Obsession Brings Cursed-Toy Horror to Moreno Valley Screens This Fourth of July Weekend

If your Fourth of July plans involve ducking the heat and finding two hours of air conditioning before the fireworks start, Moreno Valley just got a timely option. Obsession opens July 1, right as the holiday weekend crowds start looking for something to do besides sit in traffic on the 60. It's a small, R-rated supernatural horror picture, not a tentpole, which actually makes it a decent counterprogramming choice if you're tired of superhero sequels and want something weirder and cheaper to get into.

The hook here isn't a big marketing campaign or a franchise name. It's Curry Barker, who wrote, directed, and edited the film himself, a one-man-band credit list that tells you something before you've even watched a frame. That kind of control usually means one of two things: either a singular, cohesive vision, or a movie that needed a second set of eyes somewhere in the process. Barker built a following making internet horror-comedy shorts, the kind of quick, punchy, self-aware clips that thrive on shock and comic timing rather than slow-burn dread. Obsession is his chance to stretch that sensibility across a full feature, and that transition, from short-form internet horror to a sustained ninety-plus minutes, is the real story worth watching for here. Plenty of talented short-form creators have stumbled when asked to sustain tone and pacing for a whole movie. Whether Barker clears that bar is the actual question critics and audiences will be arguing about this month, not whether the cursed toy is scary.

As for what it's actually about: Bear works at a music store and, in a moment of loneliness or impulse, buys a strange toy that promises to make his friend Nikki fall for him. It works, sort of. Wishes granted by objects that shouldn't exist tend to come with fine print, and Nikki's feelings curdle from affection into something closer to obsession, hence the title. Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless carry the central relationship, with Andy Richter rounding out the supporting cast, a recognizable comedic face dropped into a premise that's clearly playing in the space between funny and unsettling. That's about as much as I'll say on plot. The appeal of a movie like this is watching the wish curdle in real time, and there's no reason to spoil the mechanics of how it goes wrong.

Here's the honest situation on reception: there's no aggregate critic score to point to yet, no Rotten Tomatoes tally or Metacritic number to weigh against each other, so I won't pretend otherwise or invent one. What I can tell you is how the film plays on its own terms. Barker's premise is genuinely fun, a cursed monkey's-paw take on teenage longing that has real comic potential, and the cast, especially Richter, gets some legitimate laughs out of a concept that could have played it straight and dull instead. But a feature needs more discipline than a viral short, and there are stretches here where the pacing sags between its best gags, like the film is waiting for its next good idea to arrive. My verdict: this is a solid, uneven horror-comedy that's worth a matinee ticket if the premise appeals to you, but it's not a must-see, and I wouldn't blame anyone who waits for it to hit a discount house or streaming instead of rushing out opening weekend.

If you do want the big-screen version with the reclining seats, Harkins Moreno Valley 16 has it in the mix for the holiday weekend, and the free mall lot parking makes the whole outing painless even with July 4th crowds around. If you'd rather wait a few weeks and pay second-run prices, keep an eye on Regency Theatres Towngate 8 for when it eventually trickles down there.

Facts verified as of September 2, 2026.