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Welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything<\/strong><\/a>, a weekly guide to all the new movies out each Friday, and where to find them. This week\u2019s buzziest release is Obsession, <\/em>a twisted dark horror-comedy that\u2019s the mainstream debut of YouTuber and sketch comedian Curry Barker. (Alas, Guy Ritchie\u2019s latest, In the Grey,<\/em><\/a> starring Jake Gyllenhaal, wasn\u2019t screened for press ahead of its May 15 release.)<\/p>\n If you\u2019d rather have a movie night at home, you can rent or buy Project Hail Mary, <\/em>the Ryan Gosling-starring sci-fi epic and one of the biggest box office hits of the year. Or, check out the not-quite-a-remake of Faces of Death.<\/em><\/p>\n And on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, there\u2019s a wonderful and very personal documentary about Martin Short on Netflix.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into it!<\/p>\n Why you should maybe see it: <\/strong>Ever since Jordan Peele broke the glass ceiling and then rolled around bloody in the shards, other sketch comedians have begun making their way to the horror genre, most notably The Whitest Kids U\u2019 Know\u2019s Zach Cregger, the man responsible for Barbarian <\/em>and the Academy Award-winning Weapons. <\/em><\/p>\n Then came the YouTubers, like Markiplier, whose self-distributed Iron Lung <\/em>immediately changed pretty much everything we know about how box-office hits work, and YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann, whose crowdfunded Shelby Oaks <\/em>was bought and distributed by Neon.<\/p>\n Enter Curry Barker, a hybrid sketch comedian and YouTuber who gained notoriety after self-distributing a found-footage horror film on YouTube called Milk & Serial.<\/em> His debut feature film,\u00a0Obsession,\u00a0<\/em>is out in wide release and set to gross many millions of dollars this weekend on a scant production budget.<\/p>\n Obsession <\/em>is a pitch-black horror-comedy that takes a Tales from the Crypt <\/em>or The Twilight Zone-<\/em>sized \u201cbe careful what you wish for\u201d monkey\u2019s paw tale and brutally stretches it to feature length. In the film, Bear (Michael Johnston) is firmly in the friend zone with a girl he\u2019s madly in love with, Nikki (Inde Navarrette in a fantastic, star-making debut performance), and can\u2019t bring himself to let his feelings known, no matter how hard he tries. In frustration after almost telling her, he breaks a \u201cOne Wish Willow,\u201d and wishes for her to love him \u201cmore than anything in the world.\u201d He gets exactly what he asks for, and soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.<\/p>\n The extremely dark comedy comes from the fact that, as it becomes clearer and clearer that something is wrong with Nikki, at every turn, \u201cnice guy\u201d Bear ignores obvious warning signs and is happy to have his way, no matter what the real Nikki wants, which surely is not this. He\u2019s happy to go on having sex with and building a life with this woman who, before the wish was made, we\u2019re told was completely uninterested in him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a movie that takes aim at a certain breed of selfish man who couldn\u2019t care less about a woman\u2019s personhood and agency as long as he gets what he wants, pushing that idea to extremes over and over again. She duct-tapes his door shut so he can\u2019t leave, and he just pries it open as if it\u2019s no big deal. By the time she gets rather \u2026 let\u2019s say jealous, when he\u2019s in a car with another woman, he may have finally learned his macabre lesson.<\/p>\n The film is at its best whenever Navarrette is onscreen. Her transcendent performance from the sweet and kind girl next door to the demonically obsessive, jealous, co-dependent-to-a-fault girlfriend is chilling and unsettling, and she really nails the assignment.<\/p>\n The most upsetting aspect of Obsession <\/em>is an element that is relegated mostly to the background: how Barker makes clear that something else has taken control of Nikki and implies that the real Nikki is stuck in some Get Out-<\/em>like sunken place. The bits that really get under your skin are when the real Nikki breaks through for a fleeting moment, only to go back to her wish-fulfillment mode, and I wish the film dove deeper into those terrifying details rather than gory provocations and uncomfortable laughs. That said, those scenes are appropriately messed up, and the jokes are pretty funny.<\/p>\n Obsession <\/em>may become a little repetitive by the end of its nearly 2-hour runtime, but it\u2019s still a worthy horror debut that plays like an announcement of multiple talents to watch despite some pacing issues. At 26, Barker has already lined up several high-profile projects, including a remake of The<\/em> Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em>! Expect to see newly anointed scream queen Navarrette dominating the genre for years to come, too.<\/p>\n What other critics are saying: <\/strong>It\u2019s easily netting the best reviews for a horror movie in quite some time. The AV Club\u2019s Monica Castillo<\/a> writes, \u201cWith a simple premise and one unassuming wish, Barker immerses his audience in a dark scenario that only escalates in tension and carnage. It\u2019s the kind of horror movie that makes a viewer uneasy almost from the start and doesn\u2019t let up.