"I Used To Be In A Bunk Bed With My Brother": Curry Barker Just Shared How Much His Life Has Changed Since "Obsesion", And I'm Getting Emotional
by Sara De Ledesma · BuzzFeedPosted 3 minutes ago
If you've been around at all in the past year, there's a good chance Obsession has crossed your radar at some point. The indie horror flick completely took the world by storm, and now, one year after its TIFF debut, director Curry Barker and lead actress Inde Navarrette returned to the festival for a victory lap. And to say that a lot has changed is quite the understatement.
When Obsession premiered at TIFF's Midnight Madness in 2025, it was a tiny indie movie made for just $750,000. Focus Features eventually picked it up for $15 million, and the horror went on to make more than $500 million worldwide.
For Barker, the past year has been surreal: "The first time I ever left America was to go to TIFF. Going out of the country for the first time was here. Now, in that year, I'm travelling the world and like, that's all happened in one year. You know what I mean? It's just nuts," he shared on CBC's Q with Tom Power.
And before Obsession, Barker was living in a small Los Angeles apartment with his brother, Riley: "I used to be in a bunk bed with my brother... Me and Riley shared a room. We had bunk beds because that was the only way we could have enough space in the room to have a desk."
Barker even said in a sit down with TIFF that before Obsession, his pitches were constantly getting rejected. Now, he's getting asked, "Curry, what is it you want to do?"
And then there's Inde, whose life has also completely changed since last year's festival. At TIFF this year, she summed up the difference perfectly: "Last year I styled myself, this year I'm styled by Dior, wearing Tiffany," "Me and Curry are kind of just looking at each other and being like, wow, last year we were amazed about the fact that it got into something as magical as TIFF and Midnight Madness. And this year, it's just like seeing the success."
Since Obsession, Inde landed the role of Rogue in Marvel Studios' upcoming X-Men revival, and now she's even pitching projects of her own: "Everything has changed for me, I'm now in rooms I could never even imagine, I'm pitching my own projects and am hopefully can produce and direct my own stuff."
Last year, they were amazed that their little movie even made it into Midnight Madness. This year, they're back in Toronto watching everything that came from it. If that isn't proof that so much can change in one year, I don't know what is. Oh, and if you also haven't seen the film yet — this is also your sign to watch it IMMEDIATELY.
And please report back here once you have, because I must hear ALL of your thoughts.