Obsession doesn’t scare like other films do. And you may have missed them.
I ran and watched Obsession because of all the comments on my Kairo video, comparing a specific scene from the film to Kairo’s ghost walk scene. I HAVE seen Curry Barker’s short films (I really love them) and so I knew exactly what was going to happen in the scene in question, but I did NOT know how great the film would be outside that part.
We’re going to be taking a look at how the film uses jumpscares, music, and other horror conventions in ways I have rarely seen, and have some fun together dissecting how the punchlines are set up in this film.
Also, the film clips shown are named, except Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) with the balloon boy thing so yeh, that’s what it is, in case you were wondering.
Uhh what else. Have fun. Don’t fight in the comments. Be nice to your friends. And to others in general. Bear is absolutely the villain—I didn’t even know there was a whole debate going on until I finished this video. Don’t kid yourself and say he’s not. And that’s about it. If you’ve gone this far into the description, maybe include the word “unicorn” in the comment somehow and I’ll give you a nod of approval from the other side of the monitor. And actually properly read your comment too so…yeh. Not that I don’t do that for other comments but…ok. Bye.
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Timestamp
0:00 Obsession’s Bedroom Scene
1:56 Scariest Jumpscares Never Happen
3:43 The Fakeout
5:09 all dreams start in the middle
6:10 Abruptly cutting the music
6:42 Breaking down that one scene
9:04 You, and not me
10:45 everything in its right place
11:20 Thank You
#videoessay
#horror
#horrormovies
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Obsession was fun. What was your favourite thing about this film? What other films should I cover?
Still feeling unreal about being back. If you missed it, posted a vid on No Other Choice awhile back. Cheers.
There was a jumpstart when obsessed nikki lunged at bear
one of the visual aspects that i loved about obsession is also that nikki was ALWAYS on the left of bear, except for after the sarah chair drag scene at the party. thats the first time nikki is on the right of bear.
not only that, but sarah too also is always on the RIGHT of bear
so during extreme conflict or uneasy feeling moments, nikki tends to be on the right of bear
People at the theater shouted louder than the speakers at every jumpscare so yeah.. it was bad.
I really enjoyed that film, low budget and incredibly well made like all of the best things.
Actually just antiscare. Garbage redditcore horror
It makes more sense for the treehouse of horror episode. The monkey's paw being in a exotic locale, plus there only being 1 of them. The "one wish willow" being a manufactured product available anywhere is a little too unbelievable.
As someone who rarely gets scared watching horror films, this one gave me a lowkey anxiety attack by the end credits. The most unsettling film I have seen since Hereditary and Midsommar.
as someone who has gotten desensitized to jumpscares over the years and can sense when a jumpscare is coming, it's insane how Obsession managed to make me jump out of my seat several times.
i luv ur vids so so so much! i really hope you do "funny games (1997)" or 2007 one someday
1:22 – Bro had to make sure we get the victim/villain dichotomy. It's still BS, though. Bear isn't some villain, that requires way more intent, he's just something like blue pilled aka uneducated, mentally weak, cowardly, confused, …
The s*x scene is the worst scene of the whole film, basically a r*pe scene
The sound in this movie was so jarring. I originally saw it in theaters, going in blind. We were very uncomfortable. What a movie but not a fun movie going experience haha! So much so that my wife was watching it for the first time on TV and I was like nah I'll just go play some video games. He knocked this one out of the park
Been waiting for this
Okay this is a really hot take. But I watched Obsession, and didn't like it. I get what you are trying to say. But overall, I don't like this movie. Not before you type; "You don't like it because it doesn't have jumpscares☝️🤓" no. I don't like it because of that. It's because this movie, is just straight up Comedy movie! Yes. I was laughing my ass off in every scene. Like, and it has the thing I hate the most… Pet death. Bro. Who in the right mind thought killing fake animals in movies was a good idea!? Anyways, pls don't attack me for that It's just an opinion, I did not get scared at watching this movie and I stop typing.
WHen his friend asks for a billion dollars i kept waiting for them to show how that wish went wrong. Like maybe he HAS 1 billion dollars in cash, but he can never get rid of a single dollar. Whatever he spends always disappears from the person he gave it to and returns back to him, making all that money worthless lol. Like he asked to have 1 billiion dollars, and now he's stuck with exactly that much money for life. He HAS it.
