What Happens When We’re Given the Means: Obsession (2026) and the Horror of Taking Someone’s Agency
This is going to be an interesting discussion, since I’ve noticed how the indie horror film Obsession has become the talk lately.
I have to admit, horror is fascinating because it’s like having an uncomfortable conversation about human behavior and people, but displayed on a screen. What pulled it onto my radar was its use of ritual magick as a tool to invoke a wish. It leans into the supernatural to show what it looks like when someone strips another person of autonomy and agency, which breaks the natural laws of consent.
I practiced witchcraft in the past and learned about other things. I have a basic understanding of the costs of leaning in either direction, light or dark. When you do things that harm another person — yes, that includes love spells — you’re still stripping someone’s autonomy and agency. And that has consequences.
Obsession isn’t the first film to explore infatuation through a crush, or the desire for someone who doesn’t desire you back. Funny enough, two ’90s films with Sandra Bullock tap into influencing people against their will:
Love Potion No. 9 and Practical Magic.
Love Potion No. 9 follows two socially awkward scientists — Sandra Bullock’s character being one of them — who come across a mysterious elixir that makes them irresistible to anyone who hears them speak. They test the potion on themselves, setting off a chain of “funny” and supposedly romantic misadventures. I don’t find ’90s rom‑coms romantic, because they often romanticize predatory behavior. It’s basically the siren‑voice concept, but bottled. They intentionally use it to influence people in their favor. Their victims — and I’m calling them victims because we need to be honest — could not resist. This film is one of many pieces of media showing that if someone who feels unseen or neglected is given the means to get what they want, even at the cost of someone else’s agency, they’ll use it for self‑interest.
Practical Magic shows this in a short scene where a customer begs the aunts for a love spell to make a man love her.
We don’t see the consequences of that spell, but we do see the consequences of other things the sisters invoke.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely enjoyed Practical Magic. It’s still one of my favorite films that portrays modern‑day witches without going over‑the‑top like The Craft.
I enjoyed The Craft too. But again, that film shows what happens when you’re offered the means to change your reality and how you choose to use it. In that story, a love spell is cast on Chris Hooker out of vengeance for how he treated Robin and Nancy.
He becomes almost Robin’s slave, doing whatever she asks without hesitation. That spell pushes him into extreme obsession.
Then there’s Weapons. Even though it doesn’t use a love spell, the concept of craft and tools being used to control people is still there. The day the trailers dropped, the moment I saw the bell being rung, I already knew what kind of ritual was being invoked.
The children running out into the night at the same hour, only responding to the bell — it all clicked.
They didn’t have to say a practitioner was behind it; it was obvious. And of course, I watched the film, and oh my gosh.
Now, with Obsession, what the other films don’t say directly is that every victim is conscious throughout the whole thing. The sinister — or, honestly, the most diabolical — aspect is that the victim is fully aware of what’s happening but has no control over their body.
I played The Last of Us and watched the live‑action series. The thing about the cordyceps takeover is that the victim is still conscious and feeling everything, but the body is being controlled. Every facial contortion, every moan, every groan hits harder because the victim is in extreme agony. They feel everything and cannot stop it.
That’s why ending someone’s life after infection is considered mercy; the alternative is far worse. But the story isn’t really about the infection; it’s about how people react to it. Even with an external force taking over bodies, humans still find ways to dehumanize each other, exert control, and justify extreme violence.
Obsession, Practical Magic, Love Potion No. 9, and Weapons all showcase what happens when a person is given the means to fulfill their deepest desire. That’s why people get uncomfortable when someone says crushes aren’t healthy, or that infatuation is rooted in fantasy. Obsession with one particular person blinds you. Many people act like they’re entitled to the people they’re attracted to. It shows up subtly, calling dibs on someone, getting upset when feelings aren’t reciprocated, or when someone doesn’t view them romantically or sexually. Nikki, the victim in Obsession, had her entire life destroyed because one person was obsessed enough to make a wish.
Desperation is an interesting topic because it drives so much of human behavior. It shapes decisions, relationships, priorities. It makes people tunnel‑visioned. And I used to be there. I thought life would be better if I fulfilled certain things; if I was with this woman, if I had this job, this amount of money, a motorcycle. I thought everything would feel better. Different. No.
I absolutely love writing. I enjoy stories. I’m invigorated by mythologies, folklore, and fairytales, especially the ones that are actually cautionary tales. So when Nikki quit her job to become a full‑time writer and write that love story, I related to that. But someone else’s infatuation with her led to everything that happened in the film.
Sometimes you have to acknowledge the truth: the real critique is what a self‑serving human being will do if they’re given the tools to make their wish come true. The ritual, the wish; those are just tools. The person choosing to use them is the real antagonist. Sometimes, we are our own worst villains in society.
I’ll end it here.
Take that as you will.
