‘Obsession’ Director Curry Barker Explains Why His Next Horror Movie Deserves a “Free Pass”

Curry Barker has given horror audiences a reason to be excited the next time they hear his name attached to a movie. Obsession turns Bear’s entitlement to Nikki’s affection into something horrifying, stripping her of control over her own body to satisfy what he wants. Its most disturbing element is the violation at the center of that wish, with Inde Navarrette’s performance making Nikki’s suffering impossible to ignore.

Following a movie like that comes with expectations. Barker’s next movie, Anything But Ghosts, will release with an audience eager to see what else he can do and ready to measure it against Obsession. But there’s an important wrinkle in that comparison: he had already finished filming it before Obsession opened wide.

During a new interview with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, Barker discussed following Obsession with a movie he had already wrapped before his horror hit had its wide theatrical release earlier this year to great success. Asked about the pressure surrounding his next release, he said, “I think it's a fair question, and I do think that that exists in me.” He continued:

“And I'm just like, I want to prove everyone wrong, that that pressure won't affect my work. And I really hope that it doesn't, because I get it. And I think we've all seen that happen before. And I think I'm gonna get a free pass with Ghosts because I didn't have that pressure, you know.”

Could Curry Barker Bring His Horror to Television?

A new movie isn’t the only possible next step for Barker. Horror has plenty of room on television, where a disturbing premise can have an entire season to get under an audience’s skin. The format also presents a different commitment for a filmmaker, whether they’re developing a series or coming aboard to direct an episode, and the premise of the universe of Obsession and the nature of the One Wish Willow would be a natural place to start with a miniseries. Asked about his interest in television, Barker said:

“I think it is [something I'm interested in]. And only because I love telling stories, and some stories are perfect for an hour and 30 minutes, some stories need two hours, and some stories need eight hours. You know, a season, and some stories really need to be delved into a little more.”

There’s a substantial difference between leaving a character at the end of a movie and returning to them across several episodes or seasons. A series can spend years developing the consequences of a decision that a movie might have only 100 or so minutes to explore. On that subject, Barker added: “I think watching a character arc from Season 1 to Season 3 is always something that's really interesting, and I would never want to box myself out of those opportunities, you know?”

For anyone hoping that means a Barker television project is imminent, the interview didn’t come with a series announcement. “But I do think that, for now, film really is interesting to me,” he said. "I think I might stick around film for a while.” He also noted, “And it really would come down to working with my schedule if it came to a TV show or something like that.”

Curry Barker Has Thoughts About Being Called a Gen-Z Filmmaker

Success also comes with people trying to explain where a filmmaker fits, sometimes before they’ve made more than a handful of projects. For Barker and Kane Parsons, the director behind Backrooms, that conversation has included the label of Gen-Z filmmakers. It’s an easy shorthand for a headline, although a birth year can only tell an audience so much about the person behind the camera. Lovitt asked whether Barker found that framing limiting. “I think it's really trendy talk,” he said. He added, “Luckily, it doesn't actually affect the opportunities that I've been getting in the industry.”

The question of labels also led to how Barker has been treated by the people he works with. “I think I've been treated with respect, you know, and really treated as an equal to these people and not necessarily treated as a lesser or younger version of anybody so far,” he said. Then came one final qualification: “So far.”

Anything but Ghosts opens in theaters May 7, 2027. Stay tuned at Collider for more.