after the movie, we of course discussed the very obvious themes in what little time we had before our parking ran out.

one thing we unaninmously agreed on, though: the movie could not have beat your head harder with what it was trying to convey.

like, this guy fucking SUCKS. he is a rapist. he takes advantage of nikki. repeatedly. he is a deplorable, irredeemable human being. he is cowardly and selfish. he is disgusting, and you should NOT feel bad for him by the end of the movie. i walked away pleased knowing that, despite the fact that the movie was rather on the nose about its message, at the very least, people wouldn't be able to walk away not getting what it was trying to say or misinterpreting it in the worst way possible (eg. that bear was a good person, that he was the victim, that there was nothing wrong with his actions and it should be taken as nothing more than entertainment in a vacuum about some crazy magic wishing willow!!! because that's all it is!!!! a horror movie about magic and "possession" and crazy girlfriends!!! woah!!!!!"

and yet, when i went online, i was shocked to find that, no, it actually wasn't obvious enough. PEOPLE WERE DEFENDING BEAR. CALLING HIM A "tragic hero." HERO OF WHAT??????? THIS IS HIS FUCKING FAULT. the entire movie sought to highlight how absolutely deplorable he is. for a chunk of the movie, there's a little bit of doubt that he genuinely doesn't know that the wish worked, and nikki's complete change in demeanor and actions that are flat out unusual and unheard of for her character is all just mere coincidence. but this plausible deniability really does not go on for long. AT ALL.

defending him requires a lot of bullshitting and a complete lack of understanding

Obsession is about not being seen as a human by a man who claims to "love you."

Obsession is about RAPE.

Obsession has two layers of horror: the surface level horror with creepy shots, jumpscares, and things that are not quite right.

The deeper horror is realizing that the protagonist is a sick, twisted fuck with an obsession (woah, title drop) over this innocent girl and will do anything to maintain his control over her so that he can keep fucking her. Because. Well. He "loves" her!

The wish.

bear wishes "that nikki freeman loved [him] more than anyone in the world."

The dinner scene.

i am disgusted. i am so fucking disgusted. i'm just thinking about the movie again and the comments i saw about it, and i'm disgusted thinking about how many people missed the point and outright ARGUE about this. the fact that so many people fail to recognize this makes me angry.

the dinner scene is where any defense of bear goes right out the window. bear and nikki are on a date at a restaurant. they're chatting and having a good time. everything is normal. then ian calls, bear picks it up, and excuses himself. this is the second that bear learns nikki's love for him is not real. after this point, there is no more defending him. and this is really early on in the movie.

the reveal happens like this:

1. ian calls and tells bear that he looked into what nikki was saying about her "dad having cancer" (and to bear, this is what started it all. this was contributing heavily — according to "nikki" — to her odd and suddenly clingy behavior since the beginning of their relationship)
2. ian tells bear that it is all a lie. bear's expression twists, and we get a zoom in of his face looking very distressed. there is an unsettling tone shift. it is at this point, bear starts to realize what is really going on, though still with a bit of disbelief.
3. bear carefully returns to his table, looking unsettled. he then asks her if her dad really has cancer.
4. nikki processes this question, and then proceeds to freak the fuck out in a way that is not normal for nikki (though not really normal for ANYONE), and there is no way in fuck that bear does not know this. it is hard to deny that bear genuinely believes everything is fine with the situation and fine with nikki at this point. no sane person WOULD. she gets up yelling no over and over with a terrifying expression on her face
5. if anyone thinks that bear STILL doesn't know it's a lie, his next line cements it without a doubt. he asks nikki, "do you love me... more than anyone else in the world?" — the exact words he used for his wish. this is him probing "nikki" and checking to see if she was seriously altered by his wish, as he is starting to finally believe it. from this point on bear knows it's all fake. he knows that the only reason nikki want him is because of his WISH. it is not because she genuinely loves him. HE KNOWS THIS.

and yet, so many people deny that bear was aware at this point. yes he was. anyone unwilling to believe that, completely miss out on how obviously horrible he is meant to come off to the viewer.

he knows nikki. albeit not as well (or at least not in the same way as his friends) as other