Milk & Serial (2024)

Although I am just getting around to writing this review now, I actually made time to watch Milk & Serial before getting along to the cinema to see Obsession. I had already heard good things about it when it landed on YouTube in 2024, but I wasn't convinced that it would work for me. Then Curry Barker's name started to get quite a bit of heat attached to it, which made me realise I would be better arriving late to the party than not turning up at all.

This is the tale of Milk (Barker, who also wrote and directed the thing) and his friend, Seven (Cooper Tomlinson). They're a couple of YouTube personalities who keep themselves busy doing YouTube personality things. Basically, the kind of nonsense I try to avoid watching. Things keep getting wilder though, and viewers get to discover a number of twisted secrets as Milk and Seven spend some time trying to get one over on each other.

Clocking in at just over an hour, and with a budget that was apparently comfortably under $1000, Milk & Serial may not have been the lazy mess I was thinking it might be back when it was first released. It's not really a calling card that could have led to people expecting something as good as Obsession either though. Barker helps himself immensely by working in an environment he seems comfortable in, and there's something running through the premise that makes it that bit more plausible because of who the main characters are, but that also means that some of the standard YouTube prankster moments feel as cringe-inducing and narcissistic as YouTube prankster moments usually feel (to me). Thankfully, the developing darkness, and moments of creative nastiness, soon overshadow the more vapid and lighter first act.

Barker and Tomlinson both do very well in their lead roles, although it's the former who impresses more, and getting the easier job because of having all of the facts available and spending more time talking directly to the camera. Jonnathon Cripple is also very good, playing a man who becomes caught up in what I'll horribly mislabel a "prank war", and there are decent performances from Adlih Alvarado, Sterling L. Pope, and John Simmonds, as well as one or two others, all working hard to present things in a way that feels as natural as can be when everyone is aware of a camera pointed in their direction.

While I wasn't blown away by this, and spent some time wondering why it garnered quite so much praise when it first appeared, I must admit that I've been more impressed with it as I've spent some more time thinking about it. I would have had a much stronger reaction to it if, like many others, I'd been surprised by this after following the many short videos done by Barker and Tomlinson on their YouTube channel. You may think it's quite simple, and technically crude, for a lot of the runtime, but Barker and co. actually work a lot of nice little touches and details throughout that make it smarter and more disturbing than it initially seems. 

I recommend this to people who are now hearing all the love for Obsession. You don't have to watch this one first, but it's interesting to see what works here, and just how much he improves in every area for his breakout hit.

7/10

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Obsession (2026)

There was a big part of me that was resistant to Obsession, a horror film that not only completely won me over throughout the runtime, but one that will certainly be battling for a spot near the very top of any list when I rank my favourite films of this year. I'm glad I didn't let my biases stop me from getting along to enjoy a fantastic cinema experience with this one, and maybe it's time for me to accept that people who started on YouTube have simply spent time in a decent training ground for their journey into making movies. Although I'll always be wary whenever something gets hyped up as the latest must-see horror movie of recent times. Sorry, I've just been burned too many times by the hyperbole.

Having said that, ummmmmm, Obsession is actually the latest must-see horror movie of recent times. It's genuinely great in a number of ways, and I'd even allow it to be credited to writer-director Curry Barker as an outstanding feature debut (because Milk & Serial, as good as it was, just about crawled over the one hour mark, and feels like an important bridge between shorts and features).

Michael Johnston plays Baron AKA Bear (a nod to the popular opinion of women so often rushing to take a chance with a bear ahead of a man?), a young man who is in love with his long-time friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Unable to tell her his true feelings, he instead makes use of a novelty named the "One Wish Willow". Obviously. Wishing for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world, he is stunned when his wish comes true. That's not necessarily the good thing he thought it would be though. Not at all.

Walking a very fine line between constant unpleasantness and darkly comedic entertainment, Obsession is a film that is all the better for the fact that it could have easily been so much worse. My one problem with it was the sound mix, with Rock Burwell's score rising so high at times that some dialogue is very hard to hear. I understand the decision though, and that sound mix works to add to the oppressive atmosphere, but it's the one thing that didn't work for me. Everything else is pretty much perfect.

Johnston and Navarrette both do brilliant work in the lead roles, the latter going through an impressive range of emotions, in the kind of performance that would be more recognised by critics if not placed in a horror film, while the former tries to keep playing up his "niceness" as it becomes increasingly clear just how problematic and bad his character actually is.  Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless are also very good, playing two friends who become concerned by the situation they see playing out before them.  

The person to praise most is Barker though, considering how well he puts the pieces together in order to remove any ambiguity here. Despite how fantastical the premise is, and where it goes, things are grounded in a reality that will be recognised by many, and there are numerous reminders that what we're watching is an example of someone "nice" making the most of an opportunity to be with someone he desires without gaining consent from them. It's specifically mentioned in different scenes, but there are also a couple of important plot details that underline exactly who the main villain is, and how their actions go from bad to worse, creating a spiral that will undoubtedly turn things hellish and deadly for everyone around them.

Obsession will have you tense and laughing at the same time. It will have you thinking about what's playing out onscreen in a way that inevitably puts the idea of consent at the forefront of your mind. It will have you considering what Navarrette will do next to showcase her major talent. You might just end up loving it more than any other film in the world. For a while, anyway. 

9/10

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