Obsession, Project Hail Mary and Stories That Stay With You

Let's talk about Obsession. As I knew it would be, it was fantastic. More importantly for independent film, it has been a commercial success. The movie was made for about $1 million, and it has already grossed more than $400 million worldwide. An incredible triumph. While making art for the sake of art is important, it's also a huge win for the independent film community to see a movie made for so little to reach so many screens and eyeballs.

Obsession deserves its success. I was blown away by the performances. Especially from Inde Navarette as Nikki and Michael Johnston as Bear. The film felt fresh, genuinely funny, and genuinely horrifying. Written and directed by Curry Barker (who plays the One Wish Willow Customer Service Representative), Obsession tells the story of a man hopelessly in love with his friend. He activates a toy called a "One Wish Willow" and asks the universe to make Nikki love him back. Naturally, everything goes to hell.

When we got home from the theater after watching Obsession, we finally watched Project Hail Mary (2026). Watching these films back to back was a fascinating experience. Project Hail Mary raises Obsession's $1 million budget to $248 million, and yet both films succeed on their own terms. Based on Andy Weir's novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary was so good that I immediately borrowed my dad's copy of the book and started reading.

While both films focus on a relatively small group of characters, the stakes in Project Hail Mary are undeniably larger. The fate of Earth, and several other planets, hangs in the balance. Yet both stories are ultimately driven by deeply personal relationships and emotional journeys.

In Obsession, we watch Bear grapple with the horrifying consequences of his actions. In Project Hail Mary, we watch Ryland Grace piece together his past and grow into the person he is capable of becoming.

This isn't to say the films are especially similar. In many ways, they're not. But watching them together reminded me that there is room in cinema for both. One was made for $1 million. The other cost nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. Both accomplished exactly what they set out to do. Both connected with audiences. And both were very, very good for completely different reasons.

My friend texted me after he saw Obsession and said that he was still thinking about it the next day. I’ve been thinking about both of these movies since I saw them, a sign of great storytelling.