\u201d William Bibbiani at TheWrap<\/a> declares, \u201cBarker understands, if nothing else, that everything he\u2019s doing is wrong and people need to suffer for trying to enjoy it. And if that includes the audience, well \u2026 it\u2019s no wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> Obsession <\/em>is now playing in theaters nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get tickets<\/a><\/p>\n Why you should see it:\u00a0<\/strong>Top Gun\u00a0<\/em>is celebrating its 40-year anniversary with a re-release of both the original film and its more recent blockbuster sequel,\u00a0Top Gun: Maverick,\u00a0<\/em>in theaters nationwide this weekend and booked through the end of the week.<\/p>\n I feel that I don\u2019t really need to sell anybody on watching Tom Cruise fly around in actual military jets on the biggest screen possible, with the most state-of-the-art sound system roaring around you.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine movies that are more perfectly constructed to be viewed on the largest screens possible. Some theaters are showing both films in IMAX, so check your local listings!<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick <\/em>are now playing in theaters nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get tickets<\/a><\/p>\n Why you should see it: <\/strong>Ryan Gosling and his ample reserve of charming movie-star energy help power the extremely familiar Project Hail Mary <\/em>to recommendable status, despite some elements that occasionally get in the way.<\/p>\n Science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction. But an unexpected friendship may mean he doesn’t have to do it alone.<\/p>\n If it sounds like you’ve seen this all before, though, that’s because Project Hail Mary <\/em>is essentially a mash-up of several popular works of science fiction, including the decade-old Matt Damon flick The Martian, <\/em>which was based on a book written by Andy Weir, the same guy who wrote the bestseller on which Project Hail Mary <\/em>is based.<\/p>\n Gosling does commendable work throughout, carrying the movie on his back so thoroughly that I hope he checked in with a chiropractor after filming. It’s essentially a one-man show, and he does an excellent job of guiding the audience through it all. By the time a spider-like rock creature is introduced, he plays off his scene-partner puppet with gusto. Sandra H\u00fcller of Anatomy of a Fall<\/em> fame is also great in her scenes on Earth as the no-nonsense head of the expedition.<\/p>\n The movie pays lip service to classic sci-fi films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind <\/em>while simultaneously stealing the plot of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Interstellar. <\/em>It ultimately morphs into an E.T.-<\/em>style story about a human befriending an alien creature and discovering we’re not all that different. There’s also a spacewalk scene that reminded me of Gravity. <\/em>No, you’re not crazy to reference Armageddon <\/em>or even Cast Away!<\/em><\/p>\n In addition to its plot similarities to The Martian<\/em>, Project Hail Mary <\/em>also emulates that film\u2019s Obama-era hopecore ideal that if all the smartest people in the world put aside their differences and work together, nothing is impossible. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Arrival, <\/em>too. Also, am I the only person who remembers that bad Netflix movie, Spaceman,<\/em> starring Adam Sandler, from a few years ago? How did we end up with two movies about a guy talking to a spider-like creature in outer space?! That movie must’ve ripped off this book!<\/p>\n Anyway, as the movie goes on and on (and on and on, it ends about 15 times), it’s as if you’re watching the filmmakers attempt to convince themselves as well as the audience that the movie is an Important Work of sci-fi grandeur on the level of classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, <\/em>which it’s somehow longer than.<\/p>\n Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have good reason to want to prove themselves \u2014 they became in-demand after the popularity of their 21 Jump Street <\/em>reboot and The Lego Movie<\/em>, but were famously fired mid-movie while making Disney’s Han Solo Star Wars <\/em>spin-off before beloved director Ron Howard took over.<\/p>\n And on a technical level, the movie looks great; I was especially taken with the alien creature’s ship. It’s the storytelling that falters. The movie aims to please so much that it undercuts any potential drama; it’s preordained that everything will work out fine. It’s so desperate to entertain that it constantly undercuts tension with jokes, which gets irritating even if Gosling is good at selling it.<\/p>\n Part of the problem here is the flashback structure, which kills momentum by doubling back to fill us in on the story, which isn’t all that compelling because we’ve all seen the movies it’s ripping off. It is also a reminder of the incongruity between Gosling’s character as presented in space and as portrayed on Earth, where he’s a meek science teacher.<\/p>\n Despite the movie constantly joking about his lack of space captain abilities, he’s able to fly the ship when the movie needs him to, and there’s little point in spending so much time with his character refusing the mission. I’ve seen the future \u2014 he’s already there!<\/p>\n In short, Project Hail Mary <\/em>mostly delivers as an IMAX-sized spectacle, anchored by Gosling’s terrific work despite the movie’s increasingly derivative nature and protracted finale. And now, you can find out how it plays at home on your television!<\/p>\n What other critics are saying: <\/strong>It’s well-reviewed, which is partially why I felt I had to level-set expectations. There’s something so tryhard about it to me! David Fear at Rolling Stone<\/a> writes, “Gosling can actually sell us on an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances while still beguiling us with old-school snap, crackle, and pop.” Mashable’s Kristy Puchko<\/a> writes, “Imagine The Martian<\/em> meets Half Nelson <\/em>meets E.T.