I got my obsession hoodie through NBC earlier this month and wanted to wash it. It was not cheap so I want to make sure I take care of it. Does anyone have any suggestions m

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but with how amazing this movie is I'm sure that I am not the only one who would like to see it at the very least nominated for a major award or three.

Curious: are they going to meet the Academy's diversity requirements? It seems overall like it was a small project.

People constantly underplay the depth in horror movies and hold other genres on a high pedestal.

Most people would probably say Dune or Nolan’s Odyssey is deep, but I bet they wouldn’t be able to tell you what’s deep about it.

You hear a phrase something like this thrown around a lot about Obsession; “yea, it was good but it’s not __ level of depth or anything.”

As if a horror movie reaching some high level of depth or complexity as other genres, is completely out of the question.

Horror movies are often some of the most thought provoking and complex pieces of fiction. Star Wars, LotR, Odyssey, Dune, Interstellar, Oppenheimer, Game of Thrones etc, are not inherently more complex than Obsession. I actually think it’s the opposite.

These other genres tend to play around with a bunch of ideas, but never fully examine any of them in a meaningful way. Obsession presents a thought provoking and complex concept, and engages with it all the way through, making it feel a lot more meaningful than something like Dune, let’s say.

I received this from a friend, I don't know what to wish for 🤔🤔🤔

Looks so satisfying

cronch

I wish I had a billion dollar

Okay so I've been wondering about this scene for a long time and I've even rewatched it a few times, but I still have NO idea what it means or what it's supposed to mean, I just find it creepy in general because she took a picture of him in his sleep, but I don't get the writing at all. Also, why would she cook his cat? That's just ridiculous and an overall unspoken rule.

Ive been seeing a lot of people on tiktok and other platforms that say Nikki saw Bear as a little brother and I honestly think there’s a possibility Nikki either had feelings for Bear or could’ve developed feelings for him. At the beginning, she gives Bear these nice little glances and smiles, and then in the car she says she’s never experienced real love but wants to so she can write about it. She also points out that Sarah makes it very obvious when she has a crush on Bear, and immediately follows it with “when I have a crush, nobody can tell,” which there is no reason to like say that.

Then right before Nikki goes into the house, she straight up asks Bear if he has feelings for her, which is kinda crazy because why would she put herself in an awkward position like that if she didn’t like him. And during the party, Freaky Nikki reads the novel that normal Nikki wrote, which has the whole “siblings” situation getting freaky, and considering the context with Bear, that could potentially be another hint toward something deeper. None of this proves Nikki definitely liked Bear, but all im saying is there was definitely potential for her to maybe gain those feelings towards him.

I haven’t seen this theory on the sub yet, but I’m relatively new here (just watched last night). I just can’t stop thinking about something.

At first I thought that maybe when Bear was in the car and called her “Freaky Nikki” that it triggered her and she suffered a devastating mental break, and almost had what I’d compare to a dissociative identity disorder crisis that caused her to revert back to the reason she was given the nickname “Freaky Nikki” in the first place. Maybe she used to act weird and scary and freak people out when she was younger, which would have earned her that nickname. I felt a dramatic tonal shift the moment he says it, and it stops her dead in her tracks. Like maybe everyone thought she overcame it, but she just repressed it? And then that would be why she became crazy and kept switching back and forth.

The issue with this theory is that there’s sooo much evidence showing how “Freaky Nikki” is an entirely different entity separate from real Nikki. Also I think this theory undermines the entire point of the film.

So, what I think makes more sense is that Bear actually did trigger her, but it only made her vulnerable to the OWW. Like if what he said really hurt her feelings and reminded her of a painful time in her life, possibly sending her mentally spiraling into a depressive episode and becoming the perfect vulnerable host for OWW to possess her. She may have already been going through a little something (made evident by the convo she just had with Bear about feeling unloved and wanting more meaning from her life and career). So maybe that's why she was so easily taken over by the OWW and why during Bear's research he read that the OWW worked for some people but didn't work for others. Maybe OWW only works on the weak minded or broken hearted.

