Not Obsessed with Obsession

The plot of Obsession has been done more than a dozen times before- The Twilight Zone, Supernatural, Tales From the Crypt, just to name a few. Obsession is simply the gen z version of Monkey Paw, where a man (Bear) makes a wish and that wish goes horribly wrong. The only difference between Obsession and older horror movies is the marketing behind it.

The marketing beats you over the head with commentary on today's men. Bear is seen as the villain because he wished a woman would love him, and she becomes obsessed with him. Despite his wish going wrong, he doesn't try to help the woman (Nikki), because the wish is still benefitting him.

While Obsession is a great movie, I believe it’s getting too much praise. It didn’t change horror forever or accomplish anything groundbreaking with the horror genre. Horror has long been a place to find commentary about the way the world is. It’s also been a genre that allows women to be powerful, heroic, but that’s also part of my issue with the movie. Nikki is forced into a passive role as she loses control of her body, like all the women who were in ‘monkey paw’ stories before her.

Obsession fails by being shown from Bear’s perspective. It would have been much more horrifying if told from Nikki’s point of view. It would have been horrifying to watch as Nikki became a bystander in her own body, forced into a relationship she never consented to be in. Perhaps Nikki could have wondered if she were losing her mind, much like the average woman in a relationship turned sour.

However, Nikki is unintentionally a prop in Bear’s story. She exists to remind us that he's a bad person. He's the reason she can no longer control herself. She plays a passive part in a horror story about her, which is a missed opportunity.

The movie instead focuses on Bear, the typical ‘nice guy’ who has a crush on Nikki. Bear is portrayed as the average ‘modern’ man. He's irresponsible and selfish. When Bear figures out that his wish is changing Nikki, he doesn’t want to free her from the wish, he only wants to change it so that it better suits him.

What would have happened when Bear decided that he was bored with Nikki? Would it be like the Twilight Zone episode where the man decided he'd had enough and would have to take matters into his own hands? The plot has been done before, and will be done again.

I watch movies to get a break from my everyday life, not to watch the internet’s take on how men treat women.

Many women have been the object of unwanted attention or even been stalked or worse as a result. There is no shortage of horror content when it comes to relationships or even being the object of unwanted affection.

After Obsession’s release, videos and posts sprang up on every social media app. Most of the posts were praising the movie, with some young people claiming they'd cut off friends who didn't see Bear as the villain. Many women claimed this was a movie made for women.

While Obsession isn’t a bad movie, it doesn't deserve all the praise it's getting. Obsession wasn't the first piece of media to show us a monkey paw story. It also wasn't the first to comment on modern society or cast the protagonist as the villain. Nearly all the men in similar roles to Bear are seen as villains, or at very least: undesirable losers.

Obsession wasn't the first movie to tell a story about a man taking away a woman's free will and forcing her to love him.

While Obsession is a fun watch, it didn't do anything revolutionary. In a few years, it'll be outdated and forgotten.