| Focus Features | Release Date: May 15, 2026 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
29
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
May 14, 2026
The story isn’t complicated, and it’s one we know well, rendered with spooky, atmospheric aesthetics and intensely gnarly violence that provide cover for the thin premise, nagging plot holes and flimsy characterization in the script, which traffics in poorly explained archetypes. It’s sufficient enough, but the strength of the filmmaking is not in the writing, but in Barker’s command of style, pace and performance.
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Next Best PictureSep 30, 2025
Overall, Obsession turns the volume up on impassioned romances with some incredibly committed performances from stars Johnston and Navarrette, and the wild scenarios they have to navigate. This is a film that demands to be seen with an audience to experience some high-energy creeps, chills, and thrills.
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NMEMay 15, 2026
It’s not just a case of the cast stitching a smooth modern tapestry out of Barker’s patchwork of inspirations. His dialogue, though dense at times, is sharp and pithy. Clever, sparse lighting adds mystery. And the way he uses sound, almost as a jump-scare on its own, feels unlike anything you’ll see this year.
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RogerEbert.comMay 15, 2026
Obsession’s biggest blind spot is its inability to reckon with the sexual and psychological violence being inflicted on Nikki during her possession: By telling the story from the perspective of someone who sees her more as a prize to be won than a full human being, the film itself risks sidelining her ordeal. Navarrette’s powerhouse performance helps mitigate this by puncturing Nikki’s bipolar outbursts with moments of heartbreaking clarity, reminding us of the human being trapped inside of this misogynistic caricature.
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May 13, 2026
Curry Barker’s astute horror takes the simple, familiar premise of a love-sick man attempting to win the object of his affections and shapes it into an incisive, entertainingly schlocky study of romantic co-dependency, patriarchal entitlement and the all-too-easy subversion of good intentions.
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The GuardianSep 30, 2025
Obsession is satisfyingly slick proof that [Barker] knows just what to do when levelling up to a different platform, and while his debut might have been a film designed around a very modern form of horror, this time he’s looking back, his set-up using elements of a classic fable and the kind of grabby schlock you’d see in a video store back in the 1980s.
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The IndependentMay 14, 2026
Obsession is delicately handled work, unafraid to find pockets of humour. Customer service is hilariously inept, even when it’s a matter of life or death. But Barker, both as its writer and its director, is also interested in how the dynamic between Bear and Nikki starts to reflect real-life toxicity, and never plays too recklessly where it really matters.
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The Travers TakeMay 15, 2026
May 11, 2026
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