Ep. 13: OBSESSION Review: A Sharp Look at Obsession, Desire & Control (SPOILERS)

SPOILER ALERT

In Episode 13 of The Cinephile Mind Podcast, Miguel, Nic, and the team dive into OBSESSION, one of the year's most talked-about psychological thrillers.

From Bear's gradual descent into villainy to Nikki's role in the story, we unpack the film's themes of obsession, desire, control, and the fragile male ego. We discuss what makes the film both unsettling and surprisingly funny, explore the performances, and debate one of the movie's biggest questions:

Who is really obsessed?

Whether you've already seen OBSESSION or are curious about the conversation surrounding it, join us for a spoiler-filled discussion breaking down the film's characters, themes, and ending.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well, I think uh we have much to talk about with uh Curry Barker's latest entry into the world of horror, Obsession, starring Indy Navaret, who plays Nikki, Michael Johnston, who plays Bear, their two friends, Ian and Sarah, played by Cooper Thomason and Megan Lawless. I think this is Curry Barker's first feature-length film he's done. It follows a group of friends in particular. It follows a guy named Bear, who has a bit of a crush on one of his coworkers and another one of the girls in the friend group, Nikki. And he's a really shy, timid guy, kind of struggles to share his feelings, and he's looking for the right way to tell her that he's into her. And what follows is sort of a spiritual and haunted way of capturing her attention. Um, so after visiting a sort of spiritual shop that sells the typical like sage and crystals and all that good stuff, Bear picks up a one wish willow, which I have actually one right here. The one wish willow. Um it's essentially a magical stick, and when you break it, you get one irrevocable wish, and yeah, no takebacks. You get whatever you wish for. So being the shy, timid, uncertain guy that he is, Bear wishes that Nikki, his crush, will love him more than anyone else in the world. And as you can imagine, for a horror film, and also with most things that are magical, it doesn't exactly go to plan. Nikki quickly becomes almost overtaken. I would even argue, not even just necessarily in love with Bear, but almost more of like the this sort of like alternate spirit that's kind of doing whatever she can to please him and make sure that he's also uh just as much in love back with her. Yeah, this was a wild, definitely very interesting film. Uh wild. I didn't really think about the fact that you know, there's like the tried and true, like be careful what you wish for, sort of uh saying and uh words of wisdom. And that didn't really hit me until like leaving the movie. I'm like, okay, I mean, obviously this falls in that camp of like, you know, the um cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for, but I think just because it was executed so much differently than other movies I've seen that are in a similar vein, and it felt just really fresh and engaging. You know, it's like that's in the backdrop, of course, but there's like some paradoxes in there. There's a lot of like philosophical questions that you end up asking yourself even during the movie. Yeah, were they? I mean, we can yeah, we can dive into it.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Um, I mean, uh I I guess before we dive deeper into this movie, like I I was just I had such a great time in the theater watching this. I was very uncomfortable a lot of times. I was just looking around and seeing, like, you know, like, is everyone as shocked as me right now? It's just it's cringe.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

It's very cringe, very awkward, very uncomfortable. I like that at some points that discomfort like flip-flops from characters because you would think it's just Nikki the whole time. That's uh again, she's the one that has had this wish kind of thrust on her. Um, but it's not always her that's really the root of it. In fact, the wish itself, I mean, it's really all Bear's fault and his own doing. And I think where you start like sympathizing with him, that kind of unravels really quickly once you just realize that he is pretty much aware of what the wish is causing, and he's still along for the ride and kind of not doing a whole lot to unwish it or find another way to fix everything or snap Nikki out of it. Um, and I think that's actually where most of the horror actually comes in for me is because of Bear. Yeah, continuing to essentially want this wish to uh still be uh a thing.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

I was thinking about this. At what point do you think he knew his actual wish was granted? I mean, did he know it from the get-go? I I know it was pretty weird that she just went full 180, but uh I'm wondering, did he not stop or try to stop this from going further? Because maybe in his head he was thinking that like it couldn't possibly be that one wish willow. Is this really her?

