‘Obsession’ Director Admits the Hit Movie Has a “Plot Hole That Makes No Sense”

Obsession is a supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film became a surprise hit with audiences and critics after its release, gaining strong reviews and solid box office results. It tells a disturbing story about love, wishes, and consequences, wrapped in a horror setting that quickly turns dark.

The story follows a young man named Bear, played by Michael Johnston. He works in a music store and has strong feelings for his childhood friend Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. Bear is too shy to tell her how he feels, so he ends up buying a strange supernatural toy called the One Wish Willow. The toy is said to grant one wish, and Bear uses it to make Nikki fall in love with him.

Despite the success, writer-director Curry Barker has openly spoken about one part of the story that he feels does not fully add up. In an interview with Total Film, he admitted that the concept behind the One Wish Willow creates a logical problem in the film’s world.

He explained, “I mean, it’s kind of a plot hole. It’s something I don’t like to think about too much, because it totally doesn’t make sense that there’s a world of people just making wishes.” He also pointed out that if the toy really worked the way it is described, the world in the film would look very different. As he said, “It really doesn’t make any sense at all. If the One Wish Willow actually works, which it does in this lore, and people are just making wishes left and right, there would be some crazy — like, dragons would exist.”

The filmmaker added that the world shown in the movie still looks normal, which raises questions about how the wish system actually functions.

Later, Barker offered a possible explanation for the issue. He suggested that when someone makes a wish, it may create a separate reality where only that wish becomes true. This idea would prevent chaos from multiple wishes affecting the same world at once.

At first, the idea sounds like a simple fantasy story, but the wish leads to serious and horrifying consequences. The story becomes a mix of romance and psychological horror, showing how dangerous it can be to change reality for personal desire.

Obsession premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, in the Midnight Madness section. It was later released in U.S. cinemas on May 15, by Focus Features. The movie performed strongly at the box office, earning around 75 to 79 million dollars worldwide, according to industry reporting and box office tracking sources.

The film also received very strong critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 94 percent rating from more than 150 reviews. The site’s consensus describes it as a disturbing but entertaining horror film that takes a simple idea and pushes it into something more intense. Metacritic gave it a score of 77 out of 100, showing generally positive reviews. Audiences also responded well, with a CinemaScore grade of A–.

Even with this small inconsistency, Barker has shown interest in expanding the story. He mentioned that he would be open to making a sequel or even an anthology series based on different wishes and stories.

Obsession stands out as both a successful horror film and an example of how even well-received stories can contain ideas that raise questions, even for the people who created them.

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