Ram Gopal Varma on Obsession
Ram Gopal Varma reviewed American supernatural psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film is getting good reviews at the box office.
The film starred Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette in the lead roles while Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter appear in supporting roles.
Ram Gopal Varma shared his thoughts on the film. He posted “My theory on the tremendous success of OBSESSION. Every woman has a little bit of NIKKI in her, which she too knows. Every man sees a little bit of NIKKI in his woman. Hence the CONNECT.”
In a separate post on X, RGV delved into the film's editing anddirectorial style. He said, “Am obsessed with Obsession.. Till even a few weeks before the whole industry believed that only big starred, massive budgeted, Vfx spectacle films will pull audience into the theatres and now Obsession reset that button. No big stars, no grand locations no lavish production design no foreign shoots no top technicians and contrary to it’s reported budget of 7 cr (Indian) it’s easy to see , it’s pure making cost cannot be more than 70 lakhs minus technical fees considering it’s entirely shot in exactly 3 locations ( two rooms in a modest house, interior of a car and interior of a small store.”
He continued “The directors style is visually simplistic but very unique ( I was especially struck with his use of too much head space in many shots which strangely enhances the mood ) He treats editing not just as a technical craft but as psychological weapon blending rapid cuts with especially lengthy stays (case in point is long stay on Nikki’s face in interval shot ) These kind of long takes build unbearable tension because the audience is trapped in the character’s perspective with no escape.”
The note further read, “His cutting on sharp sound effects (a door slam, a sudden laugh, a heartbeat) to create rhythmic punctuation is awe inspiring. Barker’s editing philosophy seems to be: “Make the audience feel what the character feels, which is being unstable.” He throws out traditional editing rules (smooth continuity, clear emotional beats) in favour of something extremely anarchic. The result is a film that feels unpredictable and alive, like the editing itself is also a part of the horror. He mostly used single-source lighting and lit up spaces rather than individual shots, very much like David Fincher, but much more effectively. More than the 179 million dollars collection so far with a less than 1 million dollar budget , what needs to be even more studied are the path breaking edit and sound design techniques not to forget character design.”
