Curry Barker's Obsession opened in theaters on May 15, 2026, building on the cult momentum of his debut feature Milk & Serial and generating early buzz for its unsettling take on unchecked desire and the erasure of consent. The film stars a timid music store clerk who uses a magical novelty toy to manufacture love - with consequences that are, by design, deeply disturbing. For viewers who want to watch it outside a cinema, the path to streaming is becoming clearer, and a VPN may be the most practical tool for accessing it regardless of where in the world you are.
Where Obsession Will Stream - and When
Because Obsession is distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures, both of which fall under the NBCUniversal corporate umbrella, the film is expected to land on Peacock once its theatrical window closes. The standard theatrical-to-streaming gap runs roughly two months, which puts Peacock's likely debut for Obsession somewhere around August 2026.
Peacock operates on a tiered subscription structure. The entry-level Select plan ($7.99/month or $79.99/year) is ad-supported and covers new NBC and Bravo seasons but limits access to original programming. The Premium tier ($10.99/month or $109.99/year) unlocks the full originals library, same-day sports coverage, and next-day broadcast episodes. Premium Plus ($16.99/month or $169.99/year) removes most ads, adds offline downloads, and includes a live 24/7 local NBC feed, though live events and certain titles may still carry minor advertising due to rights restrictions.
For viewers who want access before the Peacock window opens, pre-orders are already live on PVOD platforms, currently priced at £17.99 and available for UK customers only at this stage.
Why Region Restrictions Exist - and How a VPN Addresses Them
Streaming platforms don't make content available uniformly worldwide. Licensing agreements are sold on a country-by-country or regional basis, which means a film available on Peacock in the United States may be blocked entirely for a viewer in Germany, Japan, or Brazil - even if that viewer has a valid subscription. Geo-blocking is enforced by detecting the IP address of the connecting device and matching it against a list of permitted territories.
A VPN - Virtual Private Network - routes your internet traffic through a server located in a different country, replacing your visible IP address with one from that server's location. From the streaming platform's perspective, you appear to be browsing from wherever the server is based. Beyond unlocking region-restricted libraries, a VPN encrypts the data passing between your device and the VPN server, shielding your browsing activity from your internet service provider, network administrators, and potential eavesdroppers on unsecured connections. Some providers also help reduce ISP throttling, a practice where internet companies deliberately slow traffic to known streaming services during peak hours.
Not all VPNs perform equally for streaming. The two services best suited to watching Obsession once it reaches Peacock are:
- ExpressVPN - A well-established provider with 3,000+ servers across numerous countries. Its infrastructure is built for consistent high-bandwidth connections, making it a reliable option for HD and 4K playback without buffering interruptions.
- VeePN - A more affordable alternative operating across 2,600+ global servers. It offers stable streaming performance at a lower price point, suitable for viewers who want dependable access without paying premium rates.
Other credible options include NordVPN, known for strong security features and fast connection speeds; Surfshark, which allows unlimited simultaneous device connections; CyberGhost, recognized for its broad server network and reliable performance; and Private Internet Access, which emphasizes privacy-focused configuration. Each has different strengths depending on whether your priority is speed, device flexibility, price, or granular privacy controls.
The Film Itself - Why It Has People Talking
Barker has been careful to frame Obsession not as a straightforward supernatural horror film but as a psychological study of coercion dressed in genre clothes. In interviews, he has described the film's emotional core as the story of a man who would rather possess a hollow facsimile of the woman he wants than earn her genuine affection. The magical element - the "One Wish Willow" toy - strips Nikki of her free will, turning her into something violent, unnatural, and ultimately tragic. But Barker's focus, as he explained to TIME, is Bear's refusal to undo what he's done: "Love should be earned. Anything that's not that probably isn't going to work out."
That moral weight is what distinguishes Obsession from routine horror. The film uses a familiar "be careful what you wish for" structure - a trope with roots stretching back through folklore and cautionary fable - but grounds it in the recognizable dynamics of obsession, entitlement, and the harm done when one person decides their desires outweigh another's autonomy. Barker told DiscussingFilm that leaning into the realism of that dynamic, rather than the mechanics of the magic, was central to the project. The horror, in other words, isn't the curse. It's the man who cast it and chose to keep it.