SPEAKER_01 4:45

I think that's where it starts. Like, yeah, you're like, I think most people in that situation would not, you know, they would think, oh, it clearly is something else, it's not this like five dollar stick from like a basically gag gift type thing. You know, they also kind of do this supercut of their relationship building. Now I'm trying to think back on how it it uh all played out. So he makes his wish. Um, at first I think he's a little bit hesitant that you know her behavior kind of snapped and changed a little bit differently. And then yeah, they do this supercut of their relationship building, and you can tell they're like going on dates and hanging out with each other a lot more. Um, and at this point, obviously, as the audience, we're aware that she's under this spell. But you know, I think maybe he wouldn't necessarily be aware that at that point. But I think it would be some of the stranger behaviors that she exhibits, um, such as the duct taping tinfoil under the front door in order to keep him at home instead of uh I think what did he have to he had a shift at work, she just wanted to keep him at home, but he just walks out the door and yeah, keeps him in.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

I would have called the cops already. I wouldn't have come back to the apartment for sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

There's also the um, yeah, the special lunch she prepares for him that he figures out what it is, and I think he still comes home and it's you know, he's still not doing a whole lot to like figure out a way out of this. The takeaway for me is really just all about him, and like it is his obsession. Like he makes the wish for her to fall in love with him, but that's not really what ends up happening. And what does happen, he kind of keeps it going because he's the one that's actually obsessed.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

For somebody to allow all those things to happen, then you also have that obsession with Nikki to allow all the things that she was doing to just take place.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah. One specific scene that like really reinforced that for me, because again, maybe a lot of the things that transpired after he made the wish, you know, again, under normal circumstances, someone would chalk it up to just coincidence or something, or uh that she finally actually confessed her feelings or something. But there's one particular scene where he, and actually it's kind of funny the the scene and like how it plays out, but he calls this like customer service line on the back of the one with Schwillow, and uh he's talking to also this the person on the other end just had a very like sultry, weird kind of voice. And um, yeah, he's talking to the person, but what he actually asked for first, and this just yeah, jumped out like immediately is like he doesn't uh really ask like undo it or anything. His first thing is like, can he alter the wish? And I guess we don't really hear what he wants to alter it to be, but yeah, it just jumped out that uh his first instinct wasn't like I need to completely undo this, and like and then finally when he learns he can't change it, he asks to cancel it and is told no, that's not an option either. That specific scene is funny, but it's also terrifying because then you also get some sort of acknowledgement that Nikki, like her actual spirit and soul, isn't in her body, as far as what I can tell, because he's asked if he wants to speak to her on the other line. Then he just ends up going back inside, and yeah, that's really like for me that pivotal moment of like this dude's crazy, actually. Like, he's someone that's trying to keep her under this spell and keep her trapped and essentially like possessed by this other spirit that is infatuated with him. To me, that was the scariest part of the movie, is just this acknowledgement that Bear is really the truly the obsessed one. But yeah, the other thing that I like kind of expand on in our deep dive is this weird kind of paradox or conundrum of like, if you ask for something from someone else, a wish, then you know, the premise of his wish is that he wants Nikki to be in love with him more than anyone else in the world. And what obviously happens is she's kind of almost possessed by this other spirit that again is more like infatuated with him. So then it's like she's really, it's not her, it's a completely other being. So then, yeah, it's this weird paradox of like wishing for something else from someone else is essentially wishing that that person wasn't that person, and I think that's what happens. Um, so it is this kind of like consequence of what he wished for. Um, but then the paradox obviously comes in because I think you would also argue throughout the movie, like what Nikki's behavior under the spell isn't love. It's also a form of like obsession and um just really like toxicity too. But I think again it's coming back to bear and the fact that he's the one reinforcing all of that and continuing to uh kick the can on trying to undo anything. I had like a few thoughts of maybe like weak points in the movie, but I'm curious if you had any weak points.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

No, I know. Um, let me think back. No, there's no weak points for me. No, okay, but what do you think the weak points are?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Um, I think there was like a lot of them honestly related to some of the special effects or like some of the things that I guess you could consider like a gag or something, like um some of Nikki's like movement and shadows and their use of that. It felt maybe like a little bit overplayed towards the end. But again, I I I think maybe by that point, the horror element you're supposed to not really be viewing it as it's Nikki being the scary one, and again, it's really just Bear, like continuing to perpetuate all of this. Um, but that was the main one that jumped out. I think the other thing that I guess it's fitting of the genre is like there was one brutal uh killing scene towards the end, and it did involve like a dummy practical effect that you know it was fine.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Okay, yeah. I mean, the budget was one million dollars. Um and going back to what you were saying about her movements, I felt like that contributed to how eerie nippy was, and like once she was possessed by this thing, everything that she was doing was just so unhuman-like that yeah, I I did like it was a bit disjointed.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Yeah, I liked it for that. I also um and this came up in because I got to see the live stream QA at the end, and um, she got to speak about that a little bit, but just this idea of like her being able to turn on a dime and like switch up her performance, and I mean, yeah, she really delivered there, just being able to like snap in and out of being like funny and humorous to them being like scared and freaking out, that was really impressive. I think Indy delivered the strongest performance, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

