Curry Barker Has an Idea for an ‘Obsession’ Anthology Series; Sequel

Curry Barker’s horror breakout, Obsession, opened to an impressive estimated $15 million this weekend for Focus Features, immediately opening the door for a potential sequel, especially if the movie performs well on streaming and in ancillary markets. It most likely will.

Obsession feels like the kind of movie that’s accessible, sticky, and built to stand the test of time.

For those who have seen the film — and minor spoilers ahead for those who haven’t — the movie contains what Barker himself considers a bit of a plot hole. In a new interview with Total Film, the filmmaker admitted that the concept behind the “One Wish Willow” creates an inherent paradox.

The film follows Bear, played by Michael Johnston, who uses a supernatural item called the “One Wish Willow” to wish for his longtime crush Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, to love him more than anyone else in the world. The wish works, but the result becomes horrifyingly obsessive and violent.

According to Barker, the problem with the concept is simple: if this supernatural object exists and grants wishes, why isn’t the rest of the world descending into complete chaos from everybody else making wishes too? The movie lightly alludes to the idea that the world outside Bear’s experience is otherwise normal, creating a paradox that even Barker admits bothers him.

Still, he says he ultimately chose to ignore it.

“I mean, it’s kind of a plot hole. It’s something I don’t like to think about too much, because it totally doesn’t make sense that there’s a world of people just making wishes,” he told Total Film after a recent screening. “It really doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“If the One Wish Willow actually works, which it does in this lore, and people are just making wishes left and right, there would be some crazy—like, dragons would exist. And none of that. The world is pretty normal from what we see in this movie. So, it doesn’t really make sense.”

“Here’s my take; every time someone makes a wish, they enter into an alternate reality where their wish comes true, so you’re not experiencing everybody’s wish at the same time. And that’s why—but that doesn’t make sense because the money falls from the ceiling. Yeah, it’s broken,” he conceded, referencing a scene in which Bear’s friend Ian () wishes for a large sum right in front of him.