Entertainment
‘Obsession’ Is A Horror Movie About The Dangers of “Nice Guys”
Modern dating horror has become increasingly fascinated with blurred boundaries, emotional entitlement, and the terrifying realization that intimacy can transform into control quite viciously. Curry Barker’s box office success Obsession weaponizes those fears better than most recent thrillers by understanding something deeply uncomfortable from the beginning: forced love is horrifying before bloodshed ever begins.
The premise sounds simple. Bear (Michael Johnston) uses the supernatural One Willow Wish — he should have just bought the necklace that looked like sunshine — to make his longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. What initially feels like an awkward wish-fulfillment fantasy quickly mutates into something uglier, sadder, and genuinely disturbing as Nikki’s affection spirals into emotional instability and dangerous obsession. Barker executes his vision with restraint, grounding the story in emotional realism and building a tightly constructed psychological thriller around infatuation, consent, and the horrifying selfishness required to force someone into loving you.
‘Obsession’ Uses Horror to Explore Emotional Entitlement
Obsession’s smartest decision is refusing to frame Bear as a harmless romantic who simply made a mistake. The movie understands that forcibly manufacturing someone’s love is inherently horrifying regardless of intention. Bear may justify the wish through loneliness and desperation, but the movie never allows the audience to forget the violation at the center of his decision. That emotional foundation gives the horror real weight because the movie never separates its supernatural premise from recognizable human behavior. What makes Obsession especially effective is that Nikki’s obsession does not emerge in a vacuum. Bear is obsessed with Nikki long before the wish happens, and the movie repeatedly emphasizes that his entitlement creates the nightmare consuming both of them. Even as Nikki’s behavior becomes increasingly horrifying, Bear remains obsessed with preserving the fantasy he has created. The horror becomes increasingly uncomfortable because Bear never truly stops believing he deserves the fantasy he forced into existence.
Nikki’s transformation becomes deeply unsettling because she never feels reduced to a simple horror archetype. Even during her most volatile moments, there is a horrifying sense that something human remains trapped underneath the obsession consuming her. The movie repeatedly emphasizes the disconnect between Nikki’s real self and the emotionally fractured version created by Bear’s wish, turning the central relationship into something profoundly uncomfortable to watch. Several scenes become almost unbearable because the audience understands that the feelings Nikki is acting out on are not her own. That loss of autonomy hangs over every interaction and gives even the quieter moments an underlying sense of dread.
Barker’s visual direction amplifies that discomfort through excellent blocking and visual storytelling. Obsession repeatedly pushes Nikki into the shadows during her worst emotional spirals, visually swallowing as the obsession swallows her from within, creating the sense that she is slowly disappearing beneath the surface of the longing that’s controlling her. The pacing deserves enormous credit here as well. Many modern thrillers confuse slowness with tension, stretching ideas beyond their natural lifespan in the name of atmosphere. Obsession never falls into that trap. The movie consistently moves with confidence while still allowing dread to build naturally underneath every interaction, and not a single scene in Obsession is overstays its welcome, proving that Barker perfectly understands exactly how long to let tension simmer before letting it boil over into something uglier.
The 10 Greatest Psychological Thrillers of the Last 20 Years, Ranked
Mind games never looked so good!
Inde Navarrette Delivers One of the Year’s Best Horror Performances
As strong as Barker’s direction is, Obsession ultimately lives or dies on Nikki, and Navarrette delivers a genuinely phenomenal performance. The role requires an incredibly difficult balance. Nikki needs to feel vulnerable, manipulative, frightening, emotionally believable, unstable, tragic, and deeply human all at once. A lesser performance could have easily collapsed into exaggerated “crazy” acting once the supernatural elements intensified, but Navarrette grounds every emotional shift in something painfully and recognizably human, even when the supernatural has creeped in.
What makes her work especially impressive is the specificity of it. Navarrette clearly understands the emotional reality of the character she is playing. Every breakdown feels distinct: there is a noticeable difference between Nikki’s panic, devastation, desperation, performative vulnerability, and complete emotional collapse. Even the crying changes from scene to scene depending on Nikki’s emotional state, and that differentiation makes her feel unnervingly real even at her most volatile. The manic mood swings are equally effective because they never feel artificial. Nikki can shift from warmth to emotional instability in a flash, yet Navarrette makes every transition feel organic. That unpredictability becomes terrifying precisely because the performance feels emotionally authentic instead of theatrical. Without Navarrette’s performance, Obsession still functions as a sharp psychological thriller. With her performance, the movie becomes emotionally devastating.