I mean, there were some scenes that were just like when they were in a group setting and at the party, and she just stands up and I I know exactly.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah, that that scene just blew my mind. I think even how it's like blocked and how the characters are positioned and stuff is so impressive because you see this moment of her like standing up and it's really like abrupt and exactly, and it's like shot from like the perspective of somebody sitting down, and I could be mistaken, but yeah, that shot specifically I love because it stays on um they're playing like a drinking game of like Jenga, and so it's focused on Bear because he was the one that just pulled uh the piece, and it focuses on him and then Sarah, his friend, and the um character just to his left, and you see Nikki in the foreground stand up, and I think it just sticks on Bear and Sarah until Nikki walks over there. So you're kind of seeing their faces and their reactions to her coming over um through that whole little bit um until she drags Sarah's chair away and then uh kneels down for her kiss. Which is, yeah, it's like all in like one little, you know, 15, 20 second little bit, it goes from like horror and scary to then like, wait, what's gonna happen? Is she gonna like kill this girl? What's gonna happen? Then it's like funny, and you're like, oh my god, like she's dragging this girl's chair away. And I I think that wouldn't work if the writing wasn't right, if the acting wasn't right. It just it would feel like not intentionally cringe, it would feel you know, just poorly executed.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Yeah. To me, I I feel like everything just contributed to how perfect the tone was. It it was just able to like expertly handle both comedy and horror, and you would be laughing at the same time. You would be so uncomfortable anticipating something scary about to happen, then you just keep laughing, then it does happen. It's just it's such a great balance of like comedy horror. Yet at the same time, it's it doesn't take away. The comedy doesn't take away from how scary the movie is because it was truly frightening.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

My one other weak point isn't necessarily exclusive to this movie, it's more just the fact that this movie came out much later than many of the other films that I think set this example. But I think we have this like latest trend in horror of characters that are kind of under this spell or somewhat possessed, or you know, they're being haunted or whatever, and they're almost forced to harm themselves in some sort of way. And we get that happening here with Nikki, actually, in later in that scene at the um house party. And I mean, we've seen it in Talk to Me, in Midsumar, in Hereditary, and just I mean, the list goes on. And I actually saw something recently talking about that as like why that's a theme in horror these days, and it was just kind of getting to like this notion of like isolation and like the things we do to ourselves. Um, and I also think this movie maybe has more of a claim to why that this character would be doing that. This is one where the person who's like essentially locked out of their body and maybe snapping back in and out of it in brief moments would be uh kind of brought to doing something like that. But yeah, I think again, it's not so much that it's an issue with this movie specifically. I think it's just it feels like a tired trend at this point in horror. I get it, you're tired of it. But it's gonna keep happening. It didn't bother me. I think the only other reason it bothered me is like narratively, it made some of the things that happened afterwards not make as much sense to me. I uh like it didn't feel natural that that would happen at a house party with all these people witnessing it, including some of her closest friends. And then, you know, they leave, not on an ambulance, he just drives her out of there. And then I think again, every like follow-up and everything after that doesn't feel like that happened to a real life person. That's where it kind of goes, like more abstract and more fantastical, is because you know, it's like, where are all the people checking in on her? Where's like her work and friends and colleagues? And you know, they're letting her continue to go home with this guy who maybe they had already been speculating or rumoring about their relationship being like kind of abusive and stuff. So I don't know. I think that's where it felt a little bit disjointed in how the story was being uh told.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

