Obsession is one of the biggest horror films of 2026, and it has been a revolutionary moment for small-budget thrillers. Curry Barker’s now-iconic hit mixes horror with incredibly dark comedy, a formula that created a movie that now has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and made $519 million against a budget of less that $1 million. It is easily one of the most influential films of the year, and with Barker now working on follow-ups like Anything but Ghosts and his The Texas Chain Saw Massacre reboot, tons of movies like Obsession will undoubtedly be releasing in the future.
However, tons of movies like Obsession have already been released in recent years and decades past. So, here are four horror movies recommendations for fans who can’t get enough of Obsession, and why they’re such great companion pieces to the modern horror classic.
One of the most notable aspects of Obsession is the story of its production, something that has parallels with another modern horror classic, 2022’s Talk to Me. Like Obsession, Talk to Me was created by filmmakers who got their start making comedic and horror shorts on social media. Directing duo Danny and Michael Philippou gained notoriety for their YouTube channel RackaRacka, and they used the success of this to launch their feature-length debut. Talk to Me was a massive hit, with it getting a U.S. release from A24 and making $92 million against a budget of $4.5 million. Then, the Philippous followed it up with 2025’s Bring Her Back, cementing the duo as having successfully jumped from YouTube to Hollywood.
On top of that, both films have narrative parallels. Talk to Me tells the story of a group of young friends who discover a mysterious hand that allows them to conjure spirits, eventually leading to disasterous consequences. Similarly to Obsession, Talk to Me features posessions, a supernatural MacGuffin with a mysterious origin, and a darkly comedic tone.
Zach Cregger is now one of the biggest names in horror, but he was once an unknown outside of the realm of sketch comedy. That all changed with the release of 2022’s Barbarian, which had a budget of $4.5 million and released with very little fanfare. Word of mouth helped the film become a hit, with the true nature of its story and tone not being present in the initial trailers. Barbarian tells the story of a young woman who arrives at a rental house only to discover that it has been double booked. While attempting to stay with the strange man, red flags begin to pop up, and things only get worse from there.
Like Obsession, Barbarian explores themes of mysogyny, control, and abuse, although it definitely takes these ideas in an entirely different direction. Plus, much like how Obsession has launched Barker’s career, Barbarian launched Cregger’s horror career, something that has continued with releases like Weapons and Resident Evil.
When it comes to the story of Obsession, it is hard to find a movie with a more similar one than 2025’s Companion. Directed by Drew Hancock, the film tells the story of Iris, a young woman who discovers that she is a companion robot owned by the man she believed to be her boyfriend, Josh. Josh controls almost everything about Iris through an app, with him having decided what she looks like, how she sounds, and how she acts. Upon making this discovery, Iris decides that she wants to escape Josh and his friends and earn her own autonomy, but her oppressors don’t make this an easy feat.
Obession and Companion are only one year apart, and they both tell stories of men who literally control the desires of women. Bear does so through magic, and Josh does so through technology, but the abhorrent decisions they make and the violent consequences they have are the same.
While all of the other entries on this list were released in the 2020s, it is impossible to discuss Obsession without recommending one of the greatest horror movies of all time, director Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 masterpiece Posession. Starring Sam Neill as Mark and Isabelle Adjani as Anna, the film begins with Mark learning that his wife Anna has been seeing another man and wants to get a divorce. Things quickly take a stunning turn, with Posession making bizarre twists and turns as it continues to flesh out the main duo’s separation.
Outside of Posession and Obsession‘s similar titles, the 1981 film also explores themes of patriarchial control and ownership over women, something that Barker’s film heavily dives into. Żuławski’s own divorce definitely left an impact on his film, making Posession an even more in-depth and poignant exploration of these topics. Posession is one of the most influential horror films of all time, and while Barker hasn’t confirmed that it influenced his movie, it is impossible not to notice how both films mirror each other.
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