Overnight, Obsession has become not only a modern-day horror classic but also a phenomenon. The buzz and its success have moved the needle seamlessly, offering retrospective outlooks for what has taken place on the screen. From these perspectives, it has made audiences question motives and spark conversations that redefine honesty, respect, and consent in myriad experiences that prevail heavily in reality. The reality of Obsession is the film’s greatest achievement because not only is it personal, but it’s also universal as it manifests in real time through how people view relationships.  

One Wish Willow: The Unspoken Facts vs. Fiction 

The One Wish Willow is the film’s biggest mystery and maybe even the primary culprit behind the madness that unfolds.  It can easily be inferred that there are multiple villains in Obsession, but the most objective villain is the One Wish Willow itself. While the inhabitant of the One Wish Willow is truly at fault, the One Wish Willow gives the purchaser the autonomy to do whatever they want, making it a predator of sorts that preys on the willing. The One Wish Willow aids and abets in selfish desires and disrespect for others in proximity to the people around the wisher. A major fact or caveat regarding the One Wish Willow is that it’s easily misinterpreted. The misinterpretation is all too real for the protagonist, Bear. Bear falls in love with his childhood friend Nikki, which is more self-indulgent than anything. Bear’s confidence in a spiritual ailment is more revealing of this than anything. The need to be indirect is the very fear that puts the One Wish Willow’s victims at risk because it feeds off the most vulnerable. Where things get fictitious is believing, from inception, that the One Wish Willow will make things easier without consequences. The thought that one could get what they want and not have to pay a heavy price is fiction (especially when the wish is personally directed at someone).  

Another facet of the One Wish Willow’s villainy, which is synonymous with Bear, is its intent versus its impact. The intent of a One Wish Willow is vast upon what is being wished upon, meaning the interpretation of its power is diverse. The impact is that no one will truly know what pain has been inflicted on others, including the victims who have and will come in contact with the One Wish Willow to a minute degree. This is why Bear couldn’t understand why Nikki was crying out to him for help. The unconscious bias of the One Wish Willow is, in itself, a spiritual curse that victims are mentally reminded of. In all, the One Wish Willow is just as duplicitous as its victims, though the bidding is done by the one partaking in the act. 

Bear: The Power of Conceit vs. The Enigma of Love 

Without a shadow of a doubt, Obsessions‘ protagonist Bear is the central master of all disasters that take place in the film after making the wish. Bear’s arc as the film begins, with the exception of the death of his cat, is not genuine because he knows not what independence looks like and seeks validation from others to make decisions. Bear thrives off of his own insecurity because he believes that it keeps him safe from losses when he knows he can’t analyze what is in front of him. For him to invest in the One Wish Willow, believing that it is real, is desperate, which only inflates his need for something that’s not remotely beneficial.  

Bear’s relatability sets in as his internal feelings become external. His fear of rejection, or of saying no, is only convenient when things get too complicated for him. Bear likes the idea of being loved only to satisfy an insecurity that he can’t even comprehend. When Nikki asks him to kill her while the person taking over her body is asleep, he walks away from her without hesitation. In this moment, his power over her creeps in. He relishes it because the truth does not compute. For someone like Bear, it is easy to have what you want and hate the consequences you are dealt, but not think twice about changing it because of the currency that has heightened psychologically. 

What makes Bear an even worse villain is the weakening of Nicky and Sarah’s friendship, which Bear is the catalyst for in their tumultuous trajectories as the film progresses. As Bear continues to hold the real Nikki a prisoner in her own body, he takes it upon himself to confess his feelings to Sarah.