I do have to say that I think the reason why how certain actions by by some of these characters, by either by Nikki or by Bear, I do recognize how it would take some people out of the movie and start questioning why, okay, this or that is not realistic. The reason why I was fine with it all because the whole concept behind this whole thing was him going to a store and buying this one wish willow and all of a sudden getting his wish granted. So that in itself just takes me to this whole fantasy already that were anything could happen.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah, I I mean these complaints are honestly like very minimal. I I mean, I think I really enjoyed the movie overall, so I I wouldn't even say it's like ruined the movie or anything in any particular way. They're just thoughts I've had of like, oh, maybe these were things that could be improved, or yeah, yeah. One thing I kind of talked about is uh or like did in this deeper dive of uh the movie is just like there's a lot of somewhat straightforward, and then I think maybe in a few instances more abstract, like references to like mirrors or mirrored behavior or like symmetry of things, and like one of the bigger areas you get that is just with the friend group of like these four friends, and there's all kind of like love triangles and patterns within it. I mean, they've slept with each other, all four of them, pretty much, yeah, all of them. Um, and then there's like yeah, all the secrets and stuff, and I mean you get almost like even like toxic behaviors from all of them, even the short bit that we see Nikki as like herself not under this spell. I think there's like so much symmetry with them, and I think they're trying to, you know, kind of paint them as like foils to one another, or again mirroring each other's behaviors. And then quite literally, you have a lot of reflections in the movie, like you'll get this glimmer off of Nikki's eyes when she's under the spell, or you get Bears looking in the rearview mirror of his car. Um, and I think that to me jumped out as like this reflection of his obsession. Um, so the spell or the wish that he made was really reflecting his own obsession with Nikki. I mean, again, where it starts off seeming like innocent and cute and like, oh, he's just this shy guy, and he just lost his cat, and he's kind of down, you know, in down in the dumps, but he's you know, really infatuated with Nikki and um trying to make that work. And then yeah, it's obviously as we learn like he's keeping this wish like applied to her, it's like that's the mirror of that spell or the wish. It's like his own obsession.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

The easy takeaway here is like, oh my god, she's crazy. Uh, I gotta watch out for like girls. Well, like she only became that because of him, because of his wish. Well, I mean, it is really like reflective of the fragile male ego. You said it. Let's also talk about the lighting that Terry Barker used because the lighting he used specifically on Nikki, it creeped me out.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yeah, I mean, even like what I was just talking about, like the mirror aspect and like the reflection in her eyes. But really, in a lot of the scenes, you're getting like almost this backlit version of her where it's like a shadow or like a silhouette. Um, I mean, that's like the first time you see her after he makes the wish is she's like sitting on the porch and it's just her silhouette. Yeah, and it just captures that really well of like this is a shadow of a person and like not really their full self being eliminated. Now let's talk about the cat. The main thing I really remember that's like one of the first things you see is his cat passed away. So it the very first scene is him kind of rehearsing, asking Nikki out with Ian and then the um server at the diner. Yeah. And then I think immediately when he goes home, his cat's passed away. And then when he goes and meets his friend out for drinks, really it's like Sarah mostly consoling him over the cat. But again, he's like got his eyes on Nikki, so he's not really paying attention to her. But yeah, I mean, he was definitely very attached emotionally to the cat. And you also get him like sobbing. That's when the credits or the the title screen comes in, is um he's like sobbing on the bed, and then I actually love that. It was like the title stitched into the comforter. Yeah, I've never really seen anything like that, but yeah, so he was like sobbing over the cat. I don't like that the cat was around long enough to be consumed. We saw again, I mentioned that supercut, like there was a Good amount of time that had to have transpired between him making the wish and getting with Nikki and then uh Yeah, it wasn't just 24 hours. Yeah. I I guess that adds to the disgusting, horrifying aspect of that. But and again, you know, that's kind of like goes back to this idea of like if the wish was for her to be in love with him, like, well, that's not loving behavior. So again, it's really not even her. Like, nothing about what her behavior is embodying is like loving him in that sense. But again, I think it's just this like perversion of the wish that he made because it wasn't made with good intentions, even though it seemed like it was.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

I imagine audiences would be frustrated with Bear, like you were just saying, the amount of time that's taken place since he made a wish, and all these things have been happening back to back to back, and he's just allowed it. Which also goes back to like what you were saying about the obsession, it's not just one way, it's also like Bear's obsession with having Nikki around, despite the fact that this might not even be Nikki.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

