Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: OBSESSION [Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - Toronto, Canada]
The idea of unrequited love depends on what one is exactly expecting and whether it is a realistic expectation or a road to ruin. With "Obsession" [Midnight Madness], director Cooper Baker uses the context of a talisman to push the idea of free will within the notion of better judgment in terms of lovelorn misteps. With Bear (Michael Johnston), he obviously loves Nikki (Inde Navarette) but she obviously wants him in the friend zone despite caring for him. He wants more. They are part of a circle of four friends where the ones they want aren't necessarily the ones that are responding. Navarette gives the role the right amount of barely contained psychotic breaks because the character is literally not in control before completely letting loose. The key is doing this without any CG. Bear has wanted this attention for so long but simply believes control can be maintained despite Nikki's increasing erratic behavior. The aspect of how the local psychic purveyor explains the return policy of the talisman is the stuff of camp but the horror of the situation built that way for a reason. As the connection becomes more and more binding, it takes on an uncomfortable closeness but in a much different way than say "Together" which was also based in a mysticism. The difference here rests in the one sided nature and the progressing jealousy.
It is only once the film hits a certain point in a car that its character steps over the line and the point of no return really begins. It was psychological thriller before this scene and then it becomes true horror. From that point of the story, the spiral reflects in the performances which are almost laced with calm chaos because Bear knows that if he blinks the wrong way something will happen. The ultimate betrayal comes in the final moments with an act of selflessness that is kind of thrown out the window on purpose. That, in itself, is the biggest burn despite everything that came before it. It is that bit of retribution against the nature of human free will that lifts the concept of the film truly above its horror basis. It reflects back to an earlier scene in a restaurant where one wrong word causes a derail which can be the case with any first date. Navarette plays this and a party scene with no fear in this way. Nikki is possessed but in a more terrifying way because it seems born out of sheer human nature. "Obsession", of course, is as much a mental quagmire as well as a physical journey in its actual definition. Nikki and, in a way, Bear continue an uncomfortable dance, born out of attraction but ended by love unrequited. B
By Tim Wassberg
