One thing is clear as the credits roll on Obsession. Inde Navarette is going to be a superstar. Like Sharon Stone or Glenn Close before her, Navarette elevates a sexually tinged tale of male fantasy (yes, albeit skewed very sideways with the horror cache of “careful what you wish for”) from a surprise indie horror hit to the must-see movie of the summer of 2026. As Nikki, Navarette slowly descends into the pit of hell that forces her to fall in love with “friend-zoned” Bear, played by Michael Johnston. It’s the descent that Navarette charts with equal amounts of charm, comedy, and powerful horror that creates a truly unforgettable film.
That isn’t to say that the rest of the cast and crew led by writer/director Curry Barker weren’t on their game. Obsession is a finely crafted piece of horror dark comedy from the monkey paw’s subgenre. Barker is wise enough even in his early years (he just turned 26) to create a context of toxicity and zero sympathy or empathy in the male characters that push and pull at Nikki. Bear and Ian (played with slimeball perfection by Cooper Tomlinson) may at first seem to care about Nikki, but it quickly becomes apparent there are ulterior motives at work that, though obvious, are some of the more interesting, layered storytelling that Barker embeds into the story.
In the end, it is Navarrete’s film. A dark chamber piece beautifully and uniquely shot by cinematographer Taylor Clemons that feels intentionally claustrophobic and darkly lit to invoke an all-consuming nightmare. One that Barker’s film has only one ending and is brave enough to boldly push in on without blinking. In those final moments, Obsession does what films of similar ilk could not. Make it singularly about women and the way men constantly prey upon them, especially the supposed “nice guys”.
The Transfers
The 4K UHD features the film in native 4K with HDR/Dolby Vision encoding and with an open 1.50:1 side-matted picture. Universal has taken time and care with Curry Barker’s film to ensure the unique, beautifully shot film transitions perfectly on Home Video. The Dolby Vision/HDR encoding adds detail within the blacks and contrast levels that wasn’t even present in the theatrical exhibition (unless, of course, you were lucky enough to see the film in a Dolby Cinema screening). The result is a near-flawless home video presentation of one of the biggest films of 2026. Bravo to Universal for their continued support of releasing definitive physical media versions of their releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR/WRITER/EDITOR CURRY BARKER
OBSESSION UNLEASHED
The all-new feature commentary with director/writer/editor Curry Barker begins by discussing the reshoots that open the film and how the original film that played TIFF opened the film. Some of the other details include the opening logo that was created by production designer Vivian Gray; the design of the One Wish Willow – including the tune that plays when it opens and its initial design; the original camera test/proof of concept of the Bear/Nikki scene after the wish – that starred Cooper Tomlinson; using Adobe Premiere to edit the film rather than Final Cut Pro; the make-up techniques they used to accomplish some of the subtle looks for Nikki; how the casting of Andy Ritcher came to be; Barker’s cameo appearance in the film; a discussion of how the Nikki Hansel and Gretel monologue came about and who helped him create it; a larger discussion of Inde Navarrette’s acting process and collaborating with her during some of the more harrowing scenes in the film; a larger discussion of what he learned about shooting, editing, on a feature length production and how his style evolved during the process; a larger discussion of the various tools/methods Barker used to accomplish specific scenes and moments; the needle drops featured in the film and score; a larger discussion of the editing of the film throughout (Barker is the editor as well as the writer/director of the film); a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and how they were cast; a larger discussion of the various scenes that were reshot and the reasons why; and much more.
Obsession Unleashed (19:13) – is an all-new making-of behind-the-scenes featurette diving into the making of the surprise blockbusters of 2026. The cast and director Curry Barker discuss the acting process, filmmaking style, preparation (e.g., storyboarding, the collaboration between Taylor Clemons and the use of Unreal Engine to do previz), and challenges faced during the production to make this stylish, unique horror film. The featurette wonderfully edits together a combination of interviews, behind-the-scenes photographs, b-roll footage, and preproduction materials in this surprising in-depth look. Featuring interviews with director Curry Barker, stars Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, and Megan Lawless.
The Final Thought
Universal has put together another wonderful 4K UHD Collector’s Edition that fans will want to own. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
The massive blockbuster horror hit Obsession comes to home video in a beautiful 4K UHD loaded with special features.