Sound Design And Tension Turn ‘Obsession’ Into An Uncomfortable Experience
The movie’s technical craftsmanship is just as impressive as the performances and writing. Barker demonstrates an excellent understanding of tension throughout the movie, particularly through pacing and sound design. The sound design is vital to Obsession, and integrated technically flawlessly. The atmosphere of the movie feels unstable from beginning to end, as though emotional violence could erupt at any moment. The horror never comes from cheap jumpscares because the movie does not need them. Barker understands that anticipation is often far more uncomfortable than sudden shock.
That emotional volatility eventually erupts during Sarah’s (Megan Lawless) death scene, which easily stands as the movie’s most brutal sequence. I rarely have genuine physical reactions to horror movies, but I couldn’t help but gasp when Nikki shattered the car window and began slamming Sarah’s head against a brick held to the steering wheel. The scene is vicious, chaotic, and shockingly ugly, capturing violence with a level of brutality that is deeply upsetting. What makes the sequence even more effective is where Barker placed it within the story — the scene is initially one of the first moments of genuine intimacy and emotional safety in the entire movie, briefly lulling both the audience and the characters into lowering their guard before Nikki violently crashes through it. Because the movie spends so much time building discomfort and instability beforehand, that temporary feeling of relief becomes disorienting, which makes the brutality land even harder. It also works in the sequence’s favor that Obsession shows immense restraint leading up to it and is not dripping with blood and gore from beginning to end. When Barker unleashes that level of violence, it lands with force because he’s waited until the audience both feels comfortable and thinks they understand what the movie has to offer. Like the window, that understanding is shattered.
And because horror and comedy rely on so many similar elements in pacing and delivery, the movie also deserves credit for its humor. There are several moments that earned uncomfortable laughs from my theater because Barker clearly understands how absurd emotional desperation can become when pushed to horrifying extremes. The comedy never undercuts the tension or turns Obsession into a parody, however. Instead, the humor makes the discomfort sharper. Many of the funniest moments are met with the kind of nervous laughter where audiences immediately realize they probably should not be laughing at all.
That emotional discomfort never really disappears, even once the movie ends, because Barker weaponizes the end credits themselves. Instead of allowing the audience emotional distance once the story concludes, the credits roll with the real Nikki (now cured of the wish) scream-crying and sobbing underneath them, forcing the audience to sit with the emotional devastation Obsession has created. It is an incredibly uncomfortable choice that perfectly fits a movie built around obsession refusing to let go.
‘Obsession’ Hints At Something Much Darker Beneath the Surface
The movie’s world-building is also surprisingly effective given how little time Barker spends explicitly explaining it. The One Wish Willow itself carries an immediately unsettling set of rules, particularly the revelation that each person only gets one wish permanently, even if they acquire another One Wish Willow later. There is no cheap undo button present in Obsession. Once the damage is done, the consequences become inescapable, except for in death. Barker smartly avoids over explaining the mythology, which makes details like the mysterious customer service representative (voiced by Barker himself) on the hotline even creepier. The moment where he asks Bear, “Do you want to talk to her?” before forcing him to listen to the real Nikki screaming on the other end of the line is one of the movie’s most genuinely chilling scenes. Obsession never explains who or what that voice actually belongs to, but the ambiguity makes the interaction even more disturbing. Whatever he is meant to be, the movie leaves behind the uncomfortable feeling that something much bigger and uglier exists in the shadows of the story we’re watching.
That lingering sense of something larger and more inescapable lurking underneath the story gives Obsession its final layer of dread. The movie never presents the One Wish Willow as a simple cursed object with clean rules and convenient solutions. Every choice carries permanent consequences, and Barker builds the entirety of Obsession around the horrifying reality that emotional damage cannot be undone once it has been inflicted. Barker transforms that idea into a tightly constructed psychological thriller supported by phenomenal performances, disciplined storytelling, excellent sound design, and an atmosphere of constant emotional suffocation. Obsession never lets audiences forget that Nikki’s obsession may be supernatural, but Bear’s entitlement is painfully human.
