Recommendations of the Editorial team
The horror phenomenon “Obsession” (in Germany: “Obsession – You should love me”) by screenwriter and director Curry Barker has already grossed $265 million worldwide, making it the most successful film in the history of Focus Features. The film even surpassed its strong opening weekend four weekends in a row. Blockbuster candidates never actually manage this, but even indie productions rarely manage this feat.
This now raises the question of whether “Obsession” is a candidate that can impress the Oscar Academy. The film contradicts almost all ideas of a big screen hit. It even exceeds the expectations generated by A24 in recent years (which also has a YouTuber project in its program, “Backrooms”).
Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” is of course the model: launched in 2017 as the debut film by an intelligent, ambitious director, the horror film, which has now become a classic, was nominated for four Oscars. It didn’t just stop at the nominations, Peele won the award for best original screenplay.
The Academy has recognized the horror trend
As the last Oscars showed, the Academy can now get a lot more involved in horror films. At the 98th awards ceremony a few weeks ago, there were a total of eight awards for films in the genre; “Blood & Sinners” was even nominated for 16 golden boys. A historical record.
Nevertheless, to this day horror is usually only taken seriously when additional factors are added. Most of the time this is an established director, big stars or a mixture of other genres. In this case just think of “The Silence of the Lambs”, which won all the important prizes.
This is exactly where “Obsession” has surprisingly good prerequisites, as a report from “Variety” says. The film combines elements of “Get Out”, “Smile” and the psychological thrillers of the 90s and now also has a real success story for an upcoming Oscar campaign.
Further records would then be certain at the Oscars: If Barker were nominated for best director, the 27-year-old would be one of the youngest directing candidates in Oscar history, in line with “Citizen Kane” director Orson Welles.
Lead actress Inde Navarrette could also be good for a surprise, as the actress known from “13 Reasons Why” carries the film almost entirely alone with what is clearly an obsessive performance. A nomination would make her the youngest Latina ever considered in an acting category, according to Variety.
A YouTuber as an Oscar winner?
Realistically speaking, the chances for horror films are still rather worse compared to other genres. No favorite has yet emerged for the upcoming Oscar season (although it will be exciting to see how the new Spielberg film “Disclosure Day” is received by the Academy), but the now apparent trend of turning Internet phenomena into film stories or putting YouTubers in the director’s chair could also trigger defensive mechanisms in Hollywood.
But “Get Out” once refuted similar fears. He made Blumhouse a premier destination for horror films and Peele a directing star. “Obsession” also has an extraordinary origin story and fresh faces. Nobody knows yet whether the Academy will go along with it in the end. But it is said that a financially strong campaign is already being prepared in the background.