different opinions on all kinds of different topics that are touched on in the film. I think that’s what it is… I was looking the other day, it’s still hard to get a good seat in the theatre, and that’s just because, I think, people are talking about it. That’s what I loved about the script.”
The internet is, fittingly, obsessed with Obsession — to the point of wild fan theories. So, of course, I had to ask Johnston which theories he has heard and loved.
“Have you heard the cat one, about how, like, Nikki is actually possessed by Bear’s dead cat? Because she’s waiting outside the door, waiting for him to get home. She wants to come into the bathroom with him. She wants to please him. She throws a tantrum — she goes all crazy like that. Like, the fact that Bear said, ‘I wish that she would love me more than anyone in the world.’ Well, what soul just passed on that loves him more than anyone in the world? His cat. [Laughs]. I don’t know that that was the idea when we were filming, but that theory is the coolest.”
Obsession is now available to buy or rent at home (and on Blu-ray/DVD July 14th) — the perfect excuse for a second or third viewing, whether you want to unpack all the hidden clues with your significant other or keep one eye on your own cat during the film’s wildest twists.