- Release Date
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May 15, 2026
- Runtime
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108 minutes
- Director
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Curry Barker
- Writers
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Curry Barker
- Producers
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Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Roman Viaris, Haley Nicole Johnson
- Excellent pacing and moody sound design create a sense of dread.
- Careful restraint leads to an explosive culmination.
- The film hinges on Inde Navarette’s performance, and she doesn’t disappoint.
- The supporting characters are underdeveloped.
Entertainment
Raunchy, Explosive 80s Action Thriller Is The R-Rated Charlie’s Angels You’ve Been Looking For
By Robert Scucci
| Published
As I’ve said in the past, I have a strange relationship with media in the streaming era because I’ll blindly throw on a title that looks intriguing without first digging into its lore and development. While watching 1989’s Savage Beach, my first thought was, “This is a lot like Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987), but if it played more like Charlie’s Angels.” As it turns out, Savage Beach belongs to the same Triple B (Bullets, Bombs, and Babes) film series spearheaded by Andy Sidaris. Other titles in the series, outside of Hard Ticket to Hawaii, include Malibu Express (1985), Picasso Trigger (1988), Day of the Warrior (1996), and even a sequel, Return to Savage Beach (1998)
If there’s one thing you should know before getting into Savage Beach, or any of the other above-mentioned titles, it’s that these movies are campy, cartoonishly violent, and sexually explicit in the most egregious ways possible. Savage Beach basically plays out like any low-budget action movie you’ve ever seen, but it’s led by a strong female cast that’s scantily clad and always ready for a wardrobe change before unloading countless rounds from their machine guns.
Bullets, Bombs, And Babes
When Savage Beach first introduces us to its ballsy heroines, Donna Hamilton (Dona Speir) and Taryn (Hope Marie Carlton), they’re successfully carrying out a drug bust. They find a cache of cocaine hidden inside decoy pineapples, their guns pop off in a blaze of glory, and it’s immediately established that nobody should mess with them. Then they celebrate in a hot tub with their fellow special agents.
When Donna and Taryn are summoned to deliver vaccines and supplies to the Philippines, they jump at the opportunity, but not before loading up their survival pack with enough firearms to handle any sticky situation. Though Donna and Taryn are exceptional pilots, they’re no match for the brutal storm awaiting their aircraft, prompting them to crash land on a deserted island. Before they get the full lay of the land, they immediately decide to go skinny dipping on the beach.
As luck would have it, a group of mercenaries led by Captain Andres (John Aprea) arrives on the same island in search of buried treasure lost during World War II. Captain Andres knows where to look because he has access to the most sophisticated computer and floppy disk technology that 1989 had to offer. Outnumbered by dangerous men willing to kill anybody who gets in their way, it’s up to Donna and Taryn to take out the enemy, fix their plane, and resume their mission.
Shlock And Awe At Its Finest
As insultingly simple as the plot to Savage Beach may be, Dona Speir and Hope Marie Carlton steal every single scene they’re in. The mercenary sequences are necessary to establish some semblance of a story, but it’s really the survival scenes that make this thing work. When a rightfully paranoid Donna, sleeping with a machine gun in her lap, is abruptly woken up by a twig snapping in the distance, she opens fire and accidentally decimates a rooster. She shrugs it off and flippantly suggests they need to find a new alarm clock. In the very next scene, she and Taryn are roasting the bird over a fire and eating it like nothing happened, completely unfazed by the fact that they just pumped an innocent rooster full of lead.
Through a modern lens, Savage Beach can absolutely be seen as exploitative, and it’s easy to understand why. You could call this thing Cleavage: The Movie and nobody would argue that it should have a different title. But it’s also a subversion of its era’s action movie tropes because there isn’t a single damsel in distress to be found. Every woman in Savage Beach is a certified badass, independent to a fault, and ready to dive headfirst into danger because they know they can handle anything thrown at them.
With more one-liners than you could possibly count, Savage Beach is good, not-so-clean fun, and that’s entirely the point. It’s Charlie’s Angels with an R-rating, and it’s not trying to be anything else. If that sounds like your kind of trashy action movie night, you can stream it for free on Tubi as of this writing.