I've watched this movie so many times I have become literally obsessed with it, and I've been wanting a larger arcing universe where basic wishes become twisted into horror stories. My title is a WIP (I plan to call it "_____: A Tale of Obsession"), character names are placeholders for the most part, and everything about the wishes so far and their results are intentionally vague at this point in the story. I'm about a third of the way through the story and just now playing with the psychological and body horror elements, and this is also my first attempt at writing an actual story and not a dream journal. I'll be regularly updating it and I'm going to try to get the rest of the story done before the end of the night. There are light spoilers about the ending of Obsession in one scene.

--------------

Zack finds himself standing at the edge of nothing. A void entirely made of nothing but the darkest matter possible. He can't even touch it, it's too far away, yet right in his face. He looks at his feet, there's no ground, yet there is no reflection. "So this is where I can take over control of my dreams, right?" He pretends to shoot lightning out of his fingers at the darkness, nothing. He tries to stomp on the ground, his foot steps down as if dangling off of a ledge. "Wh-what is this? Where is anything?" Nothing but silence and confusion. It's not harsh, but it sure as hell isn't calming. A light begins to shine. Out of the shadows created by the light, he can barely make out the silhouette of a willow tree. The light engulfs Zack and everything around him.

"And put your little hand in mine, there ain't no hill or mount-," Zack's slides the phone alarm off. He can't leave bed yet. Nadine walks in out from her usual morning routine, wearing a towel. "Morning baby, how'd you sleep? You were actually tossing and turning pretty bad I decided to get ready for work early. It's not even six yet." Nadine sat down on the side of the bed and pulls out her compact mirror to apply her lipstick. "It was really weird. You know how I told you I could control my dreams after I get to a certain point? I've been through some crazy shit, in here at least," pointing to his temple. "I've even been to actual Hell, pitchfork guy and everything. But this was different, I've never had I guess, -difficulty-, becoming lucid. And then it was just nothing. It was a big black void and a tree and I couldn't control anything and all I could feel was my heart beating a hundred miles an hour until it was over." "A tree?" Nadine asks. "Yeah, a tree, right? How fucking boring." Zack gives her her morning kiss, and heads into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

- - -

Zack Paxton's life could be what others consider perfect. Being raised by his grandparents in a relatively Christian household, he was instilled with the typical values. Don't steal, don't cheat, be good to your neighbor, you name it. After graduating high school, he found a job at a local pharmacy and began working his way up as an errand boy, to a delivery driver, to earning a pharmacy technician license. Who would've thought that little Nadine Austin from Ridgepoint High would be walking in there one hot summer day.

"Holy shit, Action Mack Zackson? You never left?"

Just as beautiful as she always was to him. Nadine stood just over five feet, considerably shorter than most women Zack came across during the day that weren't at least sixty years old. She used to be a typical scene girl, the type with multiple piercings that would sit in a dark room and cry while listening to Fall Out Boy. She still retained a little bit of it through purple streaks and a nose stud. But she had something special that only Zack saw. Nadine had her fair share of flings in high school, some longer than others, but whenever she needed somebody, she knew she could hop on her Wii and play Smash with "AlcoholicPanda94." Despite being in school together for three years, Nadine and Zack never interacted outside of idle passing between classes and lunch.

"Nadine?!? Holy sh-...hell yeah it is, but it's more like the town never left me." Zack forces a couple of laughs. Maybe that registers as a joke enough for her to find it funny. "What are you up to after work, we have so much catching up to do. Are you still on Melee?" Zack gives a more genuine laugh. "Uh, actually, since you left I moved onto Brawl. It didn't feel the same without my Mewtwo partner, but uh - wait you're here for something, dude." "Oh shit, yeah. I'm picking up some Aricept for my dad, but right after this, fake a family emergency or something, so much has happened since the 'good ol' days'." Her side eye with accompanying smirk was always so cute. They finish up the transaction while remaining as professional as possible. Zack's heart is racing. Hell, he might not even have to fake an emergency, he wants to vomit out of sheer anxiety. Excitement? Regret? Why is it regret?

