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I don't have much of a groundbreaking comment I actually came to get some opinions on a certain stylistic choice in the movie that I'm not sure is bad or not. Throughout the entire film the use of music cues accents literal physical hits or to signal moments where Nikki manages to snap out of the entity's grasp. I could see this working if used 2-3 times but it's almost everytime. I however am still unsure about it. I don't dislike it but it's the most critical thing I have to say about the movie so far. Is it cheating the audience? is it overused? If you guys are confused by my dilemma I am too

I might need to watch it again (and I have to say this is the first film I've seen in a long while that I really want to see again in the theater, maybe since Zodiac, unless I'm forgetting one) but I don't recall it being that bad, and I seem to recall the music being effective in general, and kinda offbeat. I remember two music hits when Nikki was trying to get out of it (the make out scene and the one at the party), the one where she smashes the car window, and then another that I think was played for a laugh. Otherwise, I seem to remember it being generally low key. But I'd have to see it again. I seem to remember it being more atmosphere and not relying on jumps like that.

I think I got lucky seeing this before it took off, because I'm not sure how I would have felt about it after how much it"s been built up since. But I found it very effective. Not scary, really, but unsettling I guess? The last moments were quite good, with Nikki trying to change herself to what she thought Bear wanted (to a disturbing degree). It does a decent spin on the Monkey Paw/"careful what you wish for" trope. I was expecting a version of that Tales from the Crypt episode with Andrew McCarthy and Mariel Hemingway, and I guess it's that to an extent, but takes the idea in a more interesting direction with how it explores how Nikki's autonomy has been taken away, dependent/abusive relationships, and makes Bear something of an antagonist once he learns what's happened (a coward, too). I also liked that it didn't feel the need to explain what is actually happening and the lore around the One Wish thingy (I fear a sequel would feel the need to dig into that, which I think would ruin it). I did love there was a help line, which leads to a hilarious exchange. The trinket shop scenes were funny, too.

I don't know much about the director (a YouTuber according to my son and daughter) but I thought this was very well made; visually interesting without coming off showy. But I'm curious to revisit to see if its success is him or if Navarette is possibly carrying more of the weight than I first thought.

at the very moment he should have realised that he may not need to. I think my estimation of the film will increase with another watch, and I too loved how the lore was handled by the magic object coming from a simple New Age crystal store.

In Obsession Nikki doesn't urinate herself because she wants to shock guests at a cocktail party, The spell makes her have no purpose and therefore loosing bodily control when she's not in Bear's presence. The thought of her being unable to move all day while physically suffering for it, is what's horrifying, her urinating and defecating herself is graphic evidence of that. Apart from that, characters urinating themselves, usually out of fear, has become a common trope in horror movies.

Nikki's trapped woman is clearly a person we're meant to sympathize with since she's loving Bear against her will, but we also empathize with Bear through the film's design, which can supersede the other side. Many people have experienced relationships that look like a less exaggerated version of this dynamic, and while on an intellectual level one understands that Bear is in the wrong, Bear is repeatedly wronged by Nikki's behavior on a literal one. This creates a different thematic experience with the film on behalf of audiences having somatic responses to this viscerally-staged horror trauma. While in this instance, Bear's actions are 'fantastically' the reason for the dynamic to be where it's at, the "crazy girlfriend" trope is reinforced through more 'realistic' demonstrations, so one's sympathy strays back and forth. The somatic unnerving also lends itself towards her - we hate him for forcing her into this state when she's so clearly in pain - but my point is that the tension can boil down to a literal level of behaviorism at times and seem to take his side, physically repelling us from her as the threat.

I think that, even on this ground, there was probably a way for the filmmaker to have his cake and eat it too - by somehow reinforcing the idea that 'you get the energy back that you put out into the world', since even in these toxic relationships, the dynamic is never solely the fault of the more psychologically unwell partner, despite where most narratives lead. Obsession began to get at that idea a bit with the friends accusing Bear of taking advantage of Nikki's mental state, but I found that too blatant and lacking. It may have required a slightly different logic within the Monkey's Paw device to work for me on a more fair and balanced playing field.