Jenny McCarthy has taken to TikTok to passionately share a frustration she has about rideshares. And apparently, she’s far from the only one who’s ready for this one trend to change.
McCarthy, known for often sharing health and wellness information on social media, is tired of being “Christmas treed” in the back of an Uber or Lyft, and she’s far from alone.
In a recently shared TikTok video, McCarthy talks about this one thing that has her frustrated when she needs to hop into an Uber or Lyft.
“Hey, I’m making a public service announcement, so please feel free to share this video, in fact, please share this video wide, far and wide,” she began her plea. “I would like to get this to the President/CEO of Uber, Lyft, all of them.”
She continued by saying that she saw a podcast do an interview with an “Uber guy that owned it” about being able to request a specific thing when ordering a rideshare ride.
“You know how you can request female driver, you can request all these things, like don’t talk to me too much,” she continued. “Please make a choice to have non-fragrance cars. I think the majority of people will enjoy non fragrance, because those damn Christmas trees.”
‘Literally I Wanted To Die’
McCarthy shared that she was in a rideshare earlier in the day and there were two Christmas tree air fresheners in the car and, “literally I wanted to die.”
“I’m finding myself hanging out of cars when I’m working locations and like, jumping in an Uber and I’m seriously dying,” she continued. “It’s so toxic, if you don’t know that fragrance is so toxic, and those Christmas tree things are horrible for you.”
She then made her ultimate plea for Uber and Lyft drivers to get rid of the air fresheners. She also asked that the “president of Uber, please make that a choice.”
It didn’t take long for viewers to hop into the comment section to share their thoughts on air fresheners taking over rideshares.
“Best dang idea I’ve heard all day!!! I do the same, I hang out the window and still get hives and a headache,” one viewer wrote. Another shared, “Yes! The Vanilla Trees literally make me want to vomit with an instant headache.” One other viewer said, “So agree…especially having asthma it’s hard to breathe. fresh air open windows.”
And that’s far from all the comments. Many others also agreed and shared their thoughts on the topic.
“I’m missing part of my lung & have asthma and I cannot breathe any fragrance, it suffocates me,” one person shared. Another added, “Yes please! Otherwise I’m keeping the windows down. In Boston last year it felt like I got a ride in an Abercrombie store.”
Jenny McCarthy’s Cosmetic Company Has Non-Toxic Products
McCarthy’s cosmetics company, Formless Beauty, boasts that their products are non-toxic, which goes along with her not wanting to be suffocated by toxic air fresheners in cars.
She recently shared a video on TikTok talking about her non-toxic makeup remover.
“Why is this cleanser the bomb? Why is it so good? Why do we have to have it? Most of the times, we wash our face, you guys, we’re always needing like a second thing to, a next second cleanser to take our eye makeup off,” she said. “This does both. It’s such clean ingredients that it doesn’t burn your eyes when you take off your eye makeup.”
She captioned the video with more information about the non-toxic cleanser.
“Seriously the BEST non-toxic eye and face makeup remover. Won’t burn your eyes and melts makeup away,” she wrote, before offering a discount, “Try it with my discount code JENNY10.”
Jenny McCarthy Also Recently Shared A Video About ‘Gut Issues’
In another recently shared video on TikTok, McCarthy shared some information on “chronic health issues.”
“Dr. Christian Bogner and Alex Zaharakis, two parents of special needs children, have been collaborating for several years to connect the dots, generate solutions, and develop strategies to bring improvements to the many suffering from chronic health issues,” she wrote in the caption of her TikTok video. She also shared resources for anyone who needs them — “Contact [email protected]. If autism contact: [email protected].”
In the video, she talks about “leaky gut” and “gut issues” and talked about products that have been helping her.
“I’m only sharing because I want to help people,” she said before talking about the products.
Many viewers took to the comments to say they’ve been dealing with issues and thanked McCarthy for sharing the information.
Netflix has just loaded up a Jack Nicholson classic. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
By Rick Gonzales
| Published
Chinatown is often regarded as the peak of Hollywood’s film noir style and one of the greatest detective stories of all time. It stars Jack Nicholson at the peak of his powers, and it’s a must-see for anyone who likes, well, watching moving images of any type on a screen.