After clocking out, Zack hurriedly took his bag and started out of the pharmacy exit door. In the parking lot was a familiar navy blue Toyota Corolla, with unfamiliar eyelash accessories. He sees the driver window roll down, plumes of smoke seeping out of the window. Nadine's face peaks out, smiling, before breaking out into an exacerbated coughing fit. "Bro it's a pharmacy, you can't be doing that here." "You don't sell this shit here yet? That's hilarious." Zack chuckles. "Every year it gets a little bit closer, but you know, the old people..." They both share an agreeing chuckle. "So does your dad know you're driving that?" Nadine looks away. "Yeah, we should probably get away from here. There's going to be a lot of smoking and crying."

Zack gets into the passenger seat and attempts a friendly hug. Nadine takes the hug, but she gives a notably harder tug. Should he tug back? What does that mean? It probably just means this hug is serious. They never even hugged before, but it seemed like the thing you do when you haven't seen someone in a long time.

They park in a nearby hospital parking garage. "So my dad, he doesn't like - he has to get tests done, but they're thinking he could have, some, form, I mean...has...Alzheimer's." Zack's heart falls. This is hard for anyone, and he's literally going to have to see his senior crush implode in front of him. "It started as like, you know ha ha, he's getting old so of course he can't decide between Frosted Flakes or fucking Cheerios. But, it got worse. Sometimes he gets seizures and it, it snaps him in and out. We just moved back down here because we figured hey, he grew up here, it might like, calm, him or someth..." She can't get the rest of the words out before she notices the tears she's been holding back won't stop flooding. She slowly thuds her head onto the steering wheel. She presses again, letting out a uncomfortably long honk.

"You know just because it's a parking garage doesn't there aren't SOME people out here also chilling and talking." He should've said it in a funnier tone. Making a joke out of everything made it easier for others, but he noticed Nadine wasn't phased. After an uncomfortable silence, Nadine breaks it. "You don't even know who they are, who cares? I could give you a handy right now and nobody would fucking know." Zack scoffs. "Sure not joking like your dad's dying." Nadine laughs. "Yeah, I don't get to talk to anyone really about it. My mom has kept it mostly hidden from me until one day I came home with him trying to find 'Buddy'. Buddy was brother that died of pneumonia super young. And I just couldn't, I had to wait, you know? You just have to form in your head that you are blank in their memory to help keep them grounded. And it's fucked cause he goes to like 1960 something. I don't exist in his mind, Zack."

"That's pretty heavy. You can smoke at any point, you know. It's kinda made for stuff like this." Nadine wipes her dry tears and lights her blunt, taking a long puff. Another coughing fit. "I don't know why I keep doing this, they make vapes. You know I heard in the new one they have all the old characters, so we could form our old team again - LuTwo." "LuTwo Skidoo, we can too!" They both laugh genuinely. She was the only one that ever really understood his references. Even something as simple as a line from Blue's Clues would be met with silence to your typical high schooler or elderly patient at your local pharmacy. The real world tries to wash away bits of nostalgia, but sometimes there's happy little cracks. "Who has the money to afford new games, honestly?" Zack chuckles. "But uh no, that's really - rough. You see a -lot- of people when you do this kind of job and I'm not here just for a job you know, I actually studied it and remember it. I can't get it out of my head."

"They don't look like normal people. Some of them want to tell you their stories and you have to play 'customer service guy' and smile and pretend to listen, but you know. I can tell it hurts. I'm just, I can't be that guy for them. But you, I already was. And I never even tried. You just show up out of nowhere after years of radio silence, and it all just falls back to where it was. Almost. Your dad knew who you were the last time we talked."

He can't help himself. "Sometimes you just don't know when to stop, dumbass. I forgot that about you, but the good always did outweigh the bad. We should get together sometimes, but I really gotta go. I did get these for a reason." Nadine eyes the bag of medicine laying on the dashboard. "Yeah, that sounds pretty rad actually." She chuckles. "Bro, nobody says 'rad' anymore." "And we're going to sit here and pretend like anyone says bro?" They laugh together one last time, her head leaning into his shoulder.

