Obsession is one of 2026’s most anticipated horror movies, and the first teaser trailer has finally arrived. The film is written and directed by Curry Barker, who became a breakout name after the viral found-footage YouTube horror movie, Milk & Serial. That 62-minute film was made with just $800 and turned out to be one of the most clever horror films ever made. Now Barker is stepping into the big leagues with Obsession, which will mark his sophomore feature film. This time, he has a $1 million budget, and it gives him room to go bigger than ever.
If the trailer is anything to go by, Barker looks more than ready to move from cult online fame and make his mark in the Hollywood horror scene. Obsession is shaping up to be a classic “be careful what you wish for” story. The teaser trailer opens with Teen Wolf star Michael Johnston’s character sitting in his car while he calls the customer service line for a product called One Wish Willow. He asks if the wish can be changed, but the person on the line shuts it down. He then asks if her love is real. The voice on the phone calmly tells him that “just because you chose this for her doesn’t make it less real.” That line hangs for a moment, and then the trailer cuts to the title card.
The plot details released for the movie shed some more context on that exchange. The film will follow Johnston’s character, who uses a One Wish Willow. It is a mysterious item that grants its user one wish. He uses his wish to make his crush fall in love with him. At first, it feels like a dream come true, but in classic horror movie fashion, things take a darker turn as his crush’s personality begins to change in unsettling ways. Barker has shared that the idea for this movie came from watching The Simpsons, Season 3, Episode 7, “Treehouse of Horror II.” In that story, Bart gets a monkey paw, and all the wishes go horribly wrong.
‘Obsession’ Was Hailed as One of TIFF’s Biggest Standouts This Year
Obsession premiered in the Midnight Madness section at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and it was met with rave reviews. Focus Features quickly bought the rights to the movie for an amount upwards of $15 million, and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum also joined the project as an executive producer. The movie already holds a near-perfect 97% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics are calling it not just a great horror film, but one of the best films of the year.
The one thing almost every review highlights is the airtight script that perfectly balances horror with comedy. A lot of horror films also struggle to stick the landing. They build great tension in the first half and crumble in the final act. That does not appear to be the case here. The ending of Obsession has become one of its biggest talking points and appears to be the kind of ending that will leave audiences excited for whatever Barker decides to make next.
Barker already has his next big movie lined up, entitled Anything but Ghosts. He will direct and star in the film, and he is also co-writing the script with Cooper Tomlinson. Blum will be returning as a producer, and he will be joined by Steven Schneider and Roy Lee from Spooky Pictures. Barker’s debut also comes at a time when YouTubers are carving out a real place for themselves in Hollywood. Danny and Michael Philippou made their jump with the massively successful Talk to Me, followed by Bring Her Back. Chris Stuckmann also found success with Shelby Oaks, also did decently well with critics. All signs point to Barker carrying that momentum forward because the Obsession trailer promises a strong vision and a story that stands comfortably beside the work of these rising creators.
Obsession is set to hit theaters on May 15, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Shelby Oaks
- Release Date
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October 2, 2025
- Runtime
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99 minutes
- Director
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chris stuckmann
- Writers
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Chris Stuckmann, Sam Liz