Jack Nicholson had already been around Hollywood for a number of years before he was offered Chinatown, a part that Towne wrote especially with him in mind. With an early career that consisted of appearances on many TV series, it wasn’t until the mid-‘60s that Nicholson began to see more time in feature films. One of his earliest successes came with the 1969 film Easy Rider. He then went on to Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, and The Last Detail before Chinatown came knocking.
Jake Gittes Investigates
Jack Nicholson plays Jake Gittes in Chinatown, a private investigator operating in pre-war Southern California. Hired by a mysterious woman to investigate her husband’s alleged infidelity, Gittes becomes entangled in a web of deception and corruption far beyond what he initially anticipates. As he delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a labyrinth of personal and political scandals that culminate in a shocking revelation.
Chinatown weaves a tale of intrigue and betrayal against the backdrop of a morally ambiguous society. Directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne, the film has left an unforgettable mark on cinematic history with its gripping narrative and stellar performances.
The Best Way To Watch Chinatown
Chinatown is available to stream on some of the usual algorithm-controlled culprits. You should avoid them entirely.
There’s only one right way to watch Chinatown, and that’s on Blu-ray. In 2024, with the format fading and being abandoned by most movie studios, Paramount stepped up and released a50th anniversary Blu-ray and 4K edition of Chinatown.
This version of the movie includes three new featurettes, including A State of Mind, where author Sam Wasson digs into the movie’s long-term influence; Chinatown Memories with producer Hawk Koch reflecting on the production; and The Trilogy That Never Was, which explores the failed plans for a third Jake Gittes movie after The Two Jakes.
The set also carries over the excellent Robert Towne and David Fincher commentary track along with the older Water and Power documentary, which remains one of the best extras ever produced for the film because it explains the real Los Angeles history behind the story. Paramount also bundled in the sequel, The Two Jakes, on its own Blu-ray disc, making the release feel more substantial than the average anniversary edition.
Making Chinatown
Robert Towne’s script, which won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay, is often considered, as well as the movie, as one of the greatest of all time. But the script wasn’t without its controversy. Initially, the script ran 180 pages, and Towne definitely had different ideas about how the movie would end.
Not wanting to give away the ending, we’ll just say that the two (Towne and Polanski) parted ways based on the fact that Polanski saw the ending differently. In fact, Polanski himself rewrote the ending a few days before he shot the final scene.
Chinatown Got A Sequel You Should Avoid
Chinatown was originally set to be a trilogy, following Jack Nicholson’s Gittes through his time as a private investigator. It took 16 years, but Towne and Nicholson did team up for the second part, The Two Jakes, though its lackluster box-office performance shut down the idea of a trilogy.
Entertainment
Emily Blunt details painful bonding moment with Tom Cruise on “Edge of Tomorrow ”set: 'This f—ing sucks'
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The “Devil Wears Prada 2” star said that the pair found themselves getting frustrated while shooting a drop ship sequence for the 2014 sci-fi film.
Watching movies, you’d think that the end of the world is the coolest thing that could happen to planet Earth.
From stylish techno-nightmares like The Matrix to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Mad Max: Fury Road, sci-fi dystopia movies provide a certain kind of anti-escapist fantasy.
And we won’t lie: we’d love to wear leather dusters and fight evil computer programs.
Today, Watch With Us rounds up five of our favorite sci-fi dystopia movies, ranked from best to merely great.
Read on and see if any of your favorite movies made the cut.
5. ‘Wall-E’ (2008)
Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, AKA WALL-E, is the lone trash-collecting robot left on a derelict Earth covered in mountains of trash. Still, WALL-E can find pockets of joy and beauty on the empty planet, while trying to tidy up as best he can. But after collecting garbage alone for 700 years (and not getting any further with it), WALL-E has become lonely — and so he develops an intense affection for a sleek, scanner bot named EVE. The lovesick WALL-E follows EVE all the way into space, where he finds humans residing on a giant spaceship.