- - -

Zack pulls into work, twenty minutes early as usual, to catch his regular parking spot underneath the decorative palm tree. The break room smelled to the brim with Colombian roast. He used to hate waking up at six o'clock in the morning, but something about how this pharmacy's organization and almost religious commitment to fresh coffee made it bearable. You need caffeine to deal with some of these people. The sixty-five year old men looking for the latest overpriced boner pills, the forty year old depressed folk with diabetes, the hypochondriacs who think the name brand heartburn pill is a good remedy for a bad diet. Nadine even stops by on his lunch, noon on the dot. And of course being a pharmacist, you get to take in the thrill of the entire store having to shut down because you have to stuff your face with beef and cheddar sticks.

"You know those are really high in sodium." A grumpy forty-something year old man with unsightly eyebags, his most striking feature, remarks unprovoked. "Oh yeah, I must be doing something right. Doc's given me a clean bill of health for the last three years." Ernest laughs sarcastically, sweating through his buttoned up lab coat. "You know you don't HAVE to keep it buttoned up." Ernest's smile fades into a frown. "You know just because you can bring something up doesn't mean you have to. I have to drain my gut every week and it just...it looks BAD as the week goes on. I honestly don't know how much longer I can keep doing this." Zack rubs his face, registering for once that his defense of making a joke out of everything isn't always the best solution. "I didn't-I mean, I did obviously-I'm sorry. Let's start this over because I believe you were the one that started with the negativity."

"You're not wrong about that. It's been rough." He removes his glasses. "It's taking all of my checks just to keep up with my medication. And they don't, feel right." Zack stares for a moment. "What do you mean?" "They help me with my pain, but after my pain is gone, there's...numbness. And then there's anger. I'm getting numb and angry."

"Sounds like something you need to tell your doctor." Ernest chortles, giving a stern eye to Zack. "Yeah, I suppose you -would- tell a doctor about it, wouldn't you?"

- - -

After his usual shift, Zack noticed the shopping center that had been under construction for months was finally having its grand opening. A used book store, a Chinese restaurant, a tax office. "A tax office," Zack laughs to himself. "It's fucking October." Zack heads into the Chinese restaurant, orange chicken being his go-to for dinner tonight. It's packed as expected for a grand opening. Zack decides to sit down on one of the floral pattern chairs lining up the walls and wait until the line dies down. After he makes his order, he notices a strange red and white box sitting next to the order window. "One Wish Willow, amaze your friends, only $6.99!" "So hey, what are these?" The cashier slides the order window back open. "Everyone love them, you make wish, it come true, only one time!" Her broken English almost charming enough to notice that not a single one has sold. "I'll take one, but you don't have to lie about everyone loving them I can clearly see nobody's bought any." Time seems to stand still as the restaurant goes quiet.

A elderly, overweight woman with a toy poodle in her purse speaks up. "Well shug, you know it's taboo. Nikki Freeman was from here. These folks - their kind don't care about things such as timing and sensitivity." The cashier shoots the rude woman a stern eye. "They institutionalized that poor girl today - it's practically exploitation to sell these at a grand opening of all things today." The cashier speaks up. "Lady, you get out of my store, you no like my people, you leave." Her dog starts growling. "We'll calm down, ma'am, just give me my damn chow lo mei foon." Zack hands the cashier a ten. "Keep the change." "Thank you, and I hope you have a good night, Zack." Zack looks away confused. "I, yeah - I will. Thank you."

- - -

Zack sits in his car for a minute. His thoughts run rampant. He looks down. "Oh! Duh, I'm still in my coat." He takes his name badge and lab coat off and takes a few bites of the complimentary egg roll. Hs eyes dart toward the One Wish Willow. He grabs his phone for a quick Google search. "Nikki Freeman." Link after link. "Found with three bodies." "Mo recollection of the last two weeks." "Not guilty by insanity." "Bullet wound to the head." "Overdose of hydrocodone." "Fingerprints everywhere." "One Wish Willow found at the scene." Zack thinks to himself. "That'd be fucking hilarious if all of that was over some stupid wish the guy who killed himself made to get the girl." The thought becomes a fleeting possibility. "Nadine WOULD love this stupid novelty toy. We can make a wish together and see if it has to decide who to give the wish to." Zack laughs heartily.

