Obsession is being put forward for Golden Globes' Best Musical or Comedy — yes, really

If you've been paying even the slightest attention to the box office this year, you've heard of Obsession. It's the one everyone's yammering about — Curry Barker's film has absolutely cleaned up, crossing the $500 million mark worldwide and getting glowing reviews across the board. The hype around Inde Navarette now borders on feverish. So, naturally, Focus Features are going all out for awards season. But here's where it gets entertaining: Obsession is being pushed for Golden Globes glory, but not where you'd expect. Nope, not Drama.

Obsession is up for the Golden Globe in the Musical or Comedy category, not Drama.

Comedy or what now?

Right, so you might have come out of Obsession thinking, “That was intense. That was mad. That was — no, hang on, was that a comedy?” You wouldn't be alone. Most would call it a straight-up horror, albeit one with more than a few deliciously dark laughs. It is absolutely not a musical, unless I somehow blacked out during a spontaneous tap number.

But here's the thing: this is hardly the first time awards campaigns have played fast and loose with genre. Insiders are pointing out a whole raft of precedent for this sort of category gymnastics — Get Out, The Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of Sadness, Poor Things, The Substance, Bugonia — every one of them nominated for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), a handful even winning the thing. The likes of The Martian (still a baffling choice for anyone who remembers it) have strolled off with the trophy in the past. Sometimes it's seen as a clever dodge to avoid bumping up against stiffer competition in the Drama category. The trade rumours are already swirling: will this give Navarette a smoother ride to a Best Actress nod?

A twisted treat

For those who missed it at SXSW, our own Chris Bumbray was an early convert. He raved about Barker's direction and the film's ability to waltz from black comedy to outright horror within seconds. Bumbray reckons it's the old ‘so brutal you have to laugh’ gag — and then you realise you're halfway through a genuinely heart-wrenching horror tragedy. Gore and gallows humour in perfect, deranged balance. His review digs deeper for those who fancy a read.

Next up for Barker

Barker, meanwhile, is wasting precisely no time. His next film, Anything But Ghosts, is already wrapped and raring to go. It hits cinemas on 7 May 2027. The project finds Barker both behind and in front of the camera again — directing, co-writing (with regular writing mate Cooper Tomlinson) and starring. The pitch? Two hopelessly out-of-their-depth ‘ghosthunters’ blundering into very real, very dangerous territory as chaos erupts. So, keeping his streak of genre mayhem firmly alive.