WALL-E was an ambitious experiment for Disney and Pixar at the time: a children’s film that features no dialogue for the first 45 minutes. But WALL-E beat the odds and became another classic in Pixar’s roster of hits, a sweet and poignant exploration of the humanity found in dark times. The film does a terrific job of conveying deep emotion not just through a lack of words, but through a lack of expression. Despite its outlook on Earth’s future, WALL-E is unflinchingly optimistic and a rare feel-good dystopian film in the sub-genre.
4. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
In the ravaged wastelands following the collapse of civilization, loner Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) does whatever it takes to survive. When Max is captured by cronies of the tyrannical despot Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), he manages to escape and sneak onto Joe’s armored war rig set out to retrieve more oil and ammunition. But the war rig’s driver, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), has other plans: she’s going to make a daring dash to freedom, with Joe’s enslaved wives in tow. Thus begins a madcap chase across the desert as Max allies with Furiosa to free not just themselves, but all of Joe’s oppressed people.
While Mad Max: Fury Road is actually the fourth installment of a franchise that began all the way back in the ’70s, widespread feeling is that Fury Road is handily the best. The Mad Max movies started with George Miller directing Mel Gibson as Max in 1979, yet Miller seems to have only cultivated even more directorial zeal and spirit in his older age. Fury Road is a nonstop, high-octane thrill ride from start to finish, with practical car stunts that will blow your mind. But it’s not all just meathead action — Theron and Hardy sustain the film’s solid emotional crux.
3. ‘Children of Men’ (2006)
In the far-off year of (gulp) 2027, two decades of human infertility render the world on the brink of collapse. War, depression and oppressive police states plague the planet, and a disillusioned bureaucrat named Theo Faron (Clive Owen) is kidnapped by a militant group led by his estranged ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore). Julian offers Theo money in exchange for the safe passage of a young refugee woman named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey). When Theo discovers that the woman is pregnant, he understands he has to do whatever it takes to secure her safety and that of the human race.
Children of Men is a riveting science fiction drama, a moving portrait of faith in the face of despair and a flat-out exhilarating political thriller. Alfonso Cuarón adapts P. D. James’ novel into a tour de force of visual complexity and technical masterwork (the one-shot car ambush scene is iconic; you’ll know it when you see it). The brilliance of Cuarón’s dystopia is that it’s utterly ordinary, yet totally bereft — and still, it ends on a glimmer of hope.
2. ‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
Threatened by his old boss to go back to work, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) resumes his job as a blade runner, a person who tracks down and “kills” bioengineered humanoids known as replicants. Deckard must hunt for four replicants who have illegally escaped to Earth: Leon (Brion James), Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Pris (Daryl Hannah) and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). The replicants have returned to Earth in search of their creator, longing for their short life spans to be lengthened. In the meantime, Deckard finds himself falling for a beautiful replicant assistant named Rachael (Sean Young).
Blade Runner is one of those movies whose cultural cache is so strong, you’d be forgiven if you had no idea that it was a major flop upon release. Now, it is regarded widely as one of the best science fiction films ever made, resulting in the 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049. The film nimbly fuses neo-noir mystery with sci-fi action, in a world made strikingly rich due to detailed production design, immersive sound and practical sets and miniatures. Blade Runner has influenced countless sci-fi films in its wake, such as Ex Machina, The Matrix and Ghost in the Shell (1995).
1. ‘The Matrix’ (1999)
Ordinary computer programmer Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) moonlights as a hacker named Neo and digs into a mystery surrounding the “Matrix.” His research catches the attention of a hacker named Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), who informs Neo that a mysterious figure named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) can answer all his questions. Neo learns the unfortunate truth — that the world he knows is a simulation, and that AI took over the real world, using artificially conceived humans to power it. Morpheus increasingly believes Neo to be humanity’s messiah, but first Neo has to prove himself, master the Matrix and defeat an evil program known as Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving).
If you’ve never seen The Matrix, one viewing is all it takes to understand why the movie has maintained such a chokehold on pop culture through the years. With an easily accessible narrative, the Wachowskis blend exciting action, a thrilling adventure atmosphere, state-of-the-art special effects and a particularly romantic love story into a film experience that is basically everything you could want out of a well-made blockbuster. The movie probed tech anxieties of the time while burdening us with a lasting question: Do we really live in the Matrix?
