Curry Barker Talks About Possible ‘Obsession’ Sequel or Anthology Series, Acknowledges Film’s “Plot Hole” Challenges
Curry Barker’s directorial debut is generating significant buzz following a successful opening weekend, prompting the filmmaker to contemplate a sequel. The writer and director of Obsession recently shared his thoughts on a "plot hole" in his horror film, which is currently screening in theaters, and how the concept of the One Wish Willow influences the potential for a follow-up or anthology series.
"I mean, it’s kind of a plot hole," Barker admitted in an interview with Total Film after a recent screening. "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. It really doesn’t make any sense at all."
In Obsession, the character Bear, played by Michael Johnston, uses the One Wish Willow—a mysterious novelty item—to wish that his friend Nikki, portrayed by Inde Navarrette, would love him more than anything. This wish leads to bloody consequences, later revealing that everyone is allowed one wish on the One Wish Willow, which indeed comes true.
Barker elaborated on the inconsistencies created by the One Wish Willow’s lore. "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."
He proposed a theoretical explanation: “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 said, referencing a scene where Bear’s friend Ian, played by Cooper Tomlinson, wishes for a significant amount right in front of him.
Despite these narrative challenges, Barker is enthusiastic about the future of Obsession. With upcoming projects including Blumhouse’s Anything but Ghosts and A24’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he remains open to revisiting the world of Obsession and its central wish-granting artifact.
"I obviously have a couple more things that I’m excited about next, but I do see Obsession 2, maybe. Or even what really is exciting to me is maybe an anthology, like a one-hour episode," Barker explained. "Each episode is a different wish that goes completely off the rails. Maybe I’ll direct the pilot with the same DP, and you could invite other filmmakers to kind of give their spin at it. That would be really cool."
