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‘Obsession’ Review: Curry Barker’s Horror Film Delivers

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Getting what you wished for often doesn’t turn out well in real life. But it never turns out well in horror films, as the new movie from Curry Barker vividly demonstrates. Trafficking a well-worn theme — the classic short story “The Monkey’s Paw,” the exemplar of the concept, dates all the way back to 1902 — Obsession makes it fresh and original with its superbly orchestrated blending of dread, jump scares and dark comedy. The film represents an instant breakout for its director-screenwriter, who first received attention with his YouTube comedy sketches created in collaboration with Cooper Tomlinson (one of this film’s supporting players) and his extremely low-budget horror film Milk & Serial. It’s another example of how the horror genre has become a launching pad for ambitious filmmakers.

The central characters are Bear (Michael Johnston, MTV’s Teen Wolf), a dweebish employee at a musical instruments score, and his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette, Trap House), on whom he has a helpless crush. And by helpless, we’re talking desperate, and thoroughly relatable to the vast majority of the population. Watching his romantic anguish with concern are the pair’s mutual friends Ian (Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), the latter of whom secretly pines for Bear herself.

Obsession

The Bottom Line

Instantly marks the filmmaker as a contender.

Release date: Friday, May 15
Cast: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Haley Fitzgerald, Darin Toonder, Andy Richeter
Director-screenwriter: Curry Barker

Rated R,
1 hour 50 minutes

Bear is hopelessly trapped in the friend zone, so when he’s looking to buy Nikki a gift after she accidentally loses a necklace and he comes upon a unique item in a novelty store, he’s immediately intrigued. It’s a “One Wish Willow” (the film begins with an amusing fake commercial for the product), which promises its users that it will grant one wish upon splitting it in half. And for a mere $6.99, it’s a steal. Except rather than giving it to her, Bear impulsively uses it himself.

It’s no spoiler to reveal that the product works as advertised, with Nikki undergoing an immediate personality transformation as soon as Bear wishes that she would love him more than anyone in the world. For a while, he relishes her passionate affection and sexual voraciousness. But it soon becomes apparent that, like so many new relationships, this one has a dark side. A very dark side, with Nikki exhibiting the sort of extreme possessiveness that would put Fatal Attraction’s Alex to shame. (Speaking of which, Obsession is likely to do for cats what that film did for pet rabbits.)

What makes Obsession so fun, and so disturbing, is how it takes typical aspects of dysfunctional romantic relationships to initially comic and then horrific extremes. The film provides further complexity by not making Bear a sympathetic victim but rather complicit by initially enjoying Nikki’s affections despite their artificial provenance. Until, of course, they get out of hand. Johnston displays an admirable willingness to make his character look pathetic at times rather than trying too hard to make him likeable.

It’s Navarrette, though, who truly gives the film it’s mojo. The young actress delivers such a virtuosic performance as the spellbound Nikki that she’ll induce nightmares for anyone who’s ever wondered what exactly the hell is going on with their romantic partner. She’s truly frightening in her intensity, and also induces pity whenever her character briefly toggles back to her unpossessed state in helpless confusion. It’s a breakthrough turn that should guarantee plenty of work for her in the years ahead.

Obsession has more than its share of shocking moments, with one sudden, brutally violent attack coming so out of nowhere that you’re left reeling. But Barker also has the confidence to draw out the suspense slowly (sometimes too slowly, as the film could stand to lose a bit of its 110-minute running time) and let the tension accumulate. It was recently announced that the filmmaker will be directing the upcoming reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. What seemed like something to dread now actually inspires hope.

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‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 35, Week 3 Recap: Who Goes Home?

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SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Tuesday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars.

It’s another exciting night in the ballroom as 13 contestants are still eyeing the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Week 3 of Dancing with the Stars.

Last week, the judges reinforced just how tough they are going to be this season, once again declining to score anyone above a 7. Still, three couples — Jenna and Val, Ezra and Daniella, and Amber and Pasha — walked away tied for the top of the leaderboard with 21 points. We also said goodbye to Alan Bersten and chef Giada De Laurentiis.

Week 3 is Yacht Rock night, so the remaining couples are performing to hits from artists including Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, and Luther Vandross.

Here is how the night went.

Olympian Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov danced a Foxtrot to “Hold the Line” by Toto. SCORE: 24

Actress Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa danced a salsa to “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall & John Oates. SCORE: 19

Late-night sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez with Whitney Carson danced a Foxtrot to “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes. SCORE: 15

Actress Tatyana Ali with Jan Ravnik performed a Quickstep to “Maneater” by Daryl Hall & John Oates. SCORE: 21

Actor Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson performed a jive to “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Daryl Hall & John Oates. SCORE: 24

Musician Taylor Hanson with Britt Stewart danced a Foxtrot to “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers. SCORE: 18

Reality star Maura Higgins with Mark Ballas danced a Quickstep to “Turn Your Love Around” by George Benson. SCORE: 22

Reality star Ciara Miller with Brandon Armstrong performed a Cha Cha to “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross. SCORE: 18

Savannah Bananas midfielder Jackson Olson with Emma Slater performed a paso doble to “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins. SCORE: 18

Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood with Rylee Arnold danced a Foxtrot to “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. SCORE: 20

Actress Jenna Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy danced a samba to “Africa” by Toto. SCORE: 21

Reality star Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess danced a jive to “Still the One” by Orleans. SCORE: 17

Paralympian Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach danced a Foxtrot to “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr. featuring Bill Withers. SCORE: 21

Who goes home?

