OBSESSION : Tuesday 26th May 2026.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'OBSESSION' at my local multiplex earlier this week, and this American supernatural horror film is Written, Directed and Edited by Curry Barker who made his feature film debut with 'Milk & Serial' in 2024. He also has 'Anything But Ghosts' currently in post-production for an as yet undisclosed release date. This film saw its Premiere showcasing at TIFF in early September last year, was released Stateside and here in Australia earlier this month, has garnered favourable critical acclaim, cost just US$1M to produce, and has so far taken US$96M at the global Box Office.  

Baron 'Bear' Bailey (Michael Johnston) has romantic feelings for his childhood friend Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette), with whom he works at a music store together with their friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless). Bear returns home after practicing his chat-up lines to a waitress in a diner, as Ian watched on and gives his less than enthusiastic opinion. As Bear walks into his kitchen, he is greeted by the sight of his cat, Sandy, lying dead on the floor having gotten into a container of pills and consumed a reasonable amount. Bear is devastated. Later that evening he receives a call from Nikki asking him if he is intending on joining her, Ian and Sarah at a local trivia night. Bear declines, but he is reluctantly persuaded by Nikki to go. While on the call Nikki looses a crystal necklace and so Bear goes shopping for a replacement for Nikki at a mystic shop, but instead on buying a new crystal he buys a 'One Wish Willow' instead - a novelty toy that claims to grant one wish when broken in two. 

Later that evening after trivia, Bear drops Nikki off at her house and she asks him if he likes her - which he denies out of fear and complete lack of confidence around women. Frustrated with himself, Bear breaks the One Wish Willow, wishing for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world. Nikki reappears and asks to sleep at Bear's house, revealing her father is dying of cancer. In Bear's bed, she kisses him, but abruptly screams and pushes him away, apologising profusely just a moment later.

The next morning, Nikki creates a memorial on the kitchen floor with the remains of Bear's cat by taking its body from the trash. This greatly disturbs Bear. She later explains her erratic behaviour as a result of taking MDMA and admits her feelings for him. In turn, they become a loving couple, to the complete amazement of Ian and Sarah, and their friendship group.

At a restaurant over dinner, Nikki and Bear are sharing each others goals and aspirations in life. Bear, perhaps jokingly says he'd like to be a food critic. Ian calls Bear and tells him that Nikki expressed disinterest in Bear shortly before they got together and that her estranged father is not dying of cancer but is in fact fit and healthy. Upon being confronted with this news, Nikki causes a scene at the restaurant and becomes very upset until Bear de-escalates the situation and promises not to mention it again. That night, Bear wakes up at about 3:00am to find Nikki not in bed next to him. He looks around the darkened room, and Nikki reveals herself from a far corner saying that she was watching him sleep, and accuses him of not loving her as much as she loves him. The next morning, she duct tapes the front door shut. Bear forces the door open and still leaves for work, where he discovers, having taken a couple of bites, that Nikki packed him a sandwich made from Sandy's cooked remains, with a post it note which on one side read for the food critic and on the other, how do you like cat? Needless to say he vomits it up.

Bear calls One Wish Willow's customer support as written on the back of the packaging, hoping to alter his wish. The voice on the other end says the wish cannot be altered or reversed, and will only expire when Bear or Nikki dies, then asks if Bear would like to contact Nikki - when Bear answers yes, he hears Nikki screaming in anguish, and he abruptly hangs up. 

Nikki joins Bear at a party at Ian's house, which was originally intended as a boys night because Ian didn't want Nikki there, because of her increasingly erratic and unpredictable nature. Nikki however, became emotionally unstable again when Bear said he was going to Ian's on a boys only night, and so he relented and let her join. During a game of drunk Jenga, Nikki recites a violent, incestuous retelling of Hansel and Gretel, disturbing and horrifying the guests. Bear draws a block daring him to kiss the person to his left, which is Sarah. Nikki ousts Sarah from her seat and kisses Bear instead, then suddenly begins screaming and stabbing her own face with a broken bottle, before snapping back. Back home that evening, Nikki threatens suicide to make Bear join her in bed. 

