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By H. Alan Scott
Senior Editor
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It’s hard to believe, but one of the most talked-about and frankly surprising movies of the year was filmed by a YouTuber. The buzz around Curry Barker’s Obsession started after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and then became a phenomenon once it was released this past May, becoming not only one of the highest-grossing films of 2026 but also one of the highest-grossing horror films of all time. The next milestone? Many are saying it’s the Academy Awards.
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"It's unlike anything I've ever been through,” Inde Navarrette told Newsweek. Navarrette stars as Nikki, a young woman who is friends with Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a man who is secretly pining for Nikki. He makes a wish for Nikki to fall in love with him and, shockingly, it comes true, only to find she’s not only in love with him, she’s obsessed. (And trapped under the supernatural spell forcing her to be with him.)
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"I didn't think the film would be in a movie theater," Johnston said. "It was such a tiny little film."
The film and its themes struck a nerve, skyrocketing both Navarrette and Johnston to instant fame.
"Nobody really would have seen this film if it wasn't for Toronto," Navarrette said. "And what a shame that would have been because people wouldn't have had an experience to point to and say, ‘Hey, I've felt like her.’"
In addition to the fame, the pair is also receiving a lot of buzz this awards season.
"I'm very honored, and I just love a lot of the conversations. If I do get to go, that's lovely,” Navarrette added.
"The fact that I've got this with Obsession and now it's leading to all these other opportunities is a dream, and I'm handling it the best I can," Johnston said.
Any fan of horror knows that the genre is often not taken seriously, but if you look past the blood and terror, a nugget of real depth is sitting just under the surface. Obsession delivers this tenfold, particularly with Navarrette’s performance, showing in many ways what a lot of victims of abuse feel in relationships where they’re trapped.
"When you are so locked in your head and in your own body to where unless another person is inside of the house, you're not a person," Navarrette said, thinking back to a particular scene in the film where her character stands in one place for hours waiting for Bear to come home. "And that, to me, was exactly how I felt in that moment [scene] when she's waiting for him. She is not a person until he gets home."
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Similarly, Johnston’s presence in the film has also opened up an unexpected door for a different conversation: that an openly gay actor can not only play a straight male lead but that being out won’t stand in the way of fame.
"Love is love and Bear loves Nikki and Bear is attracted to women," Johnston said. "And I played it as authentically as I could. I mean you don't have to actually be attracted to someone to know how to be attracted...it's just truthful."
On every level, Obsession is a film that has defied expectations. Navarrette hopes it actually leads to changes in Hollywood.
"I hope it [Obsession] showed people who are involved with the money kind of where the market is,” Navarrette said. “Like [telling] original stories and taking chances and showcasing first-time directors and first-time storytellers."
As awards season takes shape, it’s bound to defy even more expectations. And for the millions who have loved it, that’s something to be obsessed with.
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