In a word, Obsession is universal, but for studios thinking they can capture and repackage that formula, that’s not enough on its own. Cliché and unoriginal are often considered harsh criticisms, but that’s only when done poorly. Clichés are great in storytelling, when done well.
Wish
Wishing someone loved you is about as universal as it gets. Having someone love you who you don’t love back is nearly as common. The idea of “be careful what you wish for” is one of the deepest parts of human storytelling, predating writing itself thousands of years ago, and being retold many times since and in many cultures.
There are ancient stories of Djinn (genies), Grimms’ Fairy Tales, and probably the most contemporary version, The Monkey’s Paw, which has been adapted to horror anthology TV and movies many times. These stories have always been told and always will.
We all wish for something, so it’s only natural for writers to explore the idea of “what if your wishes could actually come true,” but the further you go down that rabbit hole, the more you start to realize it’s a good thing that we can’t magically just get what we want, because it would almost always end in disaster.
Love
Men and women are both exactly the same, while also being completely different. As the saying goes about the opposite sex: “Can’t live with them; can’t live without them.” The need for men and women to be together, while also being seemingly impossible, is a kind of madness unique to humans.
But, times have changed and many people are wondering if there really is any such need or if they’ll find more peace and comfort alone, and the answer to that question appears to be yes as an unprecedented number of people are choosing to remain single.
Technology, phones, social media, dating apps, and the like factor in I’m sure, but people are just smarter, more independent, have access to more resources to eat, live, and improve their mental health. In other words, the only driving factor now for two people to be together is love, and perhaps love was only ever secondary to whatever necessities marriage previously solved.
However, not everyone is choosing to be alone and finding peace in it, there are a lot of lonely people out there that feel a deep desperation for what used to be simple for past generations. And in that, many were able to relate to the character Bear.
Comedy
Comedy and Horror have more in common than most people realize. They’re the two hardest genres to get right because making someone laugh or scaring them is threading a needle, where drama and action are throwing a football through a hula hoop.
Scaring someone is also just the other side of the same coin as making them laugh. You have to hit a universal thought or fear that most people have while also making it feel specific and personal to just them.
Curry Barker’s background in comedy is a perfect fit for horror. Some people might frown on his YouTube career, but the truth is, that’s a lot of time in the trenches filming, editing, and paying attention to what people like and more importantly, what they don’t. He put in his ten thousand hours before ever directing a movie and it shows.
Catharsis
I wanted to briefly acknowledge that there was some catharsis in the performances of Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Inde, especially, went hard in the paint and it was so necessary. Common wisdom is that less is more on the big screen. However, she wasn’t loud just for shock value; it truly conveyed a deep, primal, existential frustration that exists in most people and it was awesome.
Good
All that said, these factors on their own aren’t enough. You don’t get record numbers of people buying tickets to see your thing just for being a good idea, it also has to actually be executed well. If the writing, directing, acting, cinematography, set design, effects, or any other piece is too far off the mark, the impact of any messages or twists within are lost.
This is why anyone chasing a 500x return by trying to recreate Obsession is going to fail. They’ll succeed in finding a tried and true universal high concept, “playing god”, “waking up trapped in an unknown place”, etc., but if it’s not also a good movie, it won’t be enough.
Also, the one thing you can’t ever re-manufacture is lightning in a bottle, or perfect timing. For everything Obsession does right, luck is always a factor too.
Verdict
And in case it wasn’t clear, I loved the movie personally. I only felt compelled to dissect it after, but was happily invested in it as I watched. It felt like a really good Twilight Zone episode you wished was longer.
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