Obsession [2025 Film], open spoilers

[Just_Asking_Questions]

This movie sounds like is starts with the typical male-driven fantasy stories going back centuries. The Hero slays the dragon and gets the Princess. No one ever asked the Princess what she thought. No one even figured she HAD any thoughts.

And mix that in with the modern incel movement, and you have an existential horror story whose point might be missed by the target audience, those that think Bear is the hero.

I wonder how a gender reversed, but all else unchanged, version would be interpreted,

[Gyrate]

@SenorBeef

One more subtle aspect of this film is that I like that it attacks the idea that meek, shy people are always good people. Almost every movie portrays the shy, awkward people as having their heart in the right place but suffering because of their social impairments. But Bear was both meek and shy and a huge asshole. You could perhaps forgive him for wishing what he did when he wasn’t taking it seriously and he was reeling from rejection, but he kept living the delusion when he had some chance to get out of it. When the real Nikki begged him to kill her when she had the chance, he turned into a moment not to apologize or promise to fix the situation he created, but because he wanted to voice his resentment of her failing to be attracted to him. His thoughts in the moment were not “oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’ve locked you in hell”, but “what, is dating me so bad?” – completely missing the point but in an ego-serving way. He was reacting to her existential horror and torture to push his own entitled agenda. It was disgusting.

Sounds like Bear is a Nice Guy. Not a nice guy, but a Nice Guy.

the term is also often used sarcastically, particularly in the context of dating, to describe someone who believes himself to possess genuine “nice guy” characteristics, even though he actually does not, and who uses acts of friendship and basic social etiquette with the ulterior aim of progressing to a romantic or sexual relationship. This is sometimes referred to as “nice guy syndrome”, which is used to describe a sense of entitlement to sexual or romantic attention from women simply for being “nice,” and irrational anger when that attention is not reciprocated.

I’ve seen the other two recent YouTuber films (Iron Lung and Backrooms) but this one is too close to the truth of some people’s behavior for comfort. I think I’ll give it a miss.