Obsession’s queer stars unpack horror, toxic love & the grossest thing that happened on set
'Obsession' will utterly terrify you—and you might just get some great relationship advice from it, too!
Mark
Let’s just get this out of the way first: Obsession, the new horror you’ve been hearing people buzzing about, is not technically a queer film.
But don’t let that scare you away from seeing it! For one, it features a pair of phenomenally freaky breakthrough performances from its out lead stars Michael Johnston (previously seen playing gay character Corey Bryant on Teen Wolf) and Inde Navarrette (13 Reasons Why).
Plus, as the actors share with Queerty, there are invaluable lessons about love & relationships to be found in this be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale that anyone should take to heart, no matter how you identify or what you’re into. For example, Navarrette (intentionally?) paraphrases RuPaul when she advises to “love yourself first, that way you can love another person.” Can she get an amen?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Of course, Obsession isn’t just here for romantic advice—it’s also here to utterly terrify you. And it absolutely will!
The theatrical debut from YouTube sensation filmmaker Curry Barker, it’s about Bear (Johsnton), an aimless young man who’s tired of being friend-zoned by his longtime crush, Nikki (Navarrette). Desperate, he uses a mysterious gift shop tcohchtke called a “One Wish Willow” to make his secret wish: That Nikki would love him more than anyone else in the world. But when it works too literally, Bear realizes his deepest desire comes with some dark consequences for the both of them.
With Obsession in theaters now, we spoke to the stars about the strangest things they had to do on set to bring the movie’s scares to life. Plus, they open up making this relationship-gone-wrong go so right, and reveal how the film taught them about the limits of limerence.
You can watch our conversation with Michael Johnston & Inde Navarrette above, or read our full interview with the Obsession stars below.
QUEERTY: Congratulations on this completely terrifying film; you’re both brilliant in it and I feel like your performances here are the real “special effects” while there’s so much else done practically with lighting, makeup and other practical effects. On that note, without giving too much away, what would you say is the strangest thing you had to do to “get the shot” for this film? The looks you’re giving each other right now are telling me something!
MICHAEL JOHNSTON: Oh boy! I mean, we were making an indie movie, so we were crammed up in all kinds of strange—
INDE NAVARRETTE: There’s like six different days within these looks. It’s like, “Are you talking about that one? On no, this one. But what about this one!” [Laughs.]
JOHNSTON: [Laughs.] I don’t even know! Okay, I have mine: There’s a—I’m trying not to spoil—there’s a body.
NAVARRETTE: Can’t say that! Op!
JOHNSTON: That’s a spoiler? A body? Come on, there’s blood in the trailer; people know there’s bodies. So there’s a body, and I spend a lot of time with that body one day. And, once, I was just minding my own business, like looking for gum or something, and I looked over and blood just [dripped down] unprompted, and that freaked me out a little bit! [Laughs.] SO that was pretty crazy.
NAVARRETTE: Oh, hell no! I didn’t know about that. So, I throw up in this movie, and one time the tape [securing the tube for the fake vomit] got disconnected, and because obviously there’s liquids—I gag every single time I tell this story—it shot into my mouth.
JOHNSTON: And mine!
NAVARRETTE: And that was a strange day.
JOHNSTON: I totally forgot!
Clearly you had blocked that one out of your memories, and now I’ve made you bring it back up, so I’m sorry about that!
JOHNSTON: The oatmeal! It was like oatmeal and—sorry, we can’t even talk about. But that was the main ingredient. [Laughs.]
And it all starts with this classic “be careful what you wish for” cautionary tale. With that in mind, did this film have you look at relationships in a new way—aside from the fact that even “nice” straight guys can go bad—or is there something you hope audiences might learn from it?
NAVARRETTE: Yeah, I think desire—I think it’s: love yourself first, that way you can love another person. But also, at the same time, give yourself grace, because we don’t know other people’s dynamics. Also: take it slow.
JOHNSTON: I think I went into this just really relating with a lot of this—but I’m not like Bear, okay? {Laughs.] I’m not like him! But I think, in dating—especially early on—if you are just so head over heels about someone, that is a sign that you need to slow down. Because it’s limerence, you know? You’re projecting this idea of what someone could be for you. And that doesn’t mean that it might not work out with them, but you’ve got to take the time to see if your values actually line up, and if you’re actually good together, right? So that’s what I think. I think this is the most extreme version, at a 10 out of 10, but there is something to look at with the whole limerence of it all.
NAVARRETTE: Yeah! I’ve seen so many comments on our diner scene that was posted where they’re like, “been. there, done that!” And I’m like, “Wait, on which side?” [Laughs.]
Totally! I think a lot of folks are going to be seeing scenes in this and—again, though it’s heightened—thinking, “oh my god,” and perhaps looking at themselves & past relationships in a different life.
NAVARRETTE: Yeah, it opens so many conversations—it’s wonderful!
Despite where this plot takes your characters, you two really do have such great on-screen chemistry, so I’m curious how you built that bond, and maybe what you first connected over when you met?
JOHNSTON: We connected right away!
NAVARRETTE: Right away! We’re two very different people, we like very different things. But I just think, fundamentally, we both really loved the project, and were really excited about it and doing the best that we could do. Like, how could I help you? How could he help me? We just wanted to be each other’s biggest advocates. And I think when you have that foundation, you just feel safe and free. And so then obviously a friendship is going to flourish from that.
JOHNSTON: There was just this chemistry, respect, love for the project. It really was kind of electric when we met, because we it was a chemistry read with a few others. I mean, I don’t know about how many Bears you read with? But I think I read with like three other girls, and they were all fantastic actresses, but there was something really special with you—you were the last one. And I just remember I forgot everything else. I was like, whoa. And the scene came out so differently; I wasn’t expecting it. It was a whole new energy.
Curry Barker’s Obsession is now playing in theaters everywhere.
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