Obsession (2025) is a U.S. psychological thriller- horror film that blends psychological terror with dark romance. It marks the feature-length directorial debut of Curry Barker, who also co-wrote the film.
The movie stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter.
The story follows Bear, a shy music store employee who secretly loves his best friend Nikki. When he uses a mysterious “One Wish Willow” to make her love him back, his dream quickly turns into a nightmare.
Nikki’s affection becomes obsessive and dangerous, leading to disturbing consequences. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and releases in theaters on May 15, 2026, distributed by Focus Features.
Obsession Age Rating
Obsession is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. This rating reflects the film’s intense horror elements, explicit imagery, and mature themes. The movie shifts from emotional drama to graphic psychological horror, making it unsuitable for younger viewers due to disturbing visuals and adult content.
Violence & Peril
Violence is extensive and graphic. There are scenes when characters face being violently smashed against a steering wheel with an exposed eye, a gunshot wound to the head shown in detail, self-inflicted injuries with sharp objects, a decomposing dead pet shown on screen, and a drug overdose death. Reports around the film’s rating even note that a head-smashing scene had to be trimmed down from the original cut specifically to avoid an NC-17. This is hard horror violence, not stylized or restrained.
Language
The language includes profanity with approximately 82 uses of the f-word alone, plus scatological terms, sexual references, and religious profanity throughout. This is pervasive, constant strong language from start to finish.
Sexual Content
Sexual content includes a sexual encounter with partial male nudity, several implied intimate scenes, and a scene showing a young woman’s nude dead body, which the MPAA rating flags as “brief graphic nudity.”
Substance Use
The film also includes scenes of self-harm and a drug overdose death, alongside references to prescription drug abuse, MDMA, marijuana use, and alcohol. The central theme is obsessive love turning violently possessive and impossible to escape, it is disturbing by design, not incidental to the horror.
Is Obsession Suitable for Anyone Under 18?
No, and not with guidance either. Between the graphic violence, extensive profanity, sexual content with nudity, drug use, and self-harm depictions, this film sits well outside what’s appropriate for any teen audience, including older teens near 18. This is a hard-R horror film made for adult horror audiences specifically.
Final Verdict: Obsession is strictly for adults 18+ who are seeking out intense horror content — even adult viewers sensitive to self-harm, graphic violence, or disturbing sexual content should know what they’re walking into before watching.
What Parents Can Do
- Treat the R rating as a firm line here, not a suggestion — the specific content (self-harm, overdose, graphic violence) goes well beyond typical R-rated horror.
- If older teens are curious because of buzz around the film, it’s worth discussing the “obsessive love” premise directly rather than letting them watch to find out — the film’s central idea can be talked through without exposure to the graphic content itself.
- Keep this one away from younger viewers entirely — there’s no age-appropriate cut of this story for kids or young teens.
Official Trailer
FAQs
Q: What is the age rating for Obsession (2025)?
A: The film is rated R for strong bloody violence, sexual content, language, and brief nudity.
Q: Is Obsession okay for kids?
A: No, it is not suitable for children due to graphic violence and adult themes.
Q: How scary is Obsession?
A: It is very intense, with both psychological horror and graphic, gory scenes.
Q: Does the movie contain strong language?
A: Yes, there is frequent and strong profanity throughout the film.
Q: Is there sexual content or nudity?
A: Yes, the film includes sexual content and brief graphic nudity tied to the storyline.
Q: Where can I watch Obsession?
A: It will be released in U.S. theaters on May 15, 2026.
Official Page: Obsession
Do you really think kids who play video games where they shoot everyone are going to have an issue with this film? Wake up or be more consistent with what is acceptable.