Obsession Quietly Repeats 1 Of Stephen King’s Greatest Horror Stories

Obsession has been one of the most distinct and compelling additions to the horror genre in recent years. However, a closer look at its take on the "careful what you wish for" trope reveals how it is quite similar to Stephen King's Pet Sematary. In both Obsession and Pet Sematary, the inner workings and rules of the central "wish" are quite different.

However, in both the main characters' cats end up dead, triggering a chain reaction of events that leads them to making their first wish. Both characters initially underestimate the consequences of their wishes, and, in fact, seem glad they made them. Soon, though, things gradually escalate into chaos as the true evil nature of their wishes begins to surface.

In both Obsession and the Stephen King book, it is not the mere act of "wishing" that is inherently bad. It only takes a twisted turn when the characters attempt to go against the natural order of the world. While Louis Creed revives his dead son, Bear strips Nikki's free will and then expects her to act "normal" despite turning her into something completely inhuman.

Interestingly, Curry Barker revealed (via Variety), that the core idea for Obsession first came to him when he watched The Simpsons' Monkey's Paw episode. W.W. Jacobs' short story, The Monkey's Paw, also inspired Stephen King's Pet Sematary, explaining why it shares so many parallels with the Curry Barker movie.

Despite Their Similarities, A Pet Sematary Scenario Can Never Happen In Obsession

The Curry Barker movie does not explicitly walk through the rules of the "One Wish Willow." It only reveals that one person can only make one single wish. In the scene where Bear calls the helpline number on the One Wish Willow's box, it is also established that one cannot alter or cancel a wish. However, the official website for the One Wish Willow mentions a clear set of rules and limitations.

According to the official rules, there are four kinds of wishes that will not be granted:

1. Resurrection
2. Immortality
3. Time Manipulation
4. Creation of more One Wish Willows

The titular burial ground in Stephen King's Pet Sematary grants one's wish of reviving the dead. Since resurrection goes against the One Wish Willow's rules in Obsession, it cannot directly bring someone back to life. There could be intriguing workarounds to this though. For instance, a grieving character could ask for a clone of their deceased loved one, which would potentially lead to terrifying consequences.

Obsession Would've Been A Different Movie If The "One Wish Willow" Could Revive The Dead

If the One Wish Willow could revive the dead, Bear might have asked for his cat's resurrection, which could have completely changed the direction of the story. His cat's demise and his grief towards it was one of the biggest triggers that prompted him to misuse the One Wish Willow. Later on in the story, even characters like Sarah would have had a chance of returning after being dead.

Of course, to bring Sarah back, Bear would have to drop his own selfish desires and even convince someone to make the wish for him. Since Sarah is dead, though, it is worth questioning whether her revived version would even be the same person or more like Gage from Pet Sematary.

These developments, for obvious reasons, would have led to even more chaos. However, it would be interesting to see Obsession unfold its own version of Stephen King's Pet Sematary or W.W. Jacob's Monkey's Paw.

After Obsession's box office success, it seems like the movie is only the inception of a full-fledged horror franchise. Future potential installments could dive deeper into the consequences of playing god and defying the rules of life and death.