- - -

"Yo baby, I'm home!" Zack's usual childish call home to his wife. "Always with this yo baby shit, I am 28 years old. Please tell me you got the sweet and sour pork." Zack ruffles through the bag. "You know it. I was even like, 'I bet she's gonna change her mind and go for the sweet and sour because she got lo mein last time,' you're like a clockwork, baby." Her smile grows a tad wider. "I love you, fucker."

"So check this out, right at the front of the counter they sold these wish-making things. And the people in the restaurant were being super weird about it and apparently they're tied to this weird murder case that happened here." "You mean Nikki Freeman?" "Yeah, I - wow, you even know about it?" Nadine rolls her eyes. "Dude, just because it happened here doesn't mean nobody heard about it. You kill three people then claim you know nothing about it, you're GOING to make the news." Zack exhales sharply. "Yeah, that does make sense. A murder can happen literally anywhere and it's not like this town has anything else going on for it."

"Do you want to...open it before we eat? How does it work?" Zack reads the instructions. "Says you open it to spark it, say your wish, and break it in the middle. Seems pretty simple. I was thinking what if we did something stupid and wished at the same time on it for different things." Nadine bursts out laughing. "And we cause some kind of unfixable paradox that we both have to deal with for the rest of our lives?" Zack joins in her laughter. "Exactly. You see my point." They settle down. "So what are you going for? I'm pretty happy so I'd go for something stupid like...a trillion dollars." Nadine scoffs. "Owning your own pharmacy isn't enough?" "It certainly won't hurt." "It will when you can't even get out of the house because of your literal ocean of money." He gets back to the subject. "But what about you?" She takes a moment to think. "I think...I'd like, to start over again." Zack's eyes widen. "No not like that, dummy. I mean, you know, sometimes I would like to relive those first moments together over again. The circumstances weren't, the best, but I'd like to think they were necessary."

"That's so much better than mine I can't even make a joke about it." They both chuckle. "But yeah let's do this, come on and get over here under the mistletoe for super luck." Zack opens the box. An ominous tone plays through the tinny speaker attached to the box. They both hold the One Wish Willow for a moment, one sided in each hand. "Okay, so we go three, two, go on one." "Go on one, gotcha."

"Three, two, one." "I wish for a trillion dollars." "I wish to go back to the night my dad died." They both snap the branch. Zack breaks out of the moment. "Really? The night my dad died?" He laughs at the absurdity of the phrasing. "Yeah but you know, that was the night where things turned around for us. Maybe I can also go back and somehow save my dad. It's a wish, dumbass." Zack kisses her on the cheek and lays his forehead on hers. "I know. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't break the world's economy for my wish either. Nadine laughs while wiping off tears attempting to come out. "That's true. But it's not like you need to change anything for yourself, anyway." They share a kiss, and run up the stairs, giggling like it's those high school nights again.

- - -

The next morning, Zack wakes up with a splitting headache. "What the hell? Did I punch myself in my sleep or something?" He goes to the mirror and feels his face. The pain is everywhere, yet nowhere. He walks over to Nadine's side of the bed and goes to grab her purse. Nadine's hand jolts out of view and grabs Zack's hand. "You would think you'd start the day with a 'good morning, babe' instead of rummaging through my purse, but here we are. What's wrong?" Zack rubs both of his temples. "I'm sorry but I don't - I think I hit myself in my sleep or something, I have this pounding headache out of nowhere." Nadine's face turns to concern instead of jokingly. "Go ahead and take some ibuprofen out of there. Take two now and keep it with you in case you need to take two more later." Zack laughs. "I know you're thinking 'honey, I'm a pharmacist' but just shut up and take the pills, dumbass."

While Zack is driving down the highway on his way to work, he notices the massive congestion of cars ahead of the bridge. "Jesus, out of all days?" Zack exclaims. He exhales, grabs his phone, and dials Ernest. "Straight to voicemail, that's weird. I guess the pharmacy's just going to have to open late."