The competition is now down to 12 as Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were sent home. Next week is all about Mariah Carey, so the couples will perform a variety of the pop superstar’s biggest hits.

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‘Icebreaker’ TV Show Adaptation News & Updates: Everything We Know

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Another hockey book adaptation has entered the chat.

Netflix is currently building out its cast for the series adaptation of Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker book that kicks off the Maple Hill series. This in addition to their show The Sticks that is also currently in the works.

For everything we know about Netflix’s Icebreaker book adaptation so far, read on.

When will Netflix’s Icebreaker series adaptation come out?

A release date has not yet been set. The show has begun to assemble its cast.

Who will lead the Icebreaker show at Netflix?

Daisy Jelley (Poser, How To Have Sex) will portray Anastasia “Stassie” Allen, and Connor Simos (Subversion) will portray Nate Hawkins in the college hockey drama series.

Who else is in the cast of Netflix’s Icebreaker adaptation?

Gabriel Tierney (Rivals, Enola Holmes 2), Auliʻi Cravalho (Moana), newcomer and professional athlete Peter Berry, Chaneil Kular (Best of the Best, Sex Education), Devin Craig (Sex Lives of College Girls, Maize) and Aidan Shaw (We Were Liars, Heated Rivalry, Finding Her Edge) have joined the ensemble cast.

Tierney will play Aaron; Cravalho will portray Lola; Berry is Robbie; Kular will play JJ; Craig will portray Henry and Shaw is Russ.

What is Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker book about?

Stassie is a transfer athlete gunning for Olympic gold. Nate is the campus star chasing the NHL. When an accident forces their teams to share one rink, Anastasia Allen and Nate Hawkins collide—and discipline gives way to obsession, because the only thing more dangerous than wanting to win is wanting each other.

Who else is behind Netflix’s Icebreaker series?

Jade Halley Bartlett (Road House, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Miller’s Girl) created and executive produced the series. Amanda Lasher (Gossip Girl, The Bold Type, Togetherness) serves as showrunner, writer and excutive producer. Grace also executive produces along with Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre for Cooper’s Unwell Productions.

RELATED: ‘The Sticks’: Scott Bakula, Logan Marshall-Green & More Cast Confirmed; First Look At Netflix YA Hockey Drama Starring Michelle Monaghan

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Cindy Holland Leaving Paramount Ahead Of WBD Merger

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One of the biggest executive questions about Paramount following its pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — who will lead streaming — may have been answered.

Cindy Holland is leaving Paramount where she was Chairman of Direct-To-Consumer since the Skydance-Paramount merger having served as an advisor to Skydance CEO David Ellison prior to that. She announced her departure in a company memo, which you can read below.

The move leaves HBO’s Casey Bloys as the likely streaming head of the combined Paramount-WBD.

“Cindy is one of the most exceptional executives in our industry — a force of nature whose impact on Paramount over the past year has been significant,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said. “Under her leadership, P+ reached new heights, Pluto TV underwent its most significant transformation in a decade, and we strengthened our content and sports portfolio – all while the business exceeded the ambitious goals we set. Just as importantly, she built an exceptional team and a strong foundation for the future. Cindy has been a trusted partner to me and so many others, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her leadership, her relentless drive and everything she’s done for our company.”

Here is Holland’s memo:

When I joined David’s team in January 2025, we proceeded to set three goals: i) advise on the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, ii) integrate and transform Paramount+ & revive Pluto TV, and iii) build an unparalleled team in this industry. In just over 12 months, I’m proud to say we accomplished all three and it’s been a joy to work closely with all of you.
Together with the Product team, we drove significant strategic and organizational change across DTC — building a new foundation for growth on both services, while investing in greater depth and breadth of programming and delivering strong revenue, profit, and subscriber growth for the division.
As David readies for the next phase of his vision, we’ve discussed my role and the future of the combined businesses. David is optimizing for HBO stability as we move into this next chapter, and I fully support that. I know this team has the leadership and expertise to manage through the transition and the next phase of the company, and to this end today will mark my last day here.
As I reflect on my time here and all that we’ve built together in this short time, what stands out most to me is this team. I have never been more proud of a group of people. What we’ve accomplished together is remarkable — landing quarter after quarter while navigating extraordinary uncertainty and change with resilience, focus and ambition. We grew Paramount+ to an all-time subscriber high, delivered the best retention in the service’s history, and drove double-digit growth in both engagement and revenue. We built an extraordinary content pipeline, greenlighting more than 40 new and returning series and setting all-time records with Landman, the most-watched series in Paramount+ history, and Dutton Ranch, the service’s biggest original series debut ever. We transformed live sports into a powerful streaming growth engine, securing landmark agreements with UFC and Zuffa Boxing and expanding our WNBA and UEFA Champions League rights – with UFC Freedom 250 becoming the largest-ever audience for an exclusive live event on Paramount+ and UFC 329 setting a new platform record for peak concurrent streams for an exclusive live event. And we undertook Pluto TV’s biggest product transformation in a decade, dramatically increasing registered viewing and VOD consumption while delivering strong financial performance across the business. These are extraordinary accomplishments – but what makes me proudest is how we achieved them: together, with an unwavering commitment to our audiences, our creative partners and one another.
I joined Paramount because I believe in these businesses, and because I believe wholeheartedly that the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery serves the best interests of artists and audiences worldwide. I’m looking forward to seeing what you all accomplish together in this next, momentous chapter.
Cindy

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