Writer and director Curry Barker’s “Obsession” begins with Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a mopey music shop employee, mourning the death of his cat — an early warning of how dark the film is willing to go.

Bear has had a longstanding crush on Nikki (Inde Navarrette), a fellow employee, since childhood. During a vulnerable moment, Bear attempts to confess his infatuation to Nikki but chickens out. Instead, immediately after the botched moment, he makes a wish that she would love him — and instantly she does.

“Obsession” is an intense horror film and an unpleasant experience. The film was effective and left me rattled, though that might have something to do with the loud soundtrack and me having to sit in the front row of the sold-out screening on opening night.

The movie is obviously an unofficial American remake of “Possession” (1981), which covers much of the same material and showcases a lead performance from its actress (Isabelle Adjani, who was magnificent) that is astonishing for a lack of ego.

“Solaris,” both the original (1972) and the remake (2002), is another film in which “Obsession” has an undeniable connection. “Solaris” offered the tasty premise: What if you could bring back the long-gone love of your life, not as she was, but just the way you remembered her. The initially romantic scenario turns into a man terrified by the elevated mania of someone he remembered being sexy and obsessive. To put it mildly, neither “Solaris” nor “Obsession” are ideal movies for a date.

The logic of the story in “Obsession” gives in to nightmarish detours, and some of it is effective. However, this movie also works overtime to maximize the reveal of the dead cat, and then repeatedly uses the poor feline as a recurring plot device. Far better is the film’s use of the unmotivated smile, an eerie visual exploited by horror films since the silent era.

Full of loud jump scares, the aggressive score often undermines the film’s best moments of dark horror. Likewise, the gore is quite nasty and feels more fitting for an “Evil Dead” remake.

The best moments ask worthwhile questions such as, “What is the difference between love and obsession? What are the things we’ve done that are unacceptable but attempt to justify because we were ‘in love?'” If you remove the supernatural angle, this would be a compelling meditation on the thin line between devotion and madness.

Johnston has an interesting resemblance to Dave Franco and invests in Bear’s torment, but the character is fairly one-note. Johnston is all-in and gives a tour de force performance.

Initially, the two lead characters are painted in complex ways, endearingly awkward and emotionally fragile. By the second act, it was hard to care about them or any of the supporting cast.

Instead, other questions come up as Andy Richter appears in the film playing a shop owner. Last year, Conan O’Brien was a psychiatrist in “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You” (2025). Is Jimmy Kimmel the next late-night host to become a character actor?

“Obsession” is not as shamelessly disgusting and empty as the disaster “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy,” but it lacks the inventiveness of the average “Insidious” sequel. Some of the film works, but the filmmakers lean into overdone body horror, seen-it-before bursts of ultraviolence and a last-minute stab at magical realism. The most impactful moments are simply nightmarish.

A few weeks earlier, many horror fans enjoyed the release of Damian McCarthy’s “Hokum,” a terrifying, exciting and surprisingly funny Ireland-set ghost story. It is already one of the best films of the year. Unlike “Obsession,” “Hokum” never resorts to buckets of gore.

In addition to being excellent, “Hokum,” is truly scary, whereas “Obsession” lacks that kind of class and consistency. I will remember “Obsession,” but there won’t be a second date.

(2 out of 4 stars)

Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and teaches film classes at University of Hawaii Maui College.