The Obsession (2006) Daphne Zuniga, Elise Gatien, Sebastian Spence, Jenny Cooper - David Winkler Movie Review

The Obsession (2006)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Elise Gatien and Daphne Zuniga in The Obsession (2006)

The Mucky Swan

Erika Matthews (Elise Gatien) is having a tough time as her parents have got divorced because her mother Deborah (Daphne Zuniga) discovered Erika's dad was having an affair. Adding to her stress is that her favourite dance teacher mysteriously quits just weeks before her big ballet audition and now she has to deal with a new dance teacher Reed Halton (Sebastian Spence). But with Reed getting friendly with Deborah it seems everything will be okay, or will it?

Let me ask you this question, if you were married and found an empty condom packet in your car would that be enough to divorce your partner for infidelity especially as they deny all knowledge of it. Well that is one of the big things we have to accept in "The Obsession" because as we learn when Deborah found an empty condom packet in the family car she accused her husband of cheating and divorced him. It is a big ask to believe this but then there is a lot in "The Obsession" which requires you to accept so much.

Sebastian Spence in The Obsession (2006)

But the thing about "The Obsession" is that it is ordinary, it is a case of creepy guy wanting to be close to Erika and does so by removing obstacles in his way and getting close to her mother first. Why is Reed so delusionally obsessed with Erika, who knows because we certainly don't all we know is that he wheedles his way into her life and turning her into his ex-wife who died in a car accident. If you think I have given a few spoilers away I haven't because there is nothing to give away as it is purely routine right up until the "dramatic" end.

Ironically the obviousness of the storyline isn't really the major problem with "The Obsession" but the way it is delivered. We have weak characters who spout unnatural dialogue which leads to them saying things in a way that normal people don't. It makes it forced and corny but add to that a lack of tension and drama and "The Obsession" becomes a slog.

Adding to the already substantial misery is the music which Erika dances to and because she rehearses over and over again we get to hear it over and over and over again and it grates. All of this makes "The Obsession" painful and dull and not even the casting of the beautiful Daphne Zuniga can make amends for all these issues.

What this all boils down to is that "The Obsession" is a poorly made for TV movie which claims to be a thriller but is not that thrilling. The best thing about the movie is that it stars Daphne Zuniga but even then her character is as bad as all the others.


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