Robin Hood is usually remembered through adventure. Sword fights, daring escapes, stolen riches, and heroic speeches tend to define most versions of the iconic character that have been portrayed on screen by names like Cary Elwes (Robin Hood: Men in Tights), Errol Flynn (The Adventures of Robin Hood), Russell Crowe (Robin Hood), and more. The actual reality of living as an outlaw for years would probably look much more brutal than previous takes on the legend.
That harsher perspective is central to The Death of Robin Hood, director Michael Sarnoski’s upcoming reimagining of the legendary figure. As part of Collider’s Summer Preview Event, we’re thrilled to exclusively reveal a new image from the movie featuring Hugh Jackman as the outlaw holding one of his arrows. Rather than focusing on Robin Hood at the height of his legend, the movie reportedly explores the final chapter of his life as he grapples with the violence, trauma, and consequences left behind by years spent surviving outside the law.
A24’s ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ Takes a Much Darker Approach to the Legend
Directed by Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One filmmaker Sarnoski, The Death of Robin Hood stars Jackman alongside Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, and Noah Jupe in a more brutal and grounded interpretation of the classic myth. Recent footage from the movie has already emphasized a darker tone, with Jackman narrating a featurette that strips away the romanticized fantasy surrounding Robin Hood in favor of something much harsher and more historically raw.
That approach already makes The Death of Robin Hood feel very different from most adaptations of the legend. Instead of focusing on peak Robin, the movie picks up after years of violence have already taken their toll, leaving him wounded, isolated, and far removed from the romanticized outlaw audiences usually picture. It also feels like material that plays directly into Sarnoski’s strengths as a filmmaker. Both Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One featured themes of grief and loneliness, with emotionally exhausted characters trying to survive situations that had already broken pieces of them. Jackman also feels like an especially strong fit for that version of Robin Hood, as some of his best dramatic performances over the last decade have centered on men who’ve been worn down by the lives they’ve lived.
The Death of Robin Hood releases in theaters on June 19, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider throughout the week as our Summer Preview Event continues with exclusive looks at some of the biggest upcoming movies of the season.
- Release Date
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June 19, 2026
- Runtime
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123 Minutes
- Director
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Michael Sarnoski
Dispatches from Elsewhere is a series unlike any other, blending sincerity, comedic moments, and themes of uncertainty. The show aired on AMC in 2020 and was canceled after one season. It was quietly released in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and soon afterward disappeared, which is a shame because, underneath all the scavenger hunts, cryptic flyers, performance-art chaos, and talking fish, is one of the most emotionally honest shows Netflix has picked up in years.
According to reports, however, Dispatches from Elsewhere exits Netflix on June 4, which gives viewers a pretty short window to discover a series that feels like somebody turned loneliness, quarter-life panic, and urban mythology into television.
‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ Starts Like a Conspiracy Thriller
Peter (Jason Segel) is stuck in the kind of life that feels less miserable than numb. He works a forgettable job at a music streaming company, drifts through the same routine every day, and looks permanently exhausted in the way people do when they’ve quietly given up on being surprised by life. Then he notices a strange flyer, which leads him to the Jejune Institute, a bizarre organization run by the hypnotically theatrical Octavio Coleman (Richard E. Grant), with the exact energy of a man who may either enlighten you spiritually or rob you blind. Soon, Peter is caught up in an alternate reality game that spans the city and features secret societies, hidden clues, missing artists, and a lady named Clara who may or may not exist.
During this adventure, Peter meets three other players: Simone (Eve Lindley), an artist attempting to escape her feelings of isolation; Fredwynn (André 3000), a conspiracy theorist whose brain is much faster than his social skills; and Janice (Sally Field), a lonely empty nester searching for something new to do in her life. The show follows all the characters as the game begins to bleed into reality, or maybe reality starts bleeding into the game.
The Cast Is What Makes ‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ Work
At times, Dispatches From Elsewhere comes dangerously close to being utterly bizarre. There are parts where it seems as though the creator of this show had an emotional meltdown after spending one weekend watching Pushing Daisies, Twin Peaks, and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. In some instances, it is brilliantly executed, but in other respects, Dispatches is almost too eager to demonstrate its whimsy; the cast keeps everything level, however
Lindley is easily the standout. Simone could’ve become the kind of “mysterious free spirit” character audiences have seen a thousand times before, but Lindley gives her a guardedness that keeps the performance from floating away into cliché. There’s real exhaustion underneath her charm. Meanwhile, André 3000 turns Fredwynn into something unexpectedly sad. He plays him as if he has been analyzing human behavior his whole life without ever actually connecting with anyone. As always, Field effortlessly conveys deep sadness through her performances. Finally, Grant has an uncanny ability to exude warmth and comfort while also giving off an eerily unsettling demeanor.