<\/em>, and you’ll get some idea of the mirthful mash-up that is Project Hail Mary.<\/em>“<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> Project Hail Mary <\/em>is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV<\/a>, Prime Video<\/a> and other VOD platforms.<\/p>\n Rent or buy<\/a><\/p>\n Why you should see it: <\/strong>This cleverly conceived update of the infamous 1978 mondo horror film, which became a video store backroom staple and, as a character in this film describes, “the first viral video, before the internet invented them,” is far better than any movie bearing the Faces of Death <\/em>title thus far. It’s a genuinely insightful, dark satire about the nightmare that is our online existence and how desensitized to violence we’ve all become as a result of our algorithm-ruled lives.<\/p>\n In the film from Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei \u2014 who are behind the 2018 Netflix film Cam, <\/em>another smart movie about the internet, as well as the more recent How to Blow Up a Pipeline \u2014 <\/em>a content moderator (Barbie Ferreira<\/a>) stumbles upon a series of violent videos that appear to reenact death scenes from the 1978 film Faces of Death.<\/em> In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fake or unfolding in real time.<\/p>\n Faces of Death <\/em>brilliantly incorporates the original film into its text, using the IP as a jumping-off point to craft a suspenseful and upsetting modern slasher movie, leaning into its exploitation origins just enough to satisfy genre fans while also delivering thoughtful commentary on how social media and the “everything is content” era have changed our relationship to horrific imagery.<\/p>\n It’s common nowadays to see actual footage of human suffering and death as you scroll on the app where you watch makeup tutorials and “get ready with me” videos. The movie’s crass juxtaposition of these images isn’t their invention; it’s literally what it’s like to scroll social media, now with the added layer of “is this fake\/AI or real,” which the movie also delves into, despite being filmed in 2023, before the current discourse. It’s prophetic!<\/p>\n The film not-so-subtly suggests that the killer (Dacre Montgomery, who is chilling and totally committed in this role) and the tech companies that enable the spread of gruesome viral content operate under the same principles. There’s a great scene in which the protagonist blocks actually helpful content, such as a Narcan instructional video (flagged for “drug use”) and a video of a woman showing how to put a condom on (flagged for its sexual nature), vs. the footage of actual murders, because the algorithm loves stuff that people can’t resist digitally rubbernecking. “Give the people what they want,” says the boss man at the tech company that hosts the videos, a line also spoken by the film’s killer.<\/p>\n I also appreciated the several ways in which the film provokes and confronts its audience; younger viewers may, unfortunately, relate to the dopamine hit the killer gets as likes and comments pour in on his latest post. It’s quite scary in its depiction of how easily someone with bad intentions can use the internet to their advantage, as in the scene where the killer adds a tracking link to a URL and quickly baits the protagonist.<\/p>\n By the time we get a creepy third-act monologue from the killer explaining his motivations, it hit me that Faces of Death <\/em>is essentially doing Scream <\/em>better than the last few Wes Craven-less sequels. It also uses the film’s legacy \u2014 specifically, the “is it real or is it fake?” aspect \u2014 to great effect.<\/p>\n Faces of Death <\/em>may be more traditional than you’d expect, solely based on its title, but it’s also far more cogent and relevant than you’d ever expect from a movie in this series. It\u2019s not a remake but rather a contemporary horror film that engages with the original and feels like it\u2019s in active conversation with it. Thankfully, this meta approach pays off big.<\/p>\n Whatever you consider it to be, there’s a roadmap here for filmmakers looking to update memorable works without resorting to the usual tropes and nostalgia. Let’s hope they follow it!<\/p>\n What other critics are saying: <\/strong>It’s getting great marks! Amy Nicholson at the Los Angeles Times<\/a> writes, “The most terrifying element in a web-based thriller isn\u2019t the people onscreen. It\u2019s the desensitized, anonymous messages in the chat box devouring the carnage.” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich<\/a> says, “It\u2019s to the credit of Goldhaber\u2019s film that Faces of Death<\/em> is able to satisfy on a basic, audience-forward level even as its concept has clear priority over the more visceral expectations of its genre.”<\/p>\n How to watch:<\/strong> Faces of Death <\/em>is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV<\/a>, Prime Video<\/a> and other VOD platforms.<\/p>\n Rent or buy<\/a><\/p>\n\ud83c\udfa5 What to watch in theaters<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The biggest release:<\/span> Obsession<\/em><\/h3>\n
Another great option: Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick <\/em><\/h3>\n
\ud83d\udcb8 Movies newly available to rent or buy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The biggest release:<\/span> Project Hail Mary<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Another option: Faces of Death<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
But that’s not all …<\/strong><\/h3>\n