When a lovesick loser (Michael Johnston) wishes his crush (Inde Navarrette) would fall madly in love with him, he unwittingly unleashes a curse that makes Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau look like a normal relationship.

This new horror flick offers an original take on both the male-fantasy and stalker sub-genres, subverting the creepy wish fulfilment of Mannequin and Weird Science, and the bunny-boiler sexism of Fatal Attraction. Obsession turns those tropes on their head, but its heart is pure Frankenstein, concerned with men abusing their power, and how it feels to be the monster trapped in the world of their creation.

Writer/director Curry Barker achieves all this with a sly sense of delight that keeps it funny and frightening for the 109-minute duration; an impressive feat in a genre that can barely sustain 90 minutes in most cases. While we know where the Monkey’s Paw plot is going, Barker finds wrinkles and rug-pulls within that framework to consistently surprise us along the way. He pulls off some terrifying scenes that all serve the freaky story, which remains disturbingly believable by sticking to its own rules and toxic relationship allegory.

The result is simple yet effective, with just four characters playing an active part in proceedings – though Navarrette steals the show by pulling an array of bizarre faces as Nikki, who is genuinely scary because we don’t know what she is going to do next, like a really drunk person or Gwyneth Paltrow. From its creepy set-up to its surprising ending, this is a rare horror movie with a genuine exploration of sexual politics and a fresh point of view. Just like Nikki, Obsession is bound to stay with you.