Tiny $750,000 thriller just hit $287 million because Gen Z can’t stop watching — here’s the sad reason why

On May 15, Gen Z director Curry Barker’s “Obsession” hit theaters. The psychological horror film follows a young man whose wish for his longtime crush to love him comes true in far more intense and unsettling ways than he had hoped.

The film was an instant box office phenomenon, grossing over $285 million worldwide despite its humble $750,000 budget. Its popularity is driven largely by Gen Z viewers; audience data shows roughly 75% of ticket buyers are ages 18-34.

Dubbed a “Gen Z Fatal Attraction,” the mainstream take is that the movie resonates because it warns against toxic “nice guy” dynamics. In Zoomer internet culture, “nice guys” are men who believe they deserve romantic interest simply because they’re polite and friendly. When rejected, they grow resentful and angry, convinced they’re entitled to a woman’s affection. Their niceness is viewed as a manipulative tactic rather than an offer of genuine friendship.

In the film, protagonist Bear is hopelessly in love with his longtime friend Nikki. Mainstream critics see him as the classic “nice guy” who turns to manipulation — snapping a “one wish willow” to force her affection, making the story catnip for a generation that loves to call out such behavior.

But BlazeTV host John Doyle argues this surface-level reading misses what is really drawing young people to “Obsession.” On this episode of “The John Doyle Show,” Doyle unpacks the film’s true cultural power.

In the film, Bear asks his friend Ian for advice on confessing his feelings to Nikki.

“He’s immediately told by Ian that he’s just, you know, too real, man. He’s too authentic about all of it. And because he’s so authentic about it, it’s coming off cringey and weird,” says Doyle.

This is exactly what keeps so many young people single and lonely today, he argues.

“We literally will not do anything at all,” Doyle says. “We will just, you know, sit there in the corner with our cool cards until we die.”

Or they’ll resort to “epic [pickup artist] tactics” like “negging” — dishing out backhanded compliments or subtle insults in hopes of making the romantic target seek the negger’s approval. But never authenticity.

This outright refusal to be authentic is portrayed in the film when Nikki point-blank asks Bear if he likes her, to which he replies “as a friend.”

“He failed to be authentic. He was too afraid,” says Doyle, rejecting the mainstream narrative that “Obsession” is about “nice guys trying to exercise control over women.”

“[‘Obsession’] is, I think, just about that inauthenticity, and I think it ultimately is telling you the truth.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from John Doyle?

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