Obsession’s YouTuber director reveals inspiration behind surprise box office hit

• Curry Barker, a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, revealed that his buzzy new horror film, Obsession , was directly inspired by a 1991 Treehouse of Horror II episode of The Simpsons.
• Barker was struck by the classic horror trope in the Simpsons episode where Bart receives a cursed monkey paw, leading to wishes that backfire and cause chaos, prompting him to create his own version of the 'be careful what you wish for' narrative.
• In Obsession , the main character Bear uses a cursed 'One Wish Willow' to force his co-worker and crush, Nikki, to 'love me more than anything in the entire world,' a wish he soon regrets as her obsession turns deadly.
• Barker, who previously gained internet fame with his YouTube sketch duo 'that’s a bad idea' and made his first film for just $800, explained that he was drawn to the trope to explore the inherent selfishness of desire.
• The film has achieved significant commercial success, grossing over $60m domestically and $75m worldwide against a production budget of less than $1 million.

IN FULL

Obsession director reveals unlikely inspiration from The Simpsons episode