BOLLYWOOD.

Obsession transforms a familiar horror concept into something unexpectedly gripping and unsettling. Drawing from the timeless “be careful what you wish for” premise popularized by stories like “The Monkey’s Paw,” filmmaker Curry Barker injects new energy into the formula with a confident mix of suspense, psychological terror, jump scares and sharply timed dark humor. ‎ Inde Navarrette and Michael in 'Obsession.' ‎Courtesy of Focus Features ‎ The film marks another major step forward for Barker, who initially gained recognition through YouTube comedy sketches created alongside Cooper Tomlinson and later through the ultra-low-budget horror feature Milk & Serial. With Obsession, Barker further establishes himself as a filmmaker capable of balancing horror thrills with emotional discomfort. At the center of the story is Bear, played by Michael Johnston of Teen Wolf fame. Bear is an awkward employee at a musical instruments store hopelessly infatuated with his co-wor...

‎Celine Song’s sophomore feature, Materialists, opens with an unexpected image: a prehistoric couple standing together, perhaps in love, perhaps just surviving. It’s a jarring yet deliberate prelude to a film steeped in the cold calculations of contemporary romance—where love, like everything else in a hypermodern New York, is a matter of metrics. ‎ Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and Pedro Pascal for 'Materialists.' ‎A24 ‎ ‎Following her critically acclaimed debut Past Lives, Song shifts tone and tempo. Materialists is edgier, more sardonic, less about longing and more about navigating the absurdities of modern dating. Where Past Lives mourned love postponed, Materialists questions whether love, in an age of apps and algorithms, can even be real. ‎ ‎At the center of this romantic economy is Lucy, played with icy precision by Dakota Johnson. A professional matchmaker with nine successful marriages under her belt, Lucy approaches romance like a financial planner: method...