Jason Segel Made a Mystery Show That’s Really About Loneliness
What separates Dispatches from Elsewhere from many puzzle-box mystery shows is that it eventually stops caring about the puzzle.
There are clues hidden everywhere, secret messages tucked into random conversations, entire sequences built around deciphering nonsense, but the actual point of the series becomes pretty clear halfway through. These are people who feel disconnected from the world around them. Peter feels invisible; Simone keeps people at arm’s length because she’s tired of getting hurt; Janice built her entire identity around taking care of other people and suddenly has no idea who she is anymore; and Fredwynn hides inside theories and patterns because they make more sense to him than human relationships do. The game forces them to find one another.
The show is best watched as a binge; if you only watch one episode per week, it is likely frustratingly abstract, since you don’t have any emotional connection to the character while you’re waiting a week to see them again. By watching the entire series in one sitting, you quickly form an emotional connection to the journey.
Once you complete the series and arrive at the strange and very meta ending, it no longer feels like a sci-fi mystery; rather, it feels much more like a story about creativity, regret, human connection, and the almost desperate need we humans have to believe there is always some magic hidden in the mundane everyday activities of our lives.
Entertainment
Halle Berry bursts into laughter on air after mistaking Jenna Bush Hager's question as NSFW: 'You are naughty'
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Hager’s “Today” cohost Sheinelle Jones was similarly overcome by the confusion.
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Some hosts exited on good terms, while others left amid some form of controversy or conflict.
Taylor Swift‘s wedding day is set to be one for the books, and a major aspect of the upcoming event that has her fans excited is the singer’s wedding gown.
While the pop star is doing everything she can to keep her plans tightly under wraps, fashion experts have weighed in on what her dress could look like.
This comes after it was alleged that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might tie the knot in early July, in New York City.
Swift is arguably one of the most influential celebrities right now, and her impact can be seen in how easily she sets trends due to her clothing and jewelry choices.
Back in August 2025, when her beau Kelce popped the question with a stunning old mine diamond engagement ring, it spurred a whole new trend of rings sporting engraved bands and antique stones.
Now, her wedding gown is likely going to cause a similar effect in the bridal industry, with Kleinfeld’s Bridal Director of Merchandising, Dorothy Silver, revealing what the dress might look like and why it is about to make history.
“Taylor is a megastar. Much like when Selena Gomez or Hailey Bieber got married, I think brides will want to come in and emulate her style,” Silver said in a chat with Page Six, noting that she and her team believe the star plans to go “classic, but still be fashionable” with her wedding gown.
“When she walks down the aisle, it’s going to be something that is an amazing, timeless gown,” Silver added.
The Pop Star Wore A White Wedding Gown In A Music Video That Hints At The Kind Of Look She Would Go For On Her Big Day
Swift is most certainly not new to the game of ball gowns and bridal outfits, as she once donned an elaborate floral wedding dress for one of her music videos, which had a red version also worn in the video.
Regarding this, Klienfeld bridal stylist, Morgan McCullough, told the news outlet, “I always think back to her ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ music video where she wore one of our Kleinfeld designers, Nicole + Felicia.”
She continued, “They made two dresses with a cascading floral design: a white wedding gown and a version in red.”
According to McCullough, the dresses in the music video are a huge indicator of what route Swift might take on her wedding day.
“I think about that dress a lot for Taylor in her bridal era — something soft and whimsical, feminine, but very classic as well. I really think that’s what she’ll do,” she noted.
Taylor Swift Would Likely Skip Obvious ‘Easter Eggs’ When It Comes To Her Wedding Gown
Throughout Swift’s career, she has made her fans feel very engaged in her creative process by dropping Easter eggs about her songs, videos, and upcoming projects.
However, during an appearance on her fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast, the singer made it