One thing i noticed in the opening scene is the waitress seemed to legitimately find Bear's confession sweet, but Ian shits all over it and Bear already felt uncomfortable for being vulnerable so he doesnt like it either. But the one person whose opinion shouldve mattered the most, the woman standing in for Nikki, was completely ignored and disregarded.

I actually didn’t think it was that weird that they all work at the same store, because Sarah’s dad owns the store. Feels like a bunch of kids living in their hometown after school / before university who just need jobs. One of their dads owns a store, why not give the friends jobs

To be honest, I'd definitely say that the lack of locations aids the film. You really do get the sense of being kind of trapped in that house, without real options of going somewhere safe. I found myself just wanting the main character to just drive and drive to try and figure out a fix to the problem somewhere else.

What’s interesting is that it’s not even a monkey’s paw situation at all. If you wish for a billion dollars, you get a billion dollars. No catch. The point is that to wish for someone who doesn’t love you to love you is an inherently corrupt wish.

If Adum uploads a 30 minute long video about a movie that’s currently being played in cinemas, it’s either a massive pile of shit or absolutely phenomenal.

I also like the fact that the last death in the film is clearly tied to the cat's death.  Symmetrical, in a way.

Bear saying "Nikki i love you" when he returns at the house, and she freakin turns into a stop motion like silhouetted creature for like a spilt second behind him, fucked me up something fierce.  Its on REC granny shadow demon level of scary imagery

im surprised how many people think this group of young people becoming drinking buddies with crushes on each other after working at the same store is so unrealistic? this is what every job i had high school into college was like.

I love how morbidly funny this movie is, the movie embraces absurdity when necessary but doesn't fuck around when it needs to be serious

I’ve herd a few people mention why the cat was still around, but I just want to point out this all happened in the same day. He gets back from The dinner, cat is dead, he puts it in a garbage bag. Cries, scrolls Nikki’s feed. She calls and invites him out that night. Wish in the car. He brings her home. Cat is still in the trash bag probably outside. She makes it into a shrine in the morning. No freezer needed

i know alot of us probably love hearing adum rip into films, but its refreshing when he gets to gush about how good a film is.

I love that this didn't go in the typical cliché direction I expected, where the possessed person starts out all lovey-dovey, but then starts perceiving all kind of betrayals from the other person that aren't even really happening, and eventually it turns into a slasher movie where the partner is trying to escape being killed by the lover who's like "if I can't have you no one can".  Like, yes, Nikki becomes more and more unhinged as the movie goes on, and yes, eventually she turns violent, but the violence is directed toward herself or their friends, never him.  It doesn't let the audience members who identify with him off the hook by turning him into a victim who becomes the "hero" by killing his psycho girlfriend in self-defense.  And it's also very obvious to Bear from the beginning, even during the "honeymoon phase", that something clearly isn't right here, but he chooses to ignore that fact.  It makes Nikki's eventual violent psycho turn feel way more like a monster that Bear himself slowly created by repeatedly making the wrong choice at every single turn, rather than him being a hapless victim of a curse that keeps snowballing into something worse and worse and it's out of his control.

Another excellent use of the ADR trick is the """sex""" scene. The recorded audio is of an over-the-top almost porno level of performative moaning, but Bear can't see her face in the shot. We see her face, and she isn't making those noises at all. She's completely dead-faced and crying.

24:15 I read this as Nikki actually trying to be a good friend to Sarah. It’s implied the whole friend group knew Sarah liked Bear, but Bear was so OBSESSED with Nikki he never noticed. Nikki was trying to get him to confess his feelings out of frustration of him being so blind to Sarah’s hints or advances. Bear is also a POS for only giving Sarah attention when it’s an escape from his predicament with Nikki.

The real horror of this movie is Nikki being a prisoner in her own body, existing only to fulfill Bear’s wish. I loved those shots of her in shadows. It’s communicating “this is Nikki but it’s not really Nikki”

Not enough people are bringing up Ian as the co-villain of the movie. He’s the one that is consistently sowing self doubt into Bear, and making him feel like every genuine inclination he wants to do is the wrong move. I also love the blink and you miss it dialogue: when Sarah tells Bear that Ian and Nikki have been hooking up on and off and Ian thinks the way Nikki is acting is a way to get back at him. It implies that Ian is just as pathetic as Bear in thinking everything revolves around him, but he’s better at hiding it.

Something I really appreciated about this movie is that Bear has agency with the situation he’s in. A ton of Monkey-Paw stories just have the protagonist kind’ve rudderless with the ironic fallout of what they wished for, but Obsession makes it abundantly clear that Bear has options to make things right, and he refuses to do so. Despite Nikki’s consciousness being trapped in some prison, clawing to get out, Bear actively disregards the suffering he is causing to his friend. His biggest concern isn’t that the real Nikki is trapped in some hell, it’s that the “love” he’s getting from Nikki is causing HIM problems. Idk, I find it way more compelling that he has a way to make things right and help his friends, but he doesn’t. It makes the story more compelling, and more disturbing, as we are
seeing our protagonist abuse a friend.

I love how the jumpscares in this movie aren't like a spooky face or a ghost doing something but just a loud  noise from someone unpredictable and dangerous , as someone who dealt with domestic violence shit like that is traumatizing and activates my fight or flight.

Can't believe they plagiarized Adum's face, he should sue.

A detail I loved in the moment and love even more in hindsight:

Nikki mentions losing her crystal necklace down the drain and Baron goes to the antique shop to buy her a new one. I hadn't seen any trailers and didn't know the One Wish Willow was the evil plot mcguffin for the movie, so when he asks the clerk about the crystals and the rose quartz explicitly called out as having love and affection imbued in it, only for him to ignore it, that felt like a bit of a wink and nod to the audience and toying with our expectations.

But what makes it better - it's another easy-to-miss example of just how inattentive he is of Nikki's real wants and who she really is. That he'd rather buy some random wish toy for her than the thing she would very obviously rather have is pretty telling.