Later that night as Bear and Nikki lie in bed, with Bear wide awake and Nikki sleeping, Sarah texts Bear at about 2:00am, asking him to meet her in a nearby park. While Bear gingerly untangles himself from Nikki and attempts to leave, the real Nikki claims her obsessive persona is asleep and pleads with Bear to kill her, but Bear refuses and leaves. In her car, Sarah reveals Ian and Nikki were in a casual sexual relationship for years, before hinting at her own attraction to Bear. Nikki suddenly appears, smashes the window and then repeatedly slams Sarah's head into a brick, mangling her face completely to mush, and killing her outright. Nikki calmly reminds Bear that this is what he wished for and instructs him to go home while she disposes of Sarah's body.

Bear revisits the mystic shop and buys the last two One Wish Willows and tries to use one to reverse his wish, but it fails to break in two as hard as he tries to snap it, as each person is limited to just one wish. He explains everything to Ian and begs him to use another One Wish Willow to undo the wish on his behalf. Ian, in disbelief, instead wishes for a billion dollars and cash immediately begins raining down on them both from his ceiling, much to Bear’s frustration.

Feeling hopeless, Bear returns home with the last One Wish Willow to ask Nikki to reverse his wish. He discovers Sarah's nude, mangled corpse sitting in an arm chair in the lounge and Nikki wearing Sarah's clothing, and has new tattoo's above her breast and on her upper arm, just as Sarah did. Nikki threatens Bear and herself at gunpoint. Ian arrives exclaiming his joy that the One Wish Willow came true, and Nikki shoots him dead with a bullet to the head before he could even finish his sentence. Bear says that they should go take a shower to wash off the blood and gore from their faces and bodies, but Bear locks Nikki out of the bathroom. She frantically bangs on the door demanding to be let in, but Bear has decided to kill himself. After deciding not to shoot himself though the heart or in the head with the gun he extracted from Nikki, he decides to overdose on oxycodone instead to forcibly end the wish. After swallowing a mouthful of pills he has second thoughts and attempts to make himself vomit, but before he can, Nikki uses the final One Wish Willow on Bear. Under the control of Nikki's wish, Bear emerges from the bathroom and kisses Nikki before he collapses from the overdose and dies in her arms, Heartbroken, Nikki prepares to shoot herself, but once Bear dies she becomes her real self again and starts wailing upon seeing the carnage around, and on her.

With 'Obsession' the horror genre has has found its latest auteur in Curry Barker, who here has delivered us a film that is creepy and freaky, gruesome, emotional, at times darkly humorous and one which adds a chilling dimension to the traditional RomCom with an innate sense of atmospheric dread. Inde Navarrette gives an outstanding performance as the obsessive and possessive Nikki, changing from seemingly lovey dovey sweetness and light girlfriend to totally unhinged yet at times relatably believable antagonist. The film will leave you pondering over its meaning and messages long after the end credits have rolled, and hails a new voice in the genre just as it did with Zach Cregger with 'Barbarian', Jordan Peele with 'Get Out' and Ari Aster with 'Hereditary'. The only downside to this movie is that at times its gets a little repetitive, but don't let that stop you from seeing this film on a big screen, and as a timely reminder, be careful what you wish for!

'Obsession' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th May 2026

The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival is in full swing having begun on Tuesday 12th May and running through until Saturday 23rd May. The Cannes Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres. The festival was formally accredited by the FIAPF in 1951. Cannes is considered one of the 'Big Three' European film festivals, alongside Venice and Berlin, as well as one of the 'Big Five' international film festivals, alongside Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance.

This years Opening Night film presentation is the French period comedy drama film 'The Electric Kiss' that is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Pierre Salvadori. Set in Paris in 1928, the plot follows a young grieving painter Antoine Balestro (Pio Marmai) who tries to contact with his dead wife Irene (Vimala Pons) through a psychic Suzanne (Anais Demoustier) after losing his inspiration to paint.

The South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook is this years Jury President for the main competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or, with other members of the Jury panel including Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgard, Chloe Zhao and Paul Laverty. During the festival, two Honorary Palmes d'Or will be awarded - to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, and to American Actress, singer and filmmaker Barbra Streisand.

It should be noted that 2,541 feature films were submitted for consideration, with the initial main competition lineup featuring twenty-two films from three continents and five female Directors. Those films competing for the Palme d'Or are as given in brief, below :-

* 'All of a Sudden' - from France, Japan, Germany and Belgium and this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and stars Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto. World Premiere.

