Inde Navarrette is remarkably impressive in Obsession, to the point that she even scared herself.

      The idea of Obsession—Curry Barker's critically acclaimed feature-length debut about a hopeless romantic who shatters the enigmatic One Wish Willow to capture the affection of his crush, only for events to spiral into chaos—largely relies on the performance of its female lead. This role demands a significant range from its performer, requiring someone capable of portraying an emotionally grounded yet completely deranged physical embodiment of the darkest aspects of a relationship. She needed to be both stunning and frightening, sweet and malevolent, intense and wildly enthusiastic. Inde Navarrette was the ideal choice for this challenge. Navarrette, who portrayed a different sort of girlfriend in four seasons of The CW's Superman & Lois, shines in this dark romantic comedy that subverts the notions of toxic masculinity and obsessive desires. Throughout its 110 minutes, I found myself unable to look away from her performance (notably coming from someone who usually watches horror films with her hands covering her eyes) and was genuinely amazed by how she executed such a physically demanding and nightmare-inducing portrayal. Just as it elevates its 26-year-old auteur director and writer, Obsession is set to establish Navarrette as a star, as she convincingly demonstrates her leading-lady potential.

      I cannot praise your performance in Obsession enough. It's truly remarkable. Can you take me back to when you first learned about this project? I had just finished a four-year stint on the TV show Superman & Lois, and I was eager for my next role to be something completely different—something on an entirely different level. I was auditioning and reading scripts, but nothing felt significantly different. I had played a girlfriend on Superman & Lois, and I didn't want to repeat that. Then I came across this version of a girlfriend, and I thought, "I really like this because it comprises [essentially] multiple characters," and I found it exciting to tackle. I had never encountered a script like this, nor seen a perspective like it. I appreciate stories that are metaphorical without being overly explicit. They engage the audience in thought without being so artsy that they lose common sense. This film presents itself directly, but in a good way. The audition process was quite rigorous, which was beneficial given the emotional demands of the character. There’s a lot of trust that Curry placed in someone to tell the story he wanted to convey. When a role is as challenging as this one, "rigorous" is certainly a positive description.

      Barker represents a new voice in the horror genre. Were you familiar with his YouTube content before collaborating with him on this film? My media consumption is quite different from the content he creates. I'm more into Trixie and Katya, RuPaul's Drag Race, and that kind of entertainment, which contrasts sharply with his works like Milk & Serial and That's a Bad Idea. However, I thoroughly enjoyed delving into his work to understand his perspective. What I appreciate about the differences among That's a Bad Idea, Milk & Serial, and a short film he made called The Chair, alongside Obsession, is that although they share a similar vein, they each stand out in their own right. Obsession is elevated because it was his first feature film and he had the resources to push it to the next level.

      What do you enjoy about his directing style? You know how sometimes as a parent, you see what's best for your child even when they don't? Then, the child can change your perspective completely because their view is so different? That's the dynamic we had as director and actor. He possesses a vision that extends far into the future, and I would need to trust him even when I couldn't see it. But there were moments where he allowed us to improvise, and he'd say, "I hadn't considered that." Our collaboration maintained a balance where we contributed ideas back and forth, allowing us to develop a great rhythm together.

      Did anything about portraying Nikki make you apprehensive before filming began? Each day, I questioned, "What on earth am I doing?" Yet, there's a liberating aspect to that uncertainty because when you’re unsure of what to do, you feel free to try anything. If it works, it works. Nikki was one of the first characters I fully comprehended, so even with my uncertainty, I had that foundational understanding of who she was and the motivations behind her actions. I wasn't starting from scratch, even if I was, as Inde, sometimes screaming at the top of my lungs and engaging in embarrassing moments in front of others; it felt liberating. Eventually, you reach a point where you simply don’t care anymore.

      Regarding the physicality of your performance, Nikki has intense freak-outs where her voice and body transform into something grotesque and unrecognizable. Did you have specific references in mind for those moments? I’m a very visual person, and once Curry and I realized that, it worked out well. Clearly, the role was demanding, and