Can Obsession Be A Major Awards Contender?
Entering this year, there were a lot of films that were seen as major awards contenders. Tom Cruise going for an Oscar with his transformation in Digger. Project Hail Mary and The Odyssey adapting beloved source material. Dune: Part Three, Werewulf, Michael, and many more feeling like big contenders in the technical categories. These were all projected going into 2026 and still feel like they'll be around come later in the year.
Someone feel feel to provide me evidence to the contrary, but I don't think anyone considered the debut feature from a former YouTuber to be anywhere near any of these discussions. However, Obsession has captured the public zeitgeist, both in box office and quality. Curry Barker's thriller about a desperate man making a wish that a woman will be in love with him connected heavily with Gen Z audiences, leading it to become the highest grossing original horror movie of all time.
This has led to some incredibly interesting discussions about wether the film can break out of its cult classic status and become a film we hear called at multiple awards shows towards the end of the year. Is it possible in this film climate for a horror movie to get both acting and technical nominations? That will be what we'll discuss here today, looking at the past history as recent as last year and seeing is the comparisons can be applied to this film.
Looking at the Academy Awards in the 21st century, the awards voters have had a complicated relationship with horror films. There are exceptions, sure, but for the most part a blind eye has been turned to the horror standouts. After Silence of The Lambs and The Sixth Sense in the 1990s, there was a long period of nothing until Black Swan stood out in 2010. Not only did Natalie Portman win Best Actress, but the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Director. Now, the difference here is that Black Swan could be considered more of a psychological thriller rather than a straight up horror flick. When you look at the projects Darren Aronofsky has directed before or after it, none of them feel really similar to Obsession in any way.
Since then, before 2025, it has just been examples here and there. The best would be Jordan Peele's Get Out, which was a similar example of a new filmmaker coming on the scene and blowing people away. Peele's film got nominations for Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay; which he ended up winning for. Although some maybe thought it deserved more wins, that was a great example of a more horror-focused project breaking through. However, there's still the debate of what voters considered it as - Peele's more bloody follow-up Us received zero nominations, despite featuring Lupita Nyong'o transforming for the role. It begs the question, does a horror project have to be a certain style to be accepted?
Simply put, 2025 was a monumental year for horror. There first was Ryan Coogler's Sinners, breaking the record for the most nominations at the Academy Awards and seeing Michael B. Jordan winning Best Actor. There's again the question of what film it exactly was, but nobody can deny its success - along with the fact that it is incredibly gory and features vampires. Another insane feat from last year was Amy Madigan winning Best Supporting Actress for Weapons, a film that received no other nominations despite amazing reviews but had Madigan as a lock by the time awards night came around. Both these films were big budget studio films by Warner Brothers, it must be said, but is this a year that prompts voters to look more at horror projects in the future?
This brings us to Obsession. Although Curry Barker's project is undeniably a horror with blood and jumpscares, the plot itself could be seen as scarily relevant and grounded. It takes a concept that is simple and turns it into an incredibly creative film. There's also the fact that it was made on a less than one million dollar budget, but still finds ways to outshine some of the higher budget horror movies that have come out this year. The question becomes if voters will see this as a planted flag in the long line of standout awards horror or as just another box office hit?
For me, the conversation around Obsession's awards chances has to start with Inde Navarrette. The first reason would simply be that she gave one of the clear best performances of the year, one that has stuck with so many people. This is a role that is so challenging to play because you have to display a wide range of emotions, but Navarrette nails it all the way through. It isn't hard to sympathize with her as a character because of the nature of the plot, but she plays it out in a way that is villainous from the others perspective and that's just one neat layer. So that is reason enough to put her in the conversation, but Madigan's win last year also should put us on high alert for horror actors in the future. It should be said that Madigan was partly looked at because she's been an iconic actor in the industry for a long time, whereas Inde is just starting out, but the hope is that the success of Obsession can make up for that gap of experience. However, we've seen many snubs for horror actresses recently - Florence Pugh in Midsommar, Nyong'o, and Toni Collete in Hereditary only being some examples that felt ridiculous. Navarrette will hope to break through that in, most likely, the lead actress category.
As for the other categories, I'd be lying if I said they didn't seem less likely. In many ways Weapons feels like a good comparison here, with an actress maybe standing out more than the actual film itself. Barker feels like a longshot for director, due to the low budget nature of the project, but could he have a chance at screenplay? It feels like an incredibly original and creative project, but horror films don't have a great track record in that department. Unless you are Sinners and Black Swan it's hard to break into the Best Picture race, which feels likely to continue here. How about sound? Makeup? Production? It feels like it should be there for some, especially makeup, but how likely is it that the trend is broken - especially coming from a younger group of filmmakers and actors?
Unfortunately, my guess would be that Obsession will fall short in every category but Best Actress. Which, by the way, would still be a huge achievement. Navarrette has been around the industry for a long time, but this is her true breakout and it would be really cool to see. Even with Madigan last year and Portman more than a decade ago, any recognition is big to push against this anti-horror trend from awards voters. As for the other categories, this just doesn't seem like the type of film that usually finds its way into a nom. There's always the chance that this film has captured the voters hearts just as it has for the general audience, but based on what we've seen previously it seems unlikely. It should be said that it has a better chance at the more broad awards shows in the leadup to the Academy Awards, like the Golden Globes for example, so it won't end up compleltey empty. But what will the legacy be if it falls short at the Academy Awards?
Obviously, the answer to that goes into why awards aren't the end all be all for movies. Obsession was a critical and commercial success, propelling everyone involved to make many projects in the future. Inde herself is already being targeted by multiple high-level directors and has signed on to be in Marvel for the foreseeable future. Barker has already targeted multiple projects, one with A24 and has another film coming out next year in the same universe as Obsession. So they'll be alright, but my question to end will be - how long will this weird trend continue? I think horror has proven to be a genre that is as quality as any, and definitely as creative. It feels like a very bizarre hate to hold over so many years and the hope is that more films like Obsession can work to break that trend.
Comments