Why the scariest thing in 'Obsession' isn't actually Nikki.
Exploring how the real monster of the film hides within 'Bear'.
(Image by Nick Magwood from Pixabay)
Obsession was released May 15th 2026, and is a film that has sparked major success. It grossed $403 million worldwide, and is the seventh highest grossing film of 2026. However, it isn’t typically horror, and instead mirrors a much more disturbing picture for its audiences, particularly amongst women.
The film completely blew me away, and not for the reasons you would expect. There were very little jump scares, very little gore that neared the level of horror I had from simply watching a woman be stripped of her autonomy.
The film begins at a diner, with Bear, our seemingly ‘nice guy’ protagonist practising a soppy, obsession riddled confession. Bear quickly becomes frustrated with his inability to confess his feelings face to face with his female friend Nikki. Throughout the beginning of the film, we see Nikki’s complete disinterest with Bear, with the director Steven Curry dropping several hints that she purely sees him platonically. A pivotal scene for me, follows her refusing to let him pay for the tab at a bar, which signals just how little leverage she wanted to prevent him from having over her.
However, the film darkens when Bear makes a one willow wish ( a fictional magical novelty item that grants you one wish), damning them all to a tragic fate. He wishes that Nikki would love him more than anyone in the world, and in doing so strips Nikki of her consent, her right to choose and mostly her autonomy. In the scenes that follow Nikki becomes increasingly deranged, and something far darker than the Nikki we’ve seen previously appears to take the driver’s seat.
‘Nikki’ commits a myriad of atrocious horrifying events; firstly lying about her Dads cancer, which Bear conveniently overlooks and later goes on to murder her best friend through a car window. A scene that is arguably the most horrifying of all, cuts to the pair having sex only to pan on ‘Nikki’ who visibly shows her disinterest and looks scarily vacant, purely existing as an outlet for Bear’s pleasure. Suddenly, our harmless view of Bear transforms and we soon learn who truly is the predator on our screens. In the scenes that follow Bear shows just how much he is willing to overlook, if it means he can keep Nikki’s unrivalled ‘love’ for him.
As the film progresses, the real Nikki breaks through, even begging Bear for death whilst the fake ‘Nikki’ sleeps. Instead of realising just how serious his actions have been, and what he has selfishly taken from Nikki, he simply replies to her desperate plea with “what’s so bad about being with me” in which her response is candidly shocking, “I’ve never been with you Bear” and whilst we are left with hearing her begging to be killed, Bear selfishly leaves the room, once again ignoring her wishes and solidifying his role as the monster.
As time goes on, ‘Nikki’ seems to get more and more agitated, and secludes herself to their decaying apartment. As Bear comes and goes, he realises Nikki has ‘soiled’ herself as she waits for him by the door. An argument could be made that this is the real Nikki, attempting to make herself so unappealing to Bear that he will eventually have to kill her. Throughout the film, Curry litters in easter eggs of the real nikki, with photos she took of her and bears sleeping with the words ‘not me’ written underneath them.
The ending scene is perhaps the saddest realisation I had throughout the whole film. The scene which actually was shot twice, due to the original ending not feeling ‘horrifying’ enough for the director, Curry mirrors a sad truth for women.
The original ending saw Nikki make the same wish as Bear, and they both be damned to an eternity of ‘obsession’ for the rest of their lives. However, the final cut was all the more unsettling. As Bear is driven into disarray by what he’s done, and realises he’ll never have the ‘Nikki’ he wants he attempts to commit suicide in the bathroom. Whilst this is happening, ‘other Nikki’ makes the same wish Bear did, damning them both. As Bear leaves the bathroom, the two share one final look, Bear overtaken with the same fate as Nikki shares one final embrace and a kiss before collapsing and dying in ‘Nikki’s’ arms. As Bear draws his last breath, Nikki visibly wakes up, left utterly horrified at what she’s returned to. As her screams fill the room, shouting ‘what have you done?’ The camera pans and the credits roll.
For Nikki, she awoke from one nightmare to another, left behind to piece bits of her life back together whilst paying for Bear’s actions for the rest of her days. The last scene we see of Nikki, is heart breaking, whilst she’s escaped one monster, the nightmare is just beginning as she realises the lives she’s taken and what happened to her whilst she was in a sense ‘possessed’.
Obsession, is a truth telling story for many women, who are often faced with dealing with the consequences of men’s actions. The story unfolds, some men’s inability to understand the word ‘no’ and just how dangerous their obsessions become with pursuing women who wish for purely platonic friendships. Throughout the film, Bear is faced with many decisions which could reverse what he’s done, but instead of doing the right thing, he doubles down and focuses on believing he’s still the ‘good guy’ just looking for someone to love. The film explores the fragility of the male ego, and highlights the horrifying reality of women who suffer at the hands of it, making it the best horror film I’ve ever seen to grace our screens.