How Curry Barker's The Chair Led Him To His First Theatrical Blockbuster Obsession - EXPLAINED

For

director Curry Barker, his films The Chair and Milk & Serial paved the way to his biggest-ever movie, Obsession, which has currently taken over the box office internationally. Before his first theatrical outing, the director impressed all with his debut feature film, which went straight to YouTube, Milk & Serial. Now, as Obsession is the new box office obsession, the producer of the film, James Harris, lavished praise on him. In an official statement, the producer recalled watching The Chair and being ‘blown away’. When Curry took Obsession to him, it was a no-brainer for him.

Why did Curry Barker direct Obsession as his first theatrical release

“I watched The Chair and was blown away by how cinematic it was,” Harris said, adding that he reached out to Barker. The producer further shared that he could immediately tell that the young filmmaker was a ‘hungry and mega talented’ artist. “Curry is a really smart guy who gets genre. He really understood scares but also the depth that it takes in a project,” he said. Initially, Harris was hooked on the idea of developing a feature version of The Chair with Barker, but when the latter suggested Obsession, the producer knew that was the one. “When I read the Obsession idea, it was just great. So smart and fits modern horror, so it was just a no-brainer,” he shared.

About Obsession

For the unversed, Harris has backed titles like 47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night and many V/H/S installments. Obsession stars Michael Johnston as Bear, Inde Navarrette as Nikki, Cooper Tomlinson and Andy Richter. The film’s official synopsis reads, “After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.”Obsession had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Following this, the film continued its festival run at events like Fantastic Fest and South by Southwest (SXSW). According to reports, the film is said to stream on digital video-on-demand (VOD) platforms, including an unrated version, on June 2, 2026. An official confirmation from the makers is due on this. Reportedly, it will stream on Peacock for subscribers later this summer. Obsession released internationally on May 14, whereas its India release is on May 29.