Michael Johnston says Obsession was built to make Bear start as the protagonist and end as the antagonist. The film is now available to watch at home, and Johnston says he would not change a single thing about those choices. For viewers of Obsession, that means the twist is not a surprise add-on; it is the point.
Bear and the $2 million offer
Michael Johnston says Curry Barker turned down $2 million to make Bear a traditional hero. That decision kept Obsession on its original track, instead of smoothing Bear into the kind of lead that gives audiences an easy reset. Barker made his feature debut with the film, so the choice also locked in the creative risk at the start.
Johnston said, "I think that’s just the beauty of independent filmmaking" and added, "Curry, the producers, the team, and all of us were able to do things the way that we wanted to do them… I wouldn’t change a single thing." He was not talking around the movie; he was defending the structure that makes the turn work.
Sweet, innocent, selfish
Johnston described Bear as someone who comes off sweet and innocent, but only because he is selfish and sees only what is best for him. He said Bear does not have the ability to think about how his actions affect other people, and that he cares too much about what people think. That is the mechanism behind the character: the softness is real, but it is not moral.
He put it plainly: "It was always the plan to kind of subvert the audience’s expectations with Bear. It was really fun to play… he starts off as the protagonist and then turns into the antagonist." He also said, "I kind of love that he doesn’t redeem himself" and called that lack of redemption part of what resonated with people. For a movie built around a wish with terrifying consequences, the refusal to hand Bear a clean recovery keeps the ending aligned with the premise.
Bear's red flags
Johnston went further, calling Bear willing to hide the truth and change his story. He said Bear’s biggest red flag is that he is so self-conscious and lacks so much confidence that he tries to do what he thinks would please other people in the moment. That makes the character less like a misunderstood romantic lead and more like someone whose need to be liked keeps warping every choice.
He also imagined Bear’s dating-app bio as a mess: "I feel like his bio would not be very descriptive"; "I think that he would waste the prompts"; "Like, he’d probably try to tell a joke or sound cool." Johnston finished the thought with the bluntest read of the character: "He probably wouldn’t really reveal anything about himself because the truth is, I don’t think he knows who he is."
That is the useful read for viewers of Obsession: if Bear feels readable at first, the film is asking you to mistake insecurity for harmlessness. Johnston’s comments make the twist legible before the final turn, which is the cleanest way to watch it now that the film is available at home.