* 'Another Day' - from France and Belgium and this drama film is Written and Directed by Jeanne Herry. World Premiere.

* 'The Beloved' - from Spain and France and this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and stars Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo. World Premiere.

* 'The Birthday Party' - from France and this drama film is Written and Directed by Lea Mysius. World Premiere.

* 'Bitter Christmas' - from Spain, and this tragicomedy is Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar. International Premiere.

* 'The Black Ball' - from Spain and France, this drama film is Co-Written and Co-Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, and stars Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close. World Premiere.

* 'Coward' - from Belgium and France, and this WWI drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Lukas Dhont. World Premiere.

* 'The Dreamed Adventure' - from Germany, France, Bulgaria and Austria, this drama film is Written and Directed by Valeska Grisebach. World Premiere.

* 'Fatherland' - from Poland, UK, France, Italy and Germany, this biographical film is Co-Written and Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, and stars Hanns Zischler and Sandra Huller. World Premiere.

* 'Fjord' - from Romania, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France and Sweden, this drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Cristian Mungiu and stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. World Premiere.

* 'Gentle Monster' - from Austria, France, Belgium and Germany, this drama film is Written and Directed by Marie Kreutzer, and stars Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve. World Premiere.

* 'Hope' - from South Korea and this Sci-Fi thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Na Hong-jin and stars Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender. World Premiere.

* 'A Man of His Time' - from Belgium and France, and this WWII drama film is Written and Directed by Emmanuel Marre. World Premiere.

* 'The Man I Love' - from the USA and France and this musical fantasy film is Co-Written and Directed by Ira Sachs, and stars Remi Malek, Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Rebecca Hall and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. World Premiere.

* 'Minotaur' - from France, Latvia and Germany this political thriller drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. World Premiere.

* 'Moulin' - from France and Hungary, this historical drama WWII biographical film is Directed by Laszlo Nemes and stars Gilles Lellouche and Lars Eidinger. World Premiere.

* 'Nagi Notes' - from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and France, this drama film is Written and Directed by Koji Fukada. World Premiere.

* 'Paper Tiger' - from the USA, Brazil and Italy, this crime drama film is Written and Directed by James Gray and stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. World Premiere.

* 'Parallel Tales' - from France, USA, Italy and Belgium, this drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Asghar Farhadi, and stars Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, Adam Bessa and Catherine Deneuve. World Premiere.

* 'Sheep in the Box' - from Japan, this Sci-Fi drama film is Written, Directed and Edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. World Premiere.

* 'The Unknown' - from France, Belgium and Italy this psychological fantasy film is Co-Written and Directed by Arthur Harari, and stars Lea Seydoux and Niels Schneider. World Premiere.

* 'A Woman's Life' - from France and Belgium, this comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, and stars Lea Drucker and Melanie Thierry. World Premiere.

For the descriptors of the aforementioned films in Official Competition, plus the full details of the other competitive strands, and the low-down on all the films being showcased at this years Cannes Film Festival, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.festival-cannes.com

Focusing the attention then back on this weeks six hot new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we launch with an action thriller about a secret elite team of agents who are tasked with reclaiming a vast fortune stolen by a ruthless tyrant. Then we turn to psychological drama thriller in which long-buried wounds rise to the surface when an iconic pop star reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer. This is followed by a French mystery thriller where a Parisian psychiatrist investigates a patient's suspected murder despite official suicide rulings. Next up is a supernatural horror offering about a man who uses a magical 'One Wish Willow' to make his crush love him, resulting in a dangerous, violent, and obsessive relationship. Following on is an Australian drama film about a woman reclaiming her independence while escaping a coercive relationship; before closing out the week with a New Zealand drama film about the aftermath of an explosion that rocked the Pike River Coal Mine and took twenty-nine lives, two women step up to fight for accountability.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'IN THE GREY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action thriller film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Guy Ritchie, best known for his feature films including 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' his 1998 Directorial debut, then 'Snatch' in 2000, 'Sherlock Holmes' in 2009 and 'Sherlock Holmes : A Game of Shadows' in 2011, 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' in 2015, 'The Gentlemen' in 2019, 'Operation Fortune : Ruse de Guerre' in 2023, 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' in 2024 and 'Fountain of Youth' in 2025. This film is released in the USA this week also.

