Is ‘Obsession’ a possession movie?

A Box Office Hit

Earlier this summer, a little movie called “Obsession” took the world by storm. It seemed like everyone was talking about this film. The numbers don’t lie either. On a budget of $750,000, “Obsession” made about $475 million at the box office!

Once this came to streaming, it was a must-watch for me. When my co-host, Kevin, suggested we cover it on the Midnight Terrors Podcast, I was excited because there is so much to talk about with this one. 

After watching “Obsession,” I was left with a lot to think about. However, I’ll keep it to one main question here: is “Obsession” a possession movie?

The Story

Baron “Bear,” Nikki, Ian, and Sarah are a group of young adult friends. Bear has a crush on Nikki but is too chicken to tell her. So, he makes a wish on a novelty One Wish Willow stick that she will love him more than anyone else in the world. From there, things go south, and Nikki becomes insanely… obsessed with him. 

Honey’s Cut

Let’s start with my biggest question: was Nikki acting like a psycho because something supernatural had taken over her body with the wish? Or had she liked Bear all along and had become extremely jealous?

While the film certainly leans into the supernatural element, it does a good job of planting just enough doubt early on that it kept me questioning what was really happening throughout. Leading up to Bear’s wish, I can think of three examples as to why Nikki may not be possessed and instead just kind of crazy. 

The first clue is that Nikki tells Bear that if she had a crush on a guy, no one would ever know. This comes into play later when Sarah tells Bear that Nikki isn’t interested in him like that. She only sees him as a friend. Was Nikki telling the truth? Or does this go back to that she’d never let on if she liked a guy?

The second instance comes when Bear is dropping Nikki off at her place after a night out with Ian and Sarah. Nikki straight up asks Bear if he likes her. But of course, he can’t bring himself to just say yes, which leads to him making the wish. Now, if a girl wanted nothing romantic to do with a guy, would she really ask something like that? 

Add to this, Nikki said she had something to tell Bear that night. It turns out she was quitting her job at the music shop this friend group works at. Was that all she wanted to tell him? Or did she want to confess her feelings for him, just like he wanted to do for her? 

I thought of this one later on. “Freaky Nikki.” It’s what people called Nikki at school to make fun of her. It’s never explained why she had this nickname. Could it be that she has a history of acting psychotic? Maybe this is just how she is in relationships. 

I thought it was interesting that when Kevin and I were discussing this movie, he’d never thought of this angle. So, if you took the movie to be all supernatural, perhaps I’ve given you a fresh perspective. Watch it again, there are plenty more little hints. I’ve just given you the main ones I thought of. 

Honey’s Final Thought

It would be easy to say that in “Obsession” Nikki becomes possessed after Bear’s wish for her to fall in love with him. But this film is smarter than that. 

We see enough evidence to support the idea that Nikki has become dangerously infatuated with Bear on her own. This is part of the reason why I think this movie blew up the way it did: it’s relatable. 

Unfortunately, most of us have been in toxic relationships like this. And I think most of us guys have been Bear at one point or another, so scared to ask a girl out that you end up with a generational fumble.  

Maybe the biggest theme in this movie is that you don’t really know who someone is until you get close to them like that.  Plenty of people can come across put together in public but are a complete train wreck behind the scenes. 

Building up an idyllic fantasy of a partner tends to leave both people disappointed. So, before you create the perfect version of that person in your head, you’d do well to remember that we’re all human and we all have our flaws.