New Delhi: Curry Barker, the 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-director of this year’s most successful horror film, Obsession, said that he never expected it to become such a massive hit. In an interview with Variety India, Barker shared his shock about the movie’s performance in India, adding that the film was made from nothing.
“I definitely did not expect Obsession to be a big hit in India,” he said.
“You hope and dream that your movie is successful and that it resonates with people. But I can’t believe what it’s doing… I can’t believe that it’s getting the recognition that it’s getting,” he added.
Obsession is Barker’s first major studio feature film and has collected nearly $300 million worldwide and nearly Rs 90 crore in Indian theatres, proving the love for horror films in India and across the world. Obsession was released in India on 29 May, two weeks after its US release.
Barker runs a comedy sketch YouTube channel, That’s a Bad Idea. Most of the videos are based on situational comedy. Obsession is Barker’s second feature-length horror movie. Milk & Serial (2024) was a low-budget, independent horror feature he made with his sketch comedy team.
Obsession is about a teenager, played by Michael Johnston, who wants to be loved by his crush, Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. But what happens next changes it from a typical high-school romance. The boy breaks the mysterious “One Wish Willow” stick to win her heart, but she becomes obsessed with him and starts killing people around him to keep him for herself.
Earlier this month, Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, in an Instagram Story, criticised Indian theatres for prioritising Obsession over domestic films. He added that his film Bandar (2026) was sacrificed because no screens were available, and this week the same thing is happening with films like Main Vaapas Aaunga, Singh Gheetam, as well as the 61st film of 94-year-old director Sangeetham Srinivasa Rao and Manoj Bajpayee starrer Governor.
“We have one morning show of Main Vaapas Aaunga… same with Governor, and no show of Singh Gheetam in Bengaluru, while Obsession is playing in six to seven shows,” Kashyap wrote.
This year, not only is Barker’s horror film doing great at the box office and receiving critical acclaim worldwide, but another horror film created by Gen-Z YouTuber Kane Parsons, Backrooms, is also disrupting the box office, collecting more than 100x its budget worldwide. The film has not yet been released in India.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)