“She loves you. What’s the problem?” Is a question that will be asked and answered quite thoroughly in this cautionary tale of wish fulfillment. I think I saw this plot on an episode of “Buffy” once, but never quite as nakedly evil as it is presented here. In short, a timid would-be Romeo makes a wish for the girl of his dreams and it goes horribly wrong specifically because it works.
Betcha didn’t see that comin’ … unless you’ve ever watched, you know, a TV show or anything like that.
The focal point is “Bear” Bailey – possibly the world’s smallest bear. This is like giving Peter Dinklage the nickname “Moose.” But that’s irrelevant. Bear is your average music store incel employee loser. He’s in love with Nikki (Inde Navarette), so much so that he practices his boyfriend pitch on a diner waitress. This is a big build-up, so we gotta see how Nikki really is around him.
Oh, oh, oh. No. She is NOT into him. Yes, the “Friend Zone” can be cruel. It can be very, very cruel. But if you’re in the friend zone and can’t deal, the best move is to end the friendship. Move on. Deep down, Bear knows Nikki isn’t into him and, hence, avoids the inevitable heartbreak by never asking the question. Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for Bear, and the next day in a magic shop, he purchases a “One Wish Willow” novelty toy. Instead of facing rejection the next time he sees Nikki, he follows the instructions on the toy, and *poof* gets his wish: Nikki is now into him more than any other on the planet.
This is good, right?
Well, except for the fact that Nikki just isn’t herself after the wish comes true, which begs the question: What do you love about the partner you desire? Maybe part of it was the fact that they didn’t desire you. Lemme put it this way – if you love somebody who doesn’t love you, isn’t part of what you love about them tied to the personality trait that doesn’t return that feeling? For Nikki to be in love with Bear, she has to become a completely different person. And it’s horrible.
There is Obsession, and there is OBSESSION. There is, “I cannot wait for him to come home again” and “I’m going to stand in this one spot staring at the door, thinking of nothing else, *not even using the bathroom* while he’s gone.” And let me be clear here – that’s not “holding it,” it’s simply not venturing ten feet to the proper place to do your business. Yeesh. And this is *before* the 3 am wake-ups to find her 
staring at him from the corner of the room.
Obsession is kind of an unconventional horror. I suppose much horror comes from deadly sin indulgence, and this one is lust and/or greed, in which case it’s hardly knew. But the villain here is clearly the would-be Romeo. You are your own worst enemy? Brother, you don’t know the half of it. I think Inde Navarette delivered an exceptional performance. To make this horror work, we have to believe her mood can switch on a dime and this was conveyed deftly. However, this film was a little clumsy, a little basic, and never really set the rules down for the black magic at play. It’s like the actors had a better idea of what was going on than writer/director Curry Barker. Still, I’d be interested to know how biographical this tale was to Curry Barker and where he goes from here.
There once was a loser named Bear
Who decided that life wasn’t fair
He turned to a toy
So she’d fall for the boy
And now wishes he didn’t care
Rated R, 108 Minutes
Director: Curry Barker (Which is actually a profession in downtown Mumbai)
Writer: Curry Barker
Genre: What is love? Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of psychological horror
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Incels
