Obsession (2025)

As a certified cat guy, this was a tough watch.

Inde Navarrette is absolutely incredible in this. Her ability to shift tones - from so sweet to so scary to so funny - is a magic act. I was blown away. I fear this will go down as one of the unsung heroes in female horror performances, though maybe the tide is turning. Demi Moore, Amy Madigan and Mia Goth have been shifting the narrative lately.

What works most for me is how this film acknowledges how complicated modern relationships are, how difficult communication is. The film hints at there being a path to intimacy for the two leads if he had just been direct and honest about his feelings. He never even needed the wish. Instead, he fears being vulnerable, and his own inability to share his feelings causes everyone horrible pain and suffering.

Rather than allowing the relationship to advance organically, he wants a cheap shortcut - one that lets him bypass his feelings in order to coerce and emotionally manipulate a woman into being with him who doesn’t want to be there. A lesser film would have made you feel like she deserved it. This film makes it absolutely clear she’s the victim.

Thank god. That movie stressed me out. In a good way. An hour out and I still feel shaken. I had to watch a good chunk of it through my fingers. The scariest part for me was the weird choppy slow motion movement she does - those moments worked. Really effective.

I do wonder how the average chud is going to respond to this movie. I fear they’re going to empathize with this feckless, selfish coward a little too much.

This movie did make me feel good about being single though. Certified bad vibes date movie.

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