Ghoulish, Gory, Gorgeous: What Critic Reviews Are Saying About ‘Obsession’

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentGhoulish, Gory, Gorgeous: What Critic Reviews Are Saying About ‘Obsession’ByHannah Abraham,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hannah Abraham covers entertainment, culture and business.Follow AuthorMay 26, 2026, 02:44am EDTMay 26, 2026, 02:44am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.poster for 'obsession'focus features/letterboxdAt the time of publication, 26-year-old Curry Barker’s debut feature Obsession is at a 95% certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 77, indicating generally favourable reviews. The critical conversation around the film has coalesced around three areas of agreement: that Inde Navarrette's performance is the film's defining achievement, that the film belongs to a recognisable new tradition of comedy-horror that traces back through Zach Cregger and Jordan Peele, and that the film's willingness to follow its premise to genuinely disturbing conclusions is both its greatest strength and, for some reviewers, its only real limitation. Here is what critics across the spectrum have said.ForbesA 26-Year-Old Directed ‘Obsession’ — It’s Now Made 80 Times Its BudgetBy Hannah AbrahamWhat Critics Said About Obsession’s Concept And DirectionIndieWire’s Christian Zilko gave the film a B+ grade, calling it "proof that the Cregger-ification of 2020s horror is in full effect," with its blend of sadistic violence, ironic needle drops, and comedy extracted from people responding to tragedy in self-serving ways earning ready comparisons to Barbarian.Variety’s Guy Lodge said, “Obsession initially seems simplistic, and even a bit silly, in its rehash of the age-old monkey’s paw trope. Like the consequences of that ill-considered wish, however, it proves eerily hard to shake.”MORE FOR YOURue Morgue Magazine was more direct in its praise, writing...