It's also um, you know, when he uh he goes to the shop again to buy more One Wish Willows, and then he ends up taking one over to his friend Ian's house, and he's trying to explain, I made this wish, it's real, just believe me. Like, I need you to make a wish to undo mine. And I think again, like when you said people would be frustrated with Bear, it's like that whole scene was frustrating too, because you're like, he's in this panic, and I don't know, I think he could. I mean, it's hard to say how anyone would react in that situation, but you know, he's like doing a really horrible job of explaining that he just needs to make a wish for one specific thing. But I also I think it's clearly there was gonna be no wish that his friend or anyone else could make that really would undo it because again, it's like him wishing for Nikki to be in love with him. That's not actually what really ended up happening. So I don't think there's really any undoing any of it. Something I found out today that was interesting is I've never really been a Simpsons fan, but I guess that's what um Curry Barker had watched this episode of The Simpsons, where I believe Bart gets a hold of this monkey's paw that kind of allows him to make these wishes, which is like a story from like early 1900s. But um it's really just that concept of like be careful what you wish for, because it's there's unintended consequences. Um, but something interesting about that too is like there's this whole Reddit community about the monkey's paw, and it's kind of just a funny little uh thing that people do is like they'll say a wish um in that community, and then people in the comments will respond like, you got this part of the wish to come true, but then um because of that, there's like this other consequence, so like that's how people respond in the comments, yeah. Um, but it's interesting, like, yeah, just all of these horror tropes and things, especially stimming out of the internet and like videos, and again, even we have like backrooms and stuff coming up. I think it's just this interesting idea that you have the internet and like TikTok and social media feeding this new generation of horror in a lot of ways, like these urban legends, but then it's also like taking or creating new things entirely. I kind of love it. Tation was very funny. I was, I mean, people were laughing out loud um when I was watching it, and it's a great movie to watch with a with a crowd for sure. Yeah, and I think um, well, again, he and a lot of that was because of uh Indy's performance as Nikki is like being able to turn on a dime, but also just the writing, I think, enabled it to be to like switch gears really quickly.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

And he is a comedian, so I don't think he can be 100% serious, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:17

No, and we keep seeing that with like folks in comedy making their uh splash in horror weapons for sure, and even um with Jordan Peel.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Yeah, yeah, and maybe that's why horror feels fresh again coming into the genre and kind of just like having a fresh take with each movie that they make.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Yeah, I mean, maybe it also is like you know, setup of comedy and like delivering the punchline works in as a framework for horror. It's like you have to know when to actually make the moment horrifying, yeah. Um, and it has to build towards that. It can't just be nonstop.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

And not in a corny and spoofy kind of way. Like, if anything, it actually adds to like the tension.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

That customer service line, there's something like really unsettling about that. It almost felt like um, yeah, this like gateway to hell or something, and like he's calling the devil basically, and he's got a hold of like Nikki's soul, which is also why it's like this sort of like jokes on you sort of thing, like you thought you had this magic wish that would grant you exactly what you wanted, and it's it is some sort of like mystical power, but it's not gonna give you what you want at all. Yeah, um, I actually I think when he ran back to the shop at the end, I was expecting that they wouldn't have any more, and obviously they kind of show that initially is like he can't find it on the shelf. I thought it really would have just been gone.

SPEAKER_02 27:57

And yeah, you would think though that it would be more widely known if things are happening and if wishes are actually getting granted, whether they may be sinister or not, or like in the case of uh Bear's friend, he actually gets uh what a billion dollars. That just that's what he asked for. But um you would think it would be more widely known if it would sell out.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

And there's no way that his friend Ian's the first person to make that wish.

SPEAKER_02 28:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Um, so but I think I almost wonder if that, yeah, it's almost like this like grand illusion, because like maybe Ian wishing for that, it's like almost everyone else is under a sort of spell or trance too. So it's like he made that wish because it's just this irrevocable thing. So it's like almost taunting Bear at that point. It's like, oh no, you made this wish and you're gonna stick with it. Yeah, I don't know. There's a lot of complexity. I'm trying to think of like other movies where yeah, it's like someone makes a similar type of wish that comes true.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Big isn't big, but you know, this is the horror movie version of it. Imagine a horror movie version of big.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah. People are gonna be like, obsession, the horror version of big. We didn't talk about one, like one of the other scariest scenes. Oh my god, how would we not talk about that when she's asleep? Yeah, Bear basically gets that late night text from Sarah, and she's like, you know, I'm gonna come over or you can meet me at the park, but I have like something really important to tell you. And so he's like reaching for his phone and trying to be subtle to not wake up Nikki, who's next to him, and then he's you know going towards the door to sneak out, uh, because he doesn't want Sarah to show up. And right as he's at the entryway, you hear Nikki's voice, and she's like woken up. And what's so scary about it is it's like the real Nikki, and she says like she's asleep, you know, implying like whatever again, other spirits like in her body now is asleep or away, and she's been able to like you know, repossess her body, I guess. Um, and then she also, I can't remember how it comes up, but she's like, you know, we've never even been together, and uh then she's like asked begging him to kill her to like take her out of it, and it it's yeah, it's again just like probably one of the most horrifying things because he also just it's really eerie, and then by the end of it, Bear just leaves, like he doesn't really do anything to help her, and he just goes on to meet up with Sarah.