Bear is one of the most evil villains I've seen in movies. The worst part is, he always feels so sorry for himself, and that to him justifies his actions. He's one of those dudes that wouldn't understand what's wrong with him if all of his problems jumped and punched him in the face.
aaah finally another vid 🥹
Never heard of a movie called “Obsession Actually”
So happy Curry and co. found success on their debut feature film 🙏 super excited to see what’s to come
So, if you wish to have kids, and before you die, your children have kids. Would your grandchildren be erased from existence or would they continue living, but their parents would just be gone? The wish erased the money once he died, but Nikki's actions, and the memories were still there
It doesn’t.
chances are the director learned thru your videos.
Every time I see Not me photo I have goosebumps
Oh my God I just realized bear is a Democrat and Nikki represents black people
When she snuck up to the drivers seat to bash in Sarah's head was a jump scare for me 😮
incredible analysis. you really hit the nature of why its so scary.. all of what you said is exactly what made me so scared, cry and be in a non stop anxious state as i watched in the theater, which ive never once wanted to leave like i have with this movie, (which gave me anxiety for weeks every night lol). Anyways thank you so much for this video, its my favorite made from the movie and is the only one that ive seen that really adresses all ive been thinking about since i watched it. will never watch again 🙏
biggest jumpscare of this whole film was that notification
The trick of closing a scene with no resolution to the immediate point we just saw was something that made me think of The Exorcist. One of the reasons that movie worked so well (to me, anyway), is because there was really no recovery time between the weird or horrible or scary thing we just saw and the scene change where everything is quiet again. We don't know how they got Reagan back into bed or how that episode of derangement ended. It showed up, BAM, new scene. I saw a lot of that same treatment in Obsession. Even when the camera stays with Nikki a beat or two too long, the scene shifts without us ever seeing how Bear placated her in that short interval. It is nerve wracking for that same thing to happen over and over again, and boy did it work.
Obsession reminds me of the cheap, horror gameplay videos. The ones that are unsettling and creepy, I love it!
i can never watch this movie. even observing discussion and clips of it gets to me. the premise is just so incredibly sad and uncomfortable, nikki being forced against her every will and nature to be in these situations. how scared she is when it becomes Her again makes me tear up and breaks my heart. very powerful artistry, just so freaking heavy. bear you will never see the pearly gates
Bear reminds me of Jimmy from mouthwash Ing cause they’re all villain protagonist
This movie is making a lot of "nice guys" come out of the woodwork.
Literally just watched this on Friday and thought "I wonder if Spikima did a video on this yet" lol. That bedroom walk scene immediately gave me the exact same defensive shiver that Kairo did when I first saw it
And as soon as that first first ambient track hit, I knew this movie score was gonna be on a different level. Definitely reminded me of Silent Hill and Resident Evil save rooms. And the intentionality behind its placement only heightened that
Also, I thought Bear's scream after Ian made his wish was phenomenally convincing
I’m pro jumpscare. But the use of “non jumpscares” in this film has never made me prouder to spend 20 dollars on a movie ticket.
You’ve ever consider covering Audition?
Among my favorite scenes from the film is the early one where they're in the music store and she's blurry in the background (10:14 here) but it's just clear enough that you can tell she's fucking STARING him down. But there is nothing in the scene that would indicate it's supposed to be scary – no music, no spooky noises, no spooky dialogue, no jump, it just holds uncomfortably long on the shot of Bear after they clearly established that she's behind him. Because I didn't know what to think (is she staring, is that my imagination, is this intentional… of course it is…?), it's another great example of the circumvention of traditional horror jump scares/dread shots. I've seen so many horror movies in my life, I've grown fond (but perhaps a bit tired) of all the tropes. And this shot notably made me more uneasy that any traditional horror scare.
Its fascinating how Mr Spikima analyzes movies.
I've never understood the "Bear is the villain" consensus. He doesn't want to kill himself or Nikki to get out of the situation which might be the technically incorrect choice, but I think quite relatable. He tries to undo the wish when it's obviously real and he thinks he found a loophole to said suicide or murder dichotomy. He makes the wish believing it to be futile to begin with which means he makes the choice uninformed about the consequences.
He also carries resentment and is weak willed which gets him into the situation in the first place. That's not villainy; it's tragedy.
The villain is obviously the guy who sells the one-wish willow and preys on people's weaknesses.
Your video is how I was introduced to the shadow walking woman scene and immediately came to mind while watching Obsession.
Great video.