Michael Johnston & Inde Navarrette Reveal The Creepy Moments That Got Under Their Skin In Obsession (Exclusive)

There’s a moment in Obsession where the tension shifts from awkward crush energy into something far darker, and according to stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette, that uncomfortable feeling was exactly the point.

I sat down with the pair ahead of the release of Focus Features’ supernatural horror film, directed by Curry Barker, and the conversation quickly spiraled from horror inspirations to toxic romance, cursed wishes, and one particularly disturbing smile that nearly broke the scene.

The film follows Bear, a music store employee played by Johnston, who uses a mystical “One Wish Willow” to make his longtime crush Nikki fall in love with him. The fantasy works… briefly. Then Nikki’s affection mutates into something obsessive and violent, dragging Bear into a dreadful nightmare. Photo: Focus Features Why The Cast Immediately Said Yes

For Johnston, the appeal was how slippery the movie’s morality feels.

“So what I can say to that is my character Bear is the protagonist and so I’m reading the script but I was actually really surprised when he sort of turned into the antagonist in a way where it’s not really clear,” he told me. “And that’s something that I really loved about it.”

Navarrette was equally locked in from the start, though she admitted Nikki’s descent into obsession pushed her into unfamiliar territory as a performer.

“I loved Nikki because I had never played anything like her before,” she said. “With this one, it just was like a pressure cooker. It was just phenomenal. Curry let me play and I got to do everything that I wanted to do.” Building Nikki’s Transformation

One of the most striking things about Obsession is how Nikki’s behavior slowly changes scene by scene instead of erupting all at once. Navarrette explained that restraint became part of the character’s tension.

“I didn’t want to start at a 10 because then there’s nowhere to go from there,” she said. “How do you keep that tension?”

She and Barker developed what she described as different “levels” for Nikki’s unraveling, using subtle physical choices and vocal shifts to create the uncanny feeling that something underneath the surface was off.

When I asked whether any horror performances inspired her approach, Navarrette pointed to several films that shaped the movie’s tone, including Pearl and Get Out.

“We’d kind of be like, this is pearlescent,” she said with a laugh. “Or like the no, no, no in Get Out where the no means different things.” The Scene That Grossed Michael Johnston Out

Johnston revealed that many of Nikki’s unsettling moments were kept hidden from him until cameras started rolling, which helped his reactions feel more genuine onscreen.

“There’s this scene where she says, ‘I’m your freaky Nikki’ and smiles at me,” he recalled. “I asked her, I was like, ‘I wanna see it.’ She was like, ‘Nope, nope, sorry.’”

When Navarrette finally debuted the expression during filming, Johnston completely lost it.

“I think I was like, ‘Ugh,’ and I messed up the tape,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, gross.’” Red Flags And One Very Bad Wish

The cast also weighed in on one of the movie’s biggest questions: Is Bear a hopeless romantic or a walking red flag?

“I think Bear is a hopeless romantic for sure,” Johnston said. “But I also think he just wasn’t emotionally strong or aware enough to handle actually getting the girl of his dreams.”

That blurred line between romance and control sits at the center of the film. During our conversation, Johnston admitted he’d rather be obsessed with someone than have someone obsessed with him.

“You can’t help it when somebody’s looking at your door at night,” he joked. “I don’t want that.”

The interview took an even more chaotic turn when I asked what kind of cursed “One Wish Willow” wish they’d make in real life but it would yield a toxic side effect, just like in the film. Navarrette immediately launched into an elaborate scenario involving changing height every year, while Johnston somehow turned the conversation into wanting endless home-cooked meals (I suggested the side effect would be IBS and we all launched into a roar). A Horror Movie Meant For Group Chats Afterward

Despite the gore and supernatural turns, both actors said they hope audiences leave the theater wanting to talk.

“I really want this to open so many doors for conversations,” Navarrette said. “There’s no wrong answer. But just have so much fun.”

Johnston agreed, describing the movie as “a roller coaster” designed for packed screenings and loud reactions.

And after watching the film myself, he’s right. Obsession thrives in the kind of theater where people gasp, laugh nervously, and immediately start debating the ending on the walk to the parking lot.

Obsession arrives in theaters May 15.

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