Obsession, not to be mistaken for Brian De Palma's 1976 redux of Hitchcock's Vertigo, is writer/director Curry Barker's impression of John Henry Collier/Robert Presnell Jr.'s Twilight Zone episode, "The Chaser."
The movie tells the impassioned plight of simp-ish Bear Bailey (Michael Johnston), who desires a young lady, Nikki (Inde Navarette), and to clinch her love, uses (more through frustration than staunch belief) a "snap-in-half" novelty, "One Wish Willow." With it, he makes his errant wish, and eureka, Nikki becomes his gal, but of course, as with anything that's too good to be true, there's a catch.
In "The Chaser," the desired, young lady does become obsessive in her displays of affection, but in Obsession, Nikki turns full-blown psychotic to keep her man. (The deal with Bear's cat is, well, unsettling to say the least.) So, how then, does Bear break the imperiling spell? In that lies the maddening dilemma (and the melodrama's fuel), for this is one granted wish that's hard (if not impossible) to discard without death knocking.
Though as indicated, Curry's movie shouldn't be confused with Obsession 1976, let alone Vertigo, it still adheres to the set's depicted agony, all the while referencing W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," Deathdream, Big, The Wishmaster (and its sequels), Possession, Play Misty for Me, Fatal Attraction, Single White Female and The Crush, with perhaps just a dab of The Substance, thanks to Bear's hope that the novelty's manufacturer will reverse the curse.
Various characters impact the troubling situation, including concerned friend Ian (Christopher Tomlinson); music-store manager Carter (Andy Richter); and Carter's daughter, Sarah (Megan Lawless), the girl who fancies Bear and as such represents an obvious, missed opportunity.
If Obsession works, it's because, in addition to its tip-top performances and fantasy core, it holds identifiable elements, depicting something that could happen and has happened to many people who've fallen into inescapable relationships. And that's why, much like an enduring, sad song that's called upon in times of duress, Obsession will be a soothing crutch for anyone tainted by the savage pangs of love.
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