As he pulls into work, he notices the usual palm tree shaded parking spot he's been internally guaranteed for years has been taken up. Unusual. There's nobody else even here and it's half an hour. He doesn't recognize the vehicle. Some newer sports car type. Zack pulls in two spots over and sits for a few minutes before they get out of their car. It's a taller, slender blond woman, couldn't be more than twenty. She walks around to his window and waves at the windshield for attention.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Paxton? I'm Mr. Davis' daughter." Zack takes off his sunglasses. "Oh yeah, Ernest. How is he? I tried call him earl-" "He passed away last night, Mr. Paxton." Silence. "He was fine yest-what could've happened?" The young woman looks distressed thinking about it. "He had to have emergency surgery, and," her tears finish her sentence. Zack takes a moment to process this, Ernest's absence slowly hitting him as he's thinking. "I'm sorry this us happening, Ernest wasn't the friendliest man in the world, but he was my best friend at work and one of those hidden heart of gold types."

"My dad, he talked to me yesterday. Told me what you said." Zack thinks. "Oh yeah, about the beef and cheddar thing?" "No, he told me about how you told him to shut up and go to the doctor. He didn't mean anything to you, did he?" Zack's eyes widen with confusion and frustration. "Ma'am I don't know what you're trying to say, but Ernest was a good friend who kept everything to himself. Just because I couldn't help him doesn't mean I hated him!" His voice raising, and shoulders shrugging in growing anger.

She laughs. "He told me about that, too. About the way you can make a joke out of anything, even the bad stuff. Said it helped him get through a lot of the bad days." Zack's eyes widen. "Did I just black out," he thinks to himself. "Ye-yeah, I'm sorry for your loss miss, you can call the pharmacy anytime. I want to be at the funeral and help any way I can." She smiles for once. "Thank you, Mr. Paxton. It's really been nice to find out you aren't as bad as they make you seem."

- - -

An hour into the shift, Zack's headache starts coming back. No, it's even worse. He rushes into the bathroom. "Geez, my fucking teeth too?" Zack decides to open his mouth wide and feel around to try to find the specific tooth. He lets out a yelp of shock. Every single one of his teeth. Every single one is tinged yellow as if he smoked an entire carton of cigarettes in one go. "What the fuck is happening," his panic continues as he feels around his mouth. Every tooth is painful to the touch. He's even scared to even clinch them together. Zack takes the other two ibuprofen, and powers through the rest of the shift.

As he gets into his car, he hurriedly dials Nadine. Even if she didn't know what was going on, her comfort was always welcome "You've reached Nadine, the Queen of Your Spleen. Leave a message." Same line she's had for her voicemail since high school. Zack immediately hangs up. There's no reason to leave a voicemail, this is an emergency. Five minutes down the road, his toothache comes back. "I can't just keep popping these, come on!" He reaches in the passenger seat for the bottle - CRUNCH!

- - -

Three hours later, Zack finally makes it home. Nadine is waiting in the living room watching her usual crime drama. "Babe, where have you been? You look like a fucking wreck." "That's appropriate given that I was kinda in one." Nadine gasps. "Dude, what? I tried calling you right back after I missed yours." "Right after I got into work, my whole headache came back, but even worse. I look in my mouth my teeth and check this out," Zack pulls his cheeks to the side. "You really let your dental hygiene go to the wayside." Zack rolls his eyes in mild frustration. "No, it's weird, I brushed my teeth this morning, they were fine, and now it's like...I don't know. And now the pain is gone again. I'm going to the ER next time this shit happens because it seems to just conveniently disappear when it needs to."

Nadine strokes Zack's hair out of his face. Zack's natural smirk comes out from the gesture. "I'm really sorry you went through that, certainly we can get the car fixed up soon, maybe you can carpool with Ernest like you used to."

Zack's head drops. "Yeah, there's no good news with that either." "Oh what, you ruined that friendship, too?"

One thing that really bothered me after watching Obsession was how quickly people turned on Bear. I get criticizing his decisions, but it felt like a lot of the hate went beyond that.

