Curry Barker's Obsession arrives in theaters on May 15, 2026, carrying the quiet momentum of a filmmaker whose previous micro-budget feature, Milk & Serial, built its reputation almost entirely through word of mouth. The film's central premise - a man uses a magical wish to make a woman love him, with catastrophic results - is deceptively simple, but Barker has been vocal about the psychological and emotional weight he intended it to carry. For audiences unable to catch it in theaters, understanding both when and where it will become available to stream, and how to access it from outside supported regions, is worth knowing before the release cycle moves forward.
What the Film Is Actually About
Bear, the film's protagonist, is the kind of character audiences have seen before: quiet, overlooked, convinced that his restraint and devotion entitle him to something he hasn't asked for directly. He works at a music store alongside Nikki, a friend he's long been in love with, and when a novelty toy called a "One Wish Willow" offers him a shortcut, he takes it. Nikki falls madly in love with him - but the wish strips her of her free will entirely, transforming her into something dangerous and unnatural in her single-minded fixation on being near him.
Barker, speaking to TIME, framed the film's moral center plainly: "Any time you wish for something, it's probably going to be selfish." His more pointed observation - "Love should be earned. Anything that's not that probably isn't going to work out" - gives the horror its grounding. The supernatural element is, in his telling, almost incidental. What Barker told DiscussingFilm he found "really tragic" is not the possession itself, but Bear's refusal to relinquish the artificial relationship he constructed. The monster in Obsession is less what Nikki becomes and more what Bear refuses to confront about himself.
Where and When You Can Watch Obsession
Because Obsession is a Focus Features and Universal Pictures release, and both studios sit under the NBCUniversal corporate umbrella, Peacock is the expected streaming destination once its theatrical run concludes. Films typically require a minimum window of around two months in theaters before moving to a streaming platform, which places Obsession's likely Peacock debut sometime in August 2026.
Peacock currently operates on three subscription tiers:
- Select ($7.99/month or $79.99/year): Ad-supported, entry-level access covering new NBC and Bravo seasons, with limited Peacock Originals.
- Premium ($10.99/month or $109.99/year): The standard ad-supported plan, unlocking Peacock's full originals library, movies, next-day NBC and Bravo episodes, and live sports coverage.
- Premium Plus ($16.99/month or $169.99/year): Ad-free access to all Premium content, offline downloads, and a 24/7 live stream of your local NBC channel, though some live events may still carry minor ads due to rights restrictions.
For viewers who prefer to own rather than subscribe, pre-orders for the film are already live on PVOD platforms in the UK, priced at £17.99. No equivalent pre-order has been announced for other regions at this time.
How to Stream Obsession From Outside Supported Regions
Streaming rights are sold on a country-by-country basis, which means that even when Obsession lands on Peacock, the platform itself will remain geo-restricted - accessible only to users with a US-based connection. For international viewers, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the most widely used tool for working around these regional blocks.
A VPN routes your internet traffic through a server in a country of your choosing, masking your actual IP address and making your connection appear to originate from that location. In practical terms, this means a viewer in Germany or Australia can connect through a US-based server and access Peacock as if they were a domestic subscriber. The connection is encrypted end-to-end, which carries an additional benefit: your browsing activity and streaming habits remain private from your internet service provider, which in some markets has been known to throttle bandwidth for high-volume streaming sessions.
Not all VPNs perform equally for streaming. The key variables are server volume, connection stability, and whether the provider actively maintains servers that bypass the detection systems streaming platforms use to identify and block VPN traffic. Two services that consistently perform well for this use case are:
- ExpressVPN: Operates a network of over 3,000 servers across numerous countries, with a strong record for HD and 4K streaming stability. Well-suited for users who prioritize consistent performance over cost.
- VeePN: A more budget-conscious option with over 2,600 global servers, optimized for steady streaming sessions without the premium price tag.
Other well-regarded options include NordVPN, known for strong security and reliable speeds; Surfshark, which allows unlimited simultaneous device connections; CyberGhost, valued for its straightforward interface and broad server network; and Private Internet Access, which emphasizes user privacy and offers a comprehensive feature set.
One practical note: free VPN services exist, but they typically impose bandwidth caps, offer limited server options, and in some cases have been found to log and sell user data - the opposite of what most people want from a privacy tool. For streaming a full-length film reliably, a paid subscription is the more dependable and genuinely private choice.
Why Obsession Arrives at the Right Cultural Moment
The "be careful what you wish for" trope has deep roots in folk horror and literary fiction, but Barker's treatment of it feels particularly well-timed. The film's horror doesn't emerge from the supernatural so much as from a recognizable psychological pattern: the entitlement of a person who mistakes intensity of feeling for a claim on another's autonomy. That Nikki becomes terrifying is almost a literalization of what coercive attachment looks like from the outside - possessive, all-consuming, indifferent to the other person's actual selfhood.
Barker said he wanted the film to "feel grounded," and in keeping the focus on Bear's willingness to sustain an abusive dynamic even after witnessing its consequences, he transforms what might have been a straightforward supernatural horror into something more disquieting. Obsession doesn't let its protagonist off the hook, and that refusal to offer easy absolution is what gives it the texture of something genuinely worth watching.