The Film
One thing is clear as the credits roll on Obsession. Inde Navarette is going to be a superstar. Like Sharon Stone or Glenn Close before her, Navarette elevates a sexually tinged tale of male fantasy (yes, albeit skewed very sideways with the horror cache of “careful what you wish for”) from a surprise indie horror hit to the must-see movie of the summer of 2026. As Nikki, Navarette slowly descends into the pit of hell that forces her to fall in love with “friend-zoned” Bear, played by Michael Johnston. It’s the descent that Navarette charts with equal amounts of charm, comedy, and powerful horror that creates a truly unforgettable film.
That isn’t to say that the rest of the cast and crew led by writer/director Curry Barker weren’t on their game. Obsession is a finely crafted piece of horror dark comedy from the monkey paw’s subgenre. Barker is wise enough even in his early years (he just turned 26) to create a context of toxicity and zero sympathy or empathy in the male characters that push and pull at Nikki. Bear and Ian (played with slimeball perfection by Cooper Tomlinson) may at first seem to care about Nikki, but it quickly becomes apparent there are ulterior motives at work that, though obvious, are some of the more interesting, layered storytelling that Barker embeds into the story.
In the end, it is Navarrete’s film. A dark chamber piece beautifully and uniquely shot by cinematographer Taylor Clemons that feels intentionally claustrophobic and darkly lit to invoke an all-consuming nightmare. One that Barker’s film has only one ending and is brave enough to boldly push in on without blinking. In those final moments, Obsession does what films of similar ilk could not. Make it singularly about women and the way men constantly prey upon them, especially the supposed “nice guys”.
The Transfers
The 4K UHD features the film in native 4K with HDR/Dolby Vision encoding and with an open 1.50:1 side-matted picture. Universal has taken time and care with Curry Barker’s film to ensure the unique, beautifully shot film transitions perfectly on Home Video. The Dolby Vision/HDR encoding adds detail within the blacks and contrast levels that wasn’t even present in the theatrical exhibition (unless, of course, you were lucky enough to see the film in a Dolby Cinema screening). The result is a near-flawless home video presentation of one of the biggest films of 2026. Bravo to Universal for their continued support of releasing definitive physical media versions of their releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new feature commentary with director/writer/editor Curry Barker begins by discussing the reshoots that open the film and how the original film that played TIFF opened the film. Some of the other details include the opening logo that was created by production designer Vivian Gray; the design of the One Wish Willow – including the tune that plays when it opens and its initial design; the original camera test/proof of concept of the Bear/Nikki scene after the wish – that starred Cooper Tomlinson; using Adobe Premiere to edit the film rather than Final Cut Pro; the make-up techniques they used to accomplish some of the subtle looks for Nikki; how the casting of Andy Ritcher came to be; Barker’s cameo appearance in the film; a discussion of how the Nikki Hansel and Gretel monologue came about and who helped him create it; a larger discussion of Inde Navarrette’s acting process and collaborating with her during some of the more harrowing scenes in the film; a larger discussion of what he learned about shooting, editing, on a feature length production and how his style evolved during the process; a larger discussion of the various tools/methods Barker used to accomplish specific scenes and moments; the needle drops featured in the film and score; a larger discussion of the editing of the film throughout (Barker is the editor as well as the writer/director of the film); a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and how they were cast; a larger discussion of the various scenes that were reshot and the reasons why; and much more.
Obsession Unleashed (19:13) – is an all-new making-of behind-the-scenes featurette diving into the making of the surprise blockbusters of 2026. The cast and director Curry Barker discuss the acting process, filmmaking style, preparation (e.g., storyboarding, the collaboration between Taylor Clemons and the use of Unreal Engine to do previz), and challenges faced during the production to make this stylish, unique horror film. The featurette wonderfully edits together a combination of interviews, behind-the-scenes photographs, b-roll footage, and preproduction materials in this surprising in-depth look. Featuring interviews with director Curry Barker, stars Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, and Megan Lawless.
The Final Thought
Universal has put together another wonderful 4K UHD Collector’s Edition that fans will want to own. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
The 4K UHD Edition of Obsession is out now.
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