Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ Trimmed After NC-17 Rating From the MPA

The best horror film I saw at last year’s fall fests was “Obsession,” Curry Barker’s feature debut, which premiered at TIFF’s Midnight Madness on a Friday night. No surprise—it sparked a bidding war. Focus Features ended up nabbing the film in a deal said to be around $15M.

“Obsession” has been getting strong reviews from critics and is set for a theatrical release this summer, but sadly it won’t be the same version I saw last year.

According to Deadline, the key scene—the most memorable in the film—involving a possessed girl smashing another girl’s head against a steering wheel was so violent that it initially resulted in an NC-17 rating from the MPA. It’s now come to the point where the violence has had to be trimmed down to get a more accessible “R” rating.

“There were about six or seven more [head] smashes,” Barker said. “And we were getting an NC-17 rating. So they were like, you’ve got to take out some of the smashes. And I was like, I’m not taking out a single bash. But I did.”

Barker insists that the movie—and this scene in particular—will still feel “really f—ing hardcore.” He continued, “I’d watch from the back of the theater and see the way everyone reacted—whatever the number is now, it’s the right number… I just like the honesty of human behavior. I like to study human behavior, and I think that lends itself to comedy, and it does lend itself to horror. To be funny and relatable, you kind of have to look at the psychology of why people do things. And that kind of lends itself to this genre as well.”

All I will comment about this matter is: the MPA strikes again. Yes, the scene in question is very graphic—but an NC-17 rating? Really?

Barker has already lined up his sophomore feature at Paramount, with Jason Blum and Roy Lee producing. He’s another YouTube breakout transitioning to cinema. Barker is behind 2024’s $800 DIY short “Milk & Serial” (2M views and counting), and with “Obsession” he delivers a horror-comedy hybrid that’s incredibly unnerving.

The premise: Michael Johnston plays Bear, a shy kid who can’t confess his feelings to his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Instead, he purchases a toy from an antique store that grants one wish. Nikki falls for him instantly—but under a curse that flips affection into mania.

What follows is part awkward rom-com, part psychological horror. Navarrette is the real standout here—her performance is deranged, hilarious, and terrifying all at once. She wails, grins, and stalks with a commitment that borders on possessed psychopathy.

“Obsession” hits theaters nationwide on May 15, 2026, via Focus Features. If they market this one right—and given the immense popularity of the horror genre at the moment—the film has the potential to turn into a box office success.