Obsession’s YouTuber director reveals inspiration behind surprise box office hit

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleCurry Barker, a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, revealed that his buzzy new horror film, Obsession, was directly inspired by a 1991 Treehouse of Horror II episode of The Simpsons. Barker was struck by the classic horror trope in the Simpsons episode where Bart receives a cursed monkey paw, leading to wishes that backfire and cause chaos, prompting him to create his own version of the 'be careful what you wish for' narrative. In Obsession, the main character Bear uses a cursed 'One Wish Willow' to force his co-worker and crush, Nikki, to 'love me more than anything in the entire world,' a wish he soon regrets as her obsession turns deadly. Barker, who previously gained internet fame with his YouTube sketch duo 'that’s a bad idea' and made his first film for just $800, explained that he was drawn to the trope to explore the inherent selfishness of desire. The film has achieved significant commercial success, grossing over $60m domestically and $75m worldwide against a production budget of less than $1 million. In fullObsession director reveals unlikely inspiration from The Simpsons episodeThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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