SPEAKER_02 31:06

How is he just so numb to all the things that are happening around him? But also, like Sarah, like you've seen how Nikki went crazy at that party and like pretty much her behavior lately, and you really think it's a good idea to text Bear in the middle of the night and ask him to meet you at the park. Yeah, and also with Bear too, like you've seen like what she's capable of, and like why would you even risk leaving your house to meet up Sarah?

SPEAKER_01 31:45

You know, but I think him leaving there is like symbolic of just his uh the fact that it snowballed so much that it's like almost entirely in his control now and his awareness. Like he knows exactly what's going on by that point, and he's actively not even ignoring it, but like avoiding it like the plague. He's just doing everything he can to not take Nikki out of this like cursed state, and then he meets up with Sarah, and it's like she kind of confesses her feelings to him, and yeah, you almost get like that little brief moment of that's like he's kind of acknowledging or opening up to the idea of like he actually is in love with her back, too.

SPEAKER_02 32:35

Yeah, let's talk about that because you really went out of your way to to get Nikki to fall in love with you, then just when she starts acting all weird, like you know, like here comes Sarah, someone who's been seeking your attention this entire time, but now like okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

And you're you're yeah, he's very pleased to hear that from Sarah, but again, he's also still gonna keep his um infinity stones of girls, I guess, is what the goal is. Like, he wants everyone to be into him because he's yeah, actually kind of the worst person ever. Honestly, yeah. I mean, it didn't really think of him as being that terrible. Like, he is obviously by the end of the movie, you're like, oh, I hate this dude. But you know, when you're first watching, you're like, okay, it just was like a bad situation that spiraled. Yeah, but now I'm like, no, he made it spiral.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

Yeah, he deserved it, allowed it to spiral. Exactly. Because there were some outs throughout the film, even after she does what she did to Sarah, but he chooses not to.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Also, I guess it actually kind of does take us back to the beginning, and the whole reason he even made the wish is um kind of interesting because the very first scene he's rehearsing, confessing his feelings to Nikki with his friends. Um, and then fast forward a little bit, and they're gone out for drinks and stuff, and then he offers to give her a ride home, and that was actually his opportunity to practice what he had rehearsed with his friends because Ian kept you know encouraging him not to do it while they were all out together, but instead to do it one-on-one in like you know, his own way, and when he was driving her home, that was it, so he didn't take that opportunity, and again, yeah, he just goes this other route of like making this wish. So, you know, it's not like he was um had ill intentions necessarily at that point, but yeah, he just had too many off ramps that by the end of it it was very clear that he was really the uh problematic one.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

He was the villain, all along. He gets the brick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

No, no, no, no. I feel like there's more to the cat thing. I don't know. Like, like much more. I don't know, it just seems like really pivotal to everything, and like the cat overdosing on the pills, and then that's how he goes out. Like, there's a lot more with the cat.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

And for for it to die pretty early on in the movie and still be part of the Nine Lives?

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Was Nikki the cat reincarnated?

SPEAKER_02 35:37

Hmm. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

Maybe it's honestly a really like the fact that there's so much to like pick out of it is crazy. Like, I feel like we've watched other movies that we loved and like raved over and had maybe an ounce of the amount of stuff to talk about, even like weapons. I love weapons, but like some of the imagery and stuff, it was just like there. Yeah, and I don't know, it was like harder to pick at. All right.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Should we make a wish? Only one? That seems like a scam. Alright, let's see what this is about.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Nervous.

SPEAKER_01 36:43

Manufacturer, tabby cat curiosities. Also, I think like was that I guess that was like a little bit of an Easter egg, or like a you know, I was like, why is it tabby cat? And then his cat died.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

Maybe that was unrelated. Uh, single use only grants one wish. Once made, it cannot be undone or repeated. No multiple attempts using additional one wish willows will not change or affect your other wishes. Only one wish per life per person. Consider long-term effects. Wishes are irreversible. Think carefully before wishing. Wish limitations cannot grant wishes involving time manipulation, resurrection, immortality, or creating more one wish willows, unintended consequences, tabby cat curiosities is not responsible for wish miser misinterpretation. Use your own risk. Users assume all responsibility for wish outcomes.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

One wish hello. One wish alone.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

So I wish everyone watching would go to the Cinephile Mind.com, like, comment, subscribe, share with your friends, read our deep dive, and there we go. Wish come true.