“Obsession” was scary because Reddit is a terrifying place. From monster stories in the 1800s that portrayed the fear of “the other,” to the psychological horror that came about from tensions of the Cold War, now, what are we afraid of exactly? And what media is talking about it? Hollywood has been lacking in popular horror for a while but is slowly coming to the answer — but the internet has already known.
There is a separation between online indie media online and mass-produced media in theaters. But many would be able to argue that both play into pop culture just as seriously. A good example is our modern communication of horror and what we consider scary. I have loved seeing different internet creators that have surfaced from the digital sea to movie production companies. These contributions of young, internet-experienced directors allow horror to be at peak performance as these creatives make movies with themes that are related to more modern and relatable horror stories that hit harder. Curry Barker made a movie about red-pilled ideology, which has been a modern fear with incel culture and the internet. Kane Parsons then made a movie related to loneliness, which connects to the worries of isolation caused by COVID-19 Quarantine. This fear is not an unexplored theme in big-budget movies, but the connection from the internet to popular cinema comes from Parsons’ concept being developed online, as well as his horror directing style.
“Obsession” deals with not only the fears of a relationship, but the fear of being stuck in a relationship that kills both you and your partner (literally or metaphorically). But Barker does something that I have not seen a lot of: He makes Bear (played by Michael Johnston) a character that reflects the red-pilled men of our modern era very realistically. He asks AI how to talk to girls, and he does not believe in the autonomy of the other people around him. His lack of empathy stretches out even to his crush, Nikki (Inde Nevarrette), and his seemingly small acts of selfishness snowball into horrific consequences. While Nevarrette does an amazing job being uncanny with her bone-chilling performance, Johnston’s character gave me the most dread. It hit so close to home with my fears of what kind of men I could find myself being in contact with. I know people like Bear, and I know how people become a “Bear” due to online contacts and self-isolation. With Barker being a Gen Z man posting on the internet, it makes sense why the themes he explores relate to the internet and interpersonal relationships of men, like in his horror short film Milk & Serial on YouTube. It is a subject he has most likely been in contact with, and he has studied his own way of portraying its fear through indie projects online. His online experience was influential to his bigger, cinematic release, “Obsession.”
Barker has posted on the internet for years, and so has Parsons. In fact, the original idea of “Backrooms” came from the internet, not Parsons himself. The “Backrooms” concept came from an anonymous post in 2019 on 4chan that was a small poem-like description of an eerie yellow-walled maze that grew in the way all internet things grow: with public participation. Parsons used his experience with VFX, music, and 3D modeling to create his interpretation of the Backrooms. He participated in the evolution of found footage horror that the internet has refined. This found-footage style of horror developed online and is usually inspired by retro technology and television, making it accessible for anyone to record something without needing good-quality cameras.
It is nice to see production companies and online creators combine their resources to create original content that many people want to see. Barker and Parsons’ experiences with internet indie work helped shape the depth of their theatrically released movies. Both directors prove that the indie internet scene can be just as influential as mass-produced media. With the amazing box office turnout, despite the low budget of both movies, we get the chance to explore a new era of film — an era that is brighter for younger creatives to enter the film industry.