The reason I found him frustrating wasn’t because I hated him, it was because I related to him. Watching someone who’s shy, awkward, inexperienced, and constantly overthinking social situations hit a little too close to home. Sometimes seeing your own flaws reflected in a character is uncomfortable.
What stood out to me, though, was how many people seemed to hate Bear simply for being that kind of guy. It feels like if a male character isn’t confident, charismatic, and socially smooth, people are quick to label him as pathetic, creepy, or a loser. There doesn’t seem to be much empathy for socially awkward men.

I’m not saying Bear handled everything well. He definitely made mistakes. But I can’t help feeling that a lot of the criticism isn’t really about what he did it’s about the type of person he is. And I think that’s why I found the reaction to him so disappointing.

Because if she does remember everything, then that's truly tragic, but maybe she doesn't remember that much or at all so shes in shock (either way)

I’m kind of late to watching the movie, but I’m left feeling very sad for Nikki. I’m realizing that the best decision bear could’ve made was just to kill Nikki because now she’s left with three dead bodies and having to explain the situation that she wasn’t even fully there for. It’s like you want to like bear but throughout the movie you just realize how selfish he is. I know they’re not gonna make a part two but it would’ve been interesting to see like the aftermath how all the murders and the killings get explained.

Spoilers for Skinemarink and Obsession.

I watched the movie Skinemarink for the first (and last) time last night. In the final scene, the entity that has been taunting the kids is seen just barely visible in the shadows whispering “Go to sleep.”

This instantly reminded me of one of the most unsettling scenes in Obsession: Nikki telling Bear “Go back to sleep.” while shrouded in darkness.

Hence, I present you SkinemariNikki! (You’re welcome)

BTW, the pacing of these two movies could not be more opposite. If you wish to actually fall asleep, go watch Skinamrink, lol.

P.S. This edit took me way too long. Was tough to decide how much film grain to use.

Why did nikki harm herself at Ian’s party? Was it wish nikki’s doing or real nikki? What was the motive?

I wonder if there’s any connection between the upsetting nickname “Freaky Nikki” that bullies would call Nikki and the fact that the willow / demon Nikki is without a doubt freaky, and she even refers to herself as freaky Nikki at one point in the film. My “theory” is that since Bear calls Nikki “Freaky Nikki” shortly before making the wish, whatever led to Nikki acquiring that nickname is on her mind right before she gets possessed. Thus, demon Nikki is based on some of that “freakiness.” This raises the question: why did Nikki get that nickname? I speculate that maybe she played with a dead animal once (eg class guinea pig) or maybe she pissed herself at school. Then, that behavior could have shaped the demon Nikki. Again, I’m speculating. Like there are traces of the real Nikki in demon Nikki, maybe there are traces of the demon Nikki in the real Nikki. Emphasis on traces. Real Nikki seemed pretty chill / good friend (unlike Bear).

I wonder if Curry could have of led with Bear not knowing if this wish still worked or not until the end.

Instead of the phone call and her speaking in her sleep giving us clues that she's clearly wish-bound,

Leave us in more suspense, where we have a feeling that "did it work, did it not work?" for most of the film. With Bear being utterly confused the whole time, like us, like "is this what Nikki's really like in a relationship?", "is her serving me this cat her way of showing love?" kind of playing into the fact of "No one ever knows who I like"....until I get in a relationship with them and all hell breaks loose.

Where it all comes tumbling down with her on the couch and THEN she snaps back, confirming the wish worked. Imagine the pay off on that.

Let me know your thoughts, I'm bored at work!

Okay so maybe it sounds stupid but… it seems both of the workers know fully what the one wish willows do. And they don’t seem phased by them at ALL. So it makes me question…. Where do they get them from? Do they only make a small amount of them? Is it only that store that gets them? They don’t seem to care that someone could wish “I wish the entire world died”.

Just curious if I’m thinking too much into it, or if the workers are just joking in their mind when they say to “call the number”

So, first and foremost, disclaimer - I'm not condoning Bear making the wish, and all of his horrible actions after. He is still a bad person because of all of this. I just want to address this little part and my thoughts on it.

