What an interesting time we are living in. Movie-wise. It’s the summer blockbuster season, and the blockbusters just aren’t making the cut. Supergirl, Masters of the Universe, the Mandolorian and Grogu. All of them were massive box office disappointments. And that’s very sad for cinemas and expectations, and business. But luckily something else had risen to occasion to the the empty void left by these more traditional big action movies… horror movies.
Two movies in particular. Obsession and Back Rooms. These aren’t your usual shlock, stupid, jump-scare quasi-entertainment. Truth be told, these movies are probably more thriller than horror, and psychological thriller at that. And both movies are made on shoe string budgets by first time movie directors in their low twenties. Both of these directors are YouTubers who got their start on that platform and have found enough success there to propel them into being able to make these films.
Now, all of this is not to say that these movies are great. One is, and one isn’t. Obsession is terrific. Backrooms is just okay. The problem with that one is that it’s just a little too out there, raising lots of questions while providing very little in the ways of answers. And it’s one thing to leave a movie opened to audiences interpretation, but it’s another to open a door to another world, without even being clear that that’s what is actually happening. When the whole premise rests on a mystery that goes unsolved or a question that goes unanswered, there’s a bit of a problem. Now the movie happens to be very compelling and interesting for most of the way through, but boy does it leave things unresolved.
Obsession, on the other hand, is a near perfect film. First off, it’s based on such a simple concept that it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done before. Only it has. But never this good. It’s the old monkey paw story of “be careful what you wish for.” From The Twilight Zone to Tales From the Crypt to Black Mirror you better believe this general idea has come up a lot. And yet it’s never really been done as a feature film, as it seems to lend itself more to the short story idea. Well, director Curry Barker has found a way to work as a feature, and boy does it work. His way in is the idea that maybe the “wish,” actually makes it so that the real person is trapped somewhere in the body, but the person running the body is now this sort of wish-controlled other version. And there are all of these cool hints or clues of this sprinkled throughout the film. It’s scary and fantastic in all the right ways.
So those are the two little movies that are stirring up all the craziness at the box office. Say what you want about them, but they are both deep and complex and require some careful thought and understanding. Obsession in particular reminds me of the great horror-thriller Get Out, which tinted out to be one of the best movies of its generation.
And perhaps Get Out opened the door to something. We certainly saw it last year, with Sinners and Weapons. Both were tremendously successful. And they proved something to us all…If horror movies are done right, and carefully crafted, they can actually be pretty terrific. And they can be met with some great audience reception and success. Last year, both Weapons and Sinners won big on Oscar night. Academy Awards for Amy Madigan of Weapons in a supporting role and for Michael B Jordan of Sinners, as lead actor. It was huge acclaim on the biggest stage. And now here we are, just one year later, with horror-thrillers dominating at the box office once again. It’s too soon to say if these movies will be recognized come Oscar night in March, in the same way as last year, but what we can say is that we are certainly headed in the right direction!