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Is Obsession Gaslighting Us?

Thomas Thorogood

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Is Nikki demonically possessed in Obsession? Or is it something else? Welcome to my follow-up video.

'Obsession' explained. A video essay (with spoilers) about the dark deeper meaning of ‘Obsession’ (2025) movie, written and directed by Curry Barker and starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter. In this video I get into its deeper themes and symbolism. I consider the One Wish Willow, demonic possession and more.

My first Obsession video: Obsession Is Way Darker Than You Think

Check out 321 here: https://321course.com/tt
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REFERENCES
'Obsession' (2025)

MUSIC
'Symphony No. 5' by Beethoven
'Between The Spaces' by The Soundlings
'Lullaby' by Thomas Thorogood
'Heartbeat Of The Wind' by Asher Fulero

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Wait, It's Not Demonic Possession?
02:24 Possession of Some Kind
06:28 The Real Nikki
12:53 Is The One Wish Willow Neutral?
14:50 The Evil Within and the Evil Beyond

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20 Comments

@ThorogoodFilms Creator 3 months ago Pinned

Thanks so much for watching! You can check out 321 here: https://321course.com/tt

@Fodder_real 3 months ago

“No demon possession here.”
Exactly what a demon would say.

@bibi1117 3 months ago

When Nikki says"only the love a branch of a willow tree could conjure" seems like knowledge she wouldn't have if she was just herself being influenced by outside desires. It sounds like another entity with outside knowledge of the situation taunting Bear.

@NursCanim 3 months ago

Nikki is constantly shot in shade where we can barely make out her eyes and not her mouth. To me this indicates it is not Nikki speaking when she is under the influence of the wish. She has been replaced by a shade. Interpret that as you will.

@FraterNoKappa 3 months ago

In Catholicism, Obsession is literally what they call the preliminary lesser stage of possession.

@cutiepiettvjackson8744 3 months ago

He says he didn't want it to FEEL like that but say sit's a possession movie at the end of the day just a different kind of possession.

@kylenmaple4668 3 months ago (edited)

The movie feels much more like watching someone under the influence of a drug. Intoxicated by love(aka obsession). Blacking out and then coming back confused and scared

@thebarf9235 3 months ago

Obviously there is an entity possessing Nikki. She's battling it throughout the entire movie.

@Lilpuffycroissants 3 months ago

Bear’s desires also imprinted in wish Nikki, it’s Bears form of his wants, I do like that idea people have said she’s gone to The Sunken place from get out.

@brenb7153 3 months ago (edited)

She’s being controlled by something conscious because the entity or whatever it is is aware of what it’s doing. In Nikki’s sleep she tells Bear it’s not her, she even refers to it as a her and tells him she’s never been with him. So therefore it’s a conscious parasite of some kind. If it wasn’t a conscious thing and just she became mentally unstable it would be easier to say it’s not a possession but harder to say it’s not when the parasite knows the damage it’s doing and Nikki even refers to it as someone controlling her.

@Aikidjam 3 months ago

I think it could actually go both ways :
- Theological : !demonic possession by the one wish demon who gets to take over her personality
- Human psychology : It's a dissociation phenomena, as the one wish takes over her consciousness, and her persona is imprisoned in a subconscious space, where shehardly can escape in some fugitive moments. It's like a DID

@FTLTRAVELUNIVERSE 3 months ago

Back to the cat trope, the manufacturer is called “Tabby Cat.”

@korbendallas2508 3 months ago (edited)

Its witchcraft is what it is, so basically demonic possession, but without the literal demon. You could very well closely compare it to the movie Weapons because of the witch who broke branches to cast her spells that possess people to do things against their will. Some people are also comparing the movie to the movie Get Out, it's like some form of hypnosis

@HandsomeLongshanks 3 months ago

"Its not meant to be demonic! Forget that it looks like demonic in every way, its totally not!"

Thats like me saying "no! This red round fruit isnt an apple! It looks like an apple, it tastes like an apple, but its really an orange.

@Nattleby 3 months ago

There is a concept in occult practices called "Tulpamancy" Tulpamancy is the practice of deliberately creating an autonomous, sentient mental companion (a "tulpa") through prolonged visualization, active imagination, and meditation. Unlike imaginary friends, tulpas are experienced as having their own free will, memories, and distinct personality. they become real One way of looking this is that Bear's wish becomes a Tulpa that then possesses her: Freaky Nikki. But it was actually created by bear and the wish.

@balancedboys 3 months ago (edited)

A cool detail that I picked up on after my second viewing revolves around the love/romance montage. Before the porch scene, Nikki is having moments of taking control over wish Nicki (or “teleporting”) because Bear is not reciprocating the love that he wished for Nikki to have for him. I think this is a key detail. Because in the porch scene, Nikki tells Bear that she likes him, and this is right after Bear doesn’t think that Nikki is under the spell of his wish. Bear just got confirmation from his best friend that everything Nikki was saying throughout the night before was “true“. So when Bear hears from Nikki that she likes him, he fully believes that this is actually Nikki. And because he thinks it’s authentic, he begins to reciprocate that love.
Then the montage scene happens. It’s all sunshine and rainbows until the date scene.… This moment is the first time that Bear realizes Nikki’s affection for him is because of the wish. As soon as he questions her, that split between real and wish Nikki happens again. Once the wish Nikki starts to feel Bear slipping away, the cracks began to show. And it’s only because of these cracks being present that the real Nikki was able to start taking control little by little. I think this is a brilliant extra layer of tension that also points to what can happen in a toxic one-sided relationship

@poppajbear 3 months ago

It's like saying that 28 Days Later isn't a zombie movie. Technically, yeah, but the formulas are still identical.

@Tpforbunghole 3 months ago

It’s not possession, it’s mind control. Basically bear wished her mind created a split personality SPECIFICALLY to love him and that split personality, locked the original one away.

@JTonyArts 3 months ago

The “demonic posession” question is a difference without a distinction. Nikki’s body is inhabited by a “not Nikki” non benevolent entity. It’s like comparing angels and demons to liens. Same thing.

@Damidas 3 months ago

The scene where Nikki starts crying while standing in the corner of the bedroom watching Bear sleep, she begins to take on an extremely weird facial expression and it almost looks like her face is morphing into a Japanese Hannya mask.

The meaning of that mask is defined as “Symbolizing the complex and consuming power of human emotion, particularly jealousy, obsession, and heartbreak. Originating from traditional Japanese Noh theater, it depicts a woman who has been betrayed and driven to such deep resentment that she morphs into a vengeful demon” ..and being that her voice also sounds different when she starts crying, that could be the part of the movie that shows the demonic possession in it’s truest form.