THRILLS AND CHILLS (DOUBLE FEATURE): “Obsession” (2026) / “Backrooms” (2026)
(Sources: IMDb) We’re not even halfway through the year quite yet and, already, 2026 has become another milestone for the horror genre. In this case, two former YouTube content creators are emerging as genre-defining filmmakers with some impressive, original and unnerving horror features. Both Curry Barker’s terrifying romantic chiller Obsession and Kane Parson’s bleak and anxiety-inducing Backrooms were shot on low budgets and are filled with 80s-inspired synthesizer scores. They’re also striking, brilliantly made, and well-written in their own ways. Barker’s flick (which he directed, wrote, and edited) centers on an awkward and shy young man (Michael Johnson) who buys a souvenir willow and wishes that the woman he secretly loves (Inde Navarrette) would love him back. It’s no spoiler that he gets his wish. But, like an ancient monkey’s paw, it comes at a terrible price, putting a new twist on the theme of “Be careful what you wish for.” Not to mention a da...