00:00No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't do that! I thought we were having a nice day. Why does
00:10it matter? I thought we were having a nice day!
00:13The horror movie Obsession is having a nice day at the box office. America is obsessed, myself included. Michael Johnston,
00:22call me.
00:27The surprise hit, which cost less than a million to make and has basically no movie stars, unless you count
00:33Andy Richter, has Hollywood scratching their heads.
00:36So let's break down the Obsession craze. Starting with our newly crowned Scream King, Michael Johnston.
00:42He plays Bear, a guy who makes a magical wish for his friend Nicky, played by Inda Navarrete, to fall
00:48madly in love with him, which of course goes horribly wrong.
00:51One wish, Willow. You only get one wish. I wish Nicky Freeman loved me more than anyone in the entire
00:58world.
00:59But it seems like the filmmakers made another wish for the movie to become a freaky phenomenon.
01:05It premiered last September at TIFF's Midnight Madness and sparked a bidding war with artsy studios like A24 and Neon.
01:13Focus Features, which is owned by Comcast, ultimately won out for a reported $15 million.
01:19But then on May 15th, the movie hit theaters. And due to word of mouth, each weekend it's raked in
01:24more money than the last.
01:26The film's budget? $750,000. It's already made over 100 times that, and counting.
01:33Get this, on some days it's beaten The Devil Wears Prada 2, Michael, and even the Star Wars movie. Bad
01:39news for Pedro Pascal.
01:41Part of the charm? It's more creepy than bloody, with only one really icky scene.
01:46One ex-user tweeted,
01:48I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10 on the gore meter.
01:51Obsession was directed by a relative unknown, Curry Barker. He's just 26, the same age Steven Spielberg was when he
01:58directed Jaws.
01:59Barker wrote the screenplay while working as a barista and making YouTube comedy sketches.
02:04Hey, you! What?
02:06Notice you have a baby on board sticker, but no baby.
02:09His star is now on the rise. He has another movie in production called Anything But Ghosts, and A24 hired
02:16him to direct a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
02:19And he's reportedly fetched an eight-figure offer for his next film.
02:23So, why all the obsession? The post-movie critic Johnny Oleksinski said it's a sign that horror is actually Hollywood's
02:31best genre.
02:32Last year, Weapons and Sinners were huge hits, and even won a few Oscars.
02:37He also credited 2017's Get Out, directed by another sketch comedy guide, Jordan Peele, for starting this trend.
02:45But really, he says it's all about the audience experience.
02:49As a critic, it's my job to insist that all movies are enhanced by watching them at the cinema in
02:54a group.
02:55On my honor, I will do my duty.
02:57Yet with freaky films, the reason is obvious.
03:00Fans, especially the elusive, younger set, love to shout and squirm.
03:04The sensation of being trapped in the dark adds to the terror.
03:08Everybody knows they're not as good on Netflix.
03:11In other words, sure, you can Netflix it chill at home, but if you want a real-life thrill, you
03:17gotta leave the house.
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