The film follows a covert team of elite operatives - Sid (Henry Cavill), Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Rachel Wild (Eiza Gonzalez) who live in the global shadows, as comfortable wielding power and influence as they are automatic weapons and high explosives. When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission. What begins as an impossible heist gets much worse, spiralling into an all-out war of strategy, deception and survival. Also starring Fisher Stevens, Rosamund Pike, Jason Wong, Emmett J. Scanlan and Kristofer Hivju.

'MOTHER MARY' (Rated MA15+) - this US and German Co-Produced psychological drama thriller film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by David Lowery who made his feature film Co-Directing debut with 'Deadroom' in 2005, and then his debut in his own right with 'St. Nick' in 2009. He would follow these up with the likes of 'A'int Them Bodies Saints' in 2013, 'Pete's Dragon' in 2016, 'A Ghost Story' in 2017, 'The Old Man & the Gun' in 2018, 'The Green Knight' in 2021 and 'Peter Pan & Wendy' in 2023. Here then, long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop sensation Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) forces her to confront her past on the eve of her comeback performance. Also starring FKA Twigs, Sian Clifford, Jessica Brown Findlay and Hunter Schafer. The film saw its wide US release in mid-April, has so far grossed just US$3M from a production budget of US$20M and has garnered mixed or average critical reviews.

'A PRIVATE LIFE' (Rated M) - is a French mystery thriller film Co-Written and Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski who made her Feature film Directorial debut with 2010's 'Dear Prudence' and would follow this up with the likes of 'Grand Central' in 2013, 'An Easy Girl' in 2019 and 'Other People's Children' in 2022. When renowned Jewish-American psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) working from her home in Paris, France learns of the death of one of her patients she is deeply troubled. Convinced that it was murder, and not a suicide as suspected by the Police, she decides to investigate . . . . . Also starring Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste, and Luana Bajrami. The film had its World Premiere screening at last years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May 2025, was released in its native France towards the end of November last year, in the US in mid-January and only now is it released here in Australia having so far grossed US$8M from a US$5M production budget. It has received generally favourable critical reviews.

'OBSESSION' (Rated MA15+) - this American supernatural horror film is Written, Directed and Edited by Curry Barker who made his feature film debut with 'Milk & Serial' in 2024, and who has 'Anything But Ghosts' which is currently in post-production for an as yet undisclosed release date. Here, after breaking the mysterious 'One Wish Willow' to win his crush's heart, Bear (Michael Johnston) a music store employee and hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for when he wishes for Nikki (Inde Navarrette), his co-worker and childhood friend to love him more than anyone else in the world. However, Bear soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price, proving ultimately to be careful what you wish for! The film saw its Premiere showcasing at TIFF in early September last year, is released Stateside and here in Australia this week, has garnered generally favourable critical acclaim and cost just US$1M to produce. 

'LIFE COULD BE A DREAM' (Rated M) - is an Australian drama film that is Co-Produced and Directed by Jasmin Tarasin in her feature film Directing debut. Here, Sarah, 40 (Maeve Dermody), and her teenage son Otis (Sonny McGee) flee from an abusive marriage confronting coercive control, financial abuse, and dangerous illusions of romance. As they make their escape toward freedom, confronting threats and Sarah's beliefs about rescue, while seeking refuge in a mansion she's been tasked with selling, she envisions a new future where she learns to let go and begin again. Also starring Alexander England as Sarah's controlling husband Jake. 

'PIKE RIVER' (Rated MA15+) - this New Zealand drama film is Co-Produced and Directed by Robert Sarkies who prior feature film credits take in 'Scarfies' in 1999, 'Out of the Blue' in 2006 and 'Two Little Boys' in 2012. This film is based on the Pike River Mine disaster of 2010 (a coal mining accident that began on 19th November 2010 in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a methane explosion that resulted in the deaths of twenty-nine miners). The story follows the subsequent, years-long battle for justice led by Anna Osborne (Melanie Lynskey) and Sonya Rockhouse (Robyn Malcolm), two friends whose respective husband and son, along with twenty-seven other workers, were killed during an underground explosion. Also starring Lucy Lawless and Erroll Shand. The film Premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in early June 2025, before its New Zealand release later last year, has received generally positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$872K at the Box Office. 

With six new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-