Obsession: w/ Dreadful Digest on Female Agency and Pathetic Men

Dreadful Digest: Podcast // Instagram // YouTube

Tessa Nelson from Dreadful Digest joins Kathryn & Melvin to discuss one of 2026’s most surprising successes, Obsession! Is the film really as scary as many say it is? What about Bear: is he a “nice guy”? And who’s the actual villain of the film? There’s so much to explore, so tune in now! 

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 31-minutes discussing what might be attributing to the exorbitant success of horror movies, most notably with Obsession & Backrooms, over the last few years. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• Tessa catches the gang up with what Dreadful Digest is up to during their lil’ hiatus, what to look forward to, and a “bucket list” episode they want to do.
• Some background about Curry Barker & Cooper Tomlinson, their YouTube work, Milk & Serial, and now Obsession.
• Tessa isn’t head-over-heels for Obsession, but she has a lot of respect for it.
• Kathryn stepped away wildly impressed, considering it a great experience overall.
• On the ride home from the theater, Melvin remarked to Kathryn, “I want to buy a ticket and see it again this weekend.”
• These characters are layered, and even have a level of realistic antagonism amongst one another, leaving Tessa thinking about them long after the film’s ended.
• Melvin feels Curry Barker is innovating whereas a director he looks up to, Ari Aster, is wasting time. Tessa disagrees.
• Talking about Bear, as well as the friend group, and whether he is a “nice guy” or not.
• Having true Nicky appear every-so-often is a brilliant writing choice.
• What’s with all the “cat” imagery in the film?
• Talking about the incredible ending.

Recommendations:

• Hereditary (2018) (Movie)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) (Movie)
• Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) (Movie)
• Phantom Thread (2017) (Movie)

Obsession is Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. It features Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter. Directed by Curry Barker. Obsession is available here.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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