It’s an age-old adage that you should always be careful what you wish for, because you never know exactly what you’re going to get. It’s something Minnesotans have to deal with every year with the weather, as the person who simply wishes for warmer or colder temperatures hardly takes into account the extreme ends of that spectrum. Wishing for a white Christmas will often be met with upwards of a foot of snow, the potential hazards now outweighing the beauty.

In writer/director Curry Barker’s debut feature, Obsession, now landing in theaters after successfully taking over the town as part of the Midnight Madness lineup at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, that warning has been taken to its most extreme literalization. As is often the case with desperate thinking, it starts with someone scrolling on social media in the dark. A lonely young man named Bear (Michael Johnston) sits in his room, looking at Nikki's Instagram page, his childhood friend and long-held crush. Mostly due to fear, he’s never told her how he feels, and that door is about to be fully closed as she tells him she’s moving away to pursue other interests.

After struggling to pick out a gift for her, Bear ironically buys the "One Wish Willow" candy stick, which allegedly promises to grant one wish to whoever breaks it. Bear wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone in the entire world. Immediately, Nikki takes a much greater interest in Bear, constantly inviting him over and expressing her adoration. It all seems a little too good to be true for Bear, but he definitely doesn’t want this to stop, so it’s best not to question it.

Produced for just under $1 million, Barker’s film looks and feels much wealthier. The cinematography by Taylor Clemons is both shrouded in darkness and yet lit well enough that we never struggle to see what we need to. I realize that sounds like faint praise, but the bar has been set so low over these past few years with features that make it nearly impossible to see what’s going on. Some of us have bad eyes, you know!

Occupying those increasingly sleepless nights are two excellent performers in Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as Bear and Nikki, respectively. The former is a ball of jittery nerves, his eyes darting and voice rising a few octaves as he’s never sure of his current situation. Does Nikki actually love him? If not naturally, is it wrong for them to enjoy themselves under this spell? The latter actor essentially has to play a split personality, with the real Nikki buried underneath a creepy, obsessive demeanor. She screams, pleads, and commits increasingly unhinged acts to stay as close to Bear as possible. There’s always a smile on her face when she gets what she wants, but it’s always laced with pain.

Logically, this kind of fable makes no sense. If the One Wish Willow actually does work, then why hasn’t it been reported on? Certainly, other people have wished for stuff a lot grander than Bear. Everyone will know that my wish came true once a professional Minnesota sports team finally wins a championship. Nevertheless, the atmosphere and performances paper over that pretty glaring crack. You’ll be gritting your teeth as you wish for this film to go down a happier path (hint: it doesn’t).

This review was originally published from a screening at the 2026 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. Focus Features will release Obsession in theaters nationwide on May 15th.