This Is the ‘Obsession’ Clip You Need to Watch: Curry Barker Reveals the Reshoot That Changed Everything

Curry Barker knew Bear wasn’t supposed to be the hero of Obsession. Getting audiences to understand that, however, took an additional scene that helped clarify exactly what kind of person they were watching.

You rarely see a filmmaker open up as much as Barker has about the work behind his movie. As he continues his victory tour, we’re getting all these fascinating details about the decisions that shaped what ended up on screen. Earlier this week, we covered his hopes for an extended cut with 20 more minutes, along with a separate Entertainment Weekly discussion revealing two creepy Easter eggs and another deleted scene.

But there’s a particularly great bit in his Rolling Stone interview about the editing process, test screenings, and what happens when audiences want something from a character that the filmmaker never intended to give them.

One of the biggest conversations during those first weeks of Obsession’s release was about who the villain actually is. Bear, played by Michael Johnston, wishes for Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, to love him. On the surface, there’s something recognizable about that childish, stupid wish. You like someone and want them to like you back. You aren’t thinking through the consequences.

To me, that’s part of why the movie connected so strongly. It does for dating what Jaws did for getting in the water. Take a feeling almost anyone can recognize and turn it into a fucking nightmare.

But Bear is the villain. And Barker wasn’t interested in rewriting the movie to let him come out on top.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, the filmmaker recalled a company offering him a much bigger budget if he changed that very thing.

“They were like, We like your movie, but we want… Bear is too much of a bad guy. We want you to rewrite the whole film, and we want you to make him do the right thing and be the hero and blah,” Barker explained.