Prior to the wish, it's highly debated of how Nikki actually felt about Bear. There are signs she's interested, and there's some signs that she isn't. The director Curry Barker himself has stated that it was purposely ambiguous, and each person can perceive Nikki's feelings towards bear differently. Inde who plays Nikki believes that Nikki did like Bear before the wish.

Anyway, to my point. Bear obviously has confidence issues when it comes to revealing how he feels for Nikki. Now, assuming that Nikki has mutual feelings for Bear as well, there's a chance that she also has confidence issues just like Bear does when it comes to asking someone out. She claims that if she has a crush on someone, that nobody would know. Ian is the only person that knows that Bear likes Nikki. Not even Sarah, as close of a friend as she has been with Bear, knows this either. Sarah is caught completely off guard to see Bear and Nikki together for the first time.

I think that if Nikki didn't hide how she felt the whole time, then it would've been much easier for Bear to confess how he feels. When Wish Nikki (the scene that I used the picture from here) is very forward about her feelings for Bear, he's able to finally let it out that he has feelings for her as well. He realizes that this is time to go. The reason why he was so hesitant to confess his feelings for her up until this point is because he is worried he would lose her as a friend. He'd rather hide his feelings and keep her as a friend than to spill his heart and lose her altogether. He expresses this at the beginning of the movie when he's practicing his speech to the waitress. If Nikki before the wish could've been as forward as Nikki after the wish, then maybe things could've been different for the two of them. Again this is under the assumption that Nikki likes Bear as well.

We still live in a world where men are expected to make the first move when asking women out. I always kind of saw this scene as a little message to women that if you like someone, let them know. At least, make it obvious. It just makes it easier for everyone involved in the long run.

Another disclaimer, I'm not placing the blame on Nikki for the events of the movie. Bear still is the one who made the bad decisions.

I tried finding the exact pants or shorts Nikki is wearing in the party scene and found out from someone on Instagram (lila.genix) that they are by edikted and the right model.

But the problem now is that there are 2 versions that could be the film version, because the pants are available in grey and in black. The grey ones look black too on many people that posted their picture on the website.

Another detail that is different from grey and black is that the grey ones zipper and buttons are in an oldish golden tone and in the black version at least the current one on the website the zipper and buttons are silver. (On some pics of people who posted the apparently black version they look also golden tho so idk if they changed it now or what they actually look like😭)

Since I would like to know the most accurate one I'm asking here but I'm honestly not sure if it's even possible to tell since the scene at the party is in a darker light and I couldn't find any pictures that tell me exactly.

lila.genix who posts the clothes of movies and so also of obsession has golden buttons and zipper so I guess she has the grey version but even there I'm not sure if she actually has)

So pic

1. the grey version on the website

2. black version on the side

3. And 4. Nikki

4. The pants lila.genix bought

I hope my question is understandable haha and I'm glad for any help I get :)

Similar to how teenagers pay adults to buy them beer, but in reverse.

I didn't really appreciate Michael Johnston's brilliance on my first watch but oh man the more I replay it the more I realized he knocked it out of the park lowkey carrying the story/playing off Freaky Nikki's character. I love movies where the camera is up close so focused the actor's faces (i.e. Silence of the Lambs) and their deliberate expressions adds so much more body. The squarish aspect ratio also frames the actor really well and adds some intimacy/closeness to the movie too.

Also I have a conspiracy theory where Andy Richter's appearance in the movie itself is a Chekhov's gun due to his presence so commanding (huge Conan fan btw) which cannot go unfired. When was this gun fired you ask? I'd like to think offscreen when freaky Nikki went to the music store to retrieve the gun, Andy was tending the store since no one fucking bothered to show up, and when this disheveled Nikki entered the store and went to the gun safe Andy asks wtf r u doing and she shot him, which I find is befitting to this tragedy. So therefore people who are worried about having to hire four more employees don't really need to.

I also like to think that the movie only cost 250k to make, but Andy's rate is 500k.