Some films arrive with enormous expectations. Others emerge seemingly out of nowhere, capturing the imagination of audiences in ways nobody could have predicted. Curry Barker’s Obsession was very much the latter. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness programme in 2025, the wickedly twisted psychological horror went from an independent genre discovery to a bona fide worldwide phenomenon, grossing over $500 million and becoming that rarest of cinematic achievements: a genuine lightning-in-a-bottle experience. At the centre of its extraordinary success was Inde Navarrette, delivering a fearless, darkly funny and emotionally layered performance as Nikki, a young woman whose identity is terrifyingly distorted when a seemingly innocent romantic wish unleashes something far more sinister.
But beneath the film’s supernatural horrors lies an unsettling examination of desire, romantic entitlement and the dangers of being loved for someone else’s idea of who you should be. It’s this tension between identity and perception that makes Navarrette’s performance so compelling, as she navigates the increasingly blurred lines between the real Nikki and the disturbing fantasy imposed upon her. With Obsession now firmly established as a modern horror sensation, and Navarrette’s star continuing to rise, our Peter Gray spoke with the actress about protecting Nikki’s humanity amid the madness and the importance of understanding a character beyond how others perceive them.
One of the things I wanted to ask you is around what you’ve said about Nikki, that she’s the first character you understood completely from the moment that you read her. I find that fascinating because so much of Nikki is about becoming someone she didn’t choose to be. When you have that instinctive understanding of a character, how do you protect who they really are when the story takes that identity away?
Yeah, whenever I was looking at Nikki specifically, (and) I don’t think this really applies to any of my other characters, but with Nikki I really wanted her to be a fully fledged person. I also had to recognize that I was playing a perception of that person, so it was really important for me to lean on Curry (Barker, writer/director) to know what Bear (Michael Johnston’s character) was feeling towards her, other than this quote-unquote “obsession”, right? This attractiveness.
I don’t feel like Nikki’s the girl that really gives a fuck about the way that another man could be perceiving her. She wouldn’t be done up, her hair wouldn’t be done, makeup would be from three days ago, she wouldn’t be showing off tons of cleavage…like, what would be enticing? I felt like I could draw from personal experiences of, you know, charisma is very attractive in people. I’ve found that (someone) may not be wearing a lot of makeup, or maybe not have their hair perfectly done, but they are attractive. I just felt that even though there were parts of her that were being taken away, it was important to remind myself of who she was in the first place. Why (Bear) was attracted to her. Why he could want her. And then how that could make her feel.
Also, playing that other version of her was a heightened version of that perception, right? So, it was a lot of leaning on Curry, while also playing with ideas and having the confidence that I could do it.
I watched it again recently, and it really is such a full bodied performance. It’s amazing.
Oh, thank you.
And I saw something recently that made me even more of a fan, because you’ve said that RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is your favourite show. Having spent so much in Nikki’s head, which Drag Race queen do you think she would be obsessed with? And would that answer change depending on which version of Nikki we’re talking about?
Oh my God, what a question! I still think she would love Bianca Del Rio. There’s a moment in Pit Stop that I watched recently of Bianca and Bob (The Drag Queen) going back and forth, and Bianca is so quick. She’s so quick minded, and that’s exactly what I’d imagine Nikki to be. She’s so unbelievably intelligent and so quick witted and funny and smart, and I think that’s exactly who Bianca is.
Also, Bianca’s got a little of oomph to her, so I feel like she would be able to have that crazy side. And maybe this might get me in trouble, but I also feel like Alyssa Edwards, because of that quickness and her, (imitating) “What is going on here on this day?” (laughs). Maybe that would be the other Nikki popping back in.
Obsession is now available to buy and/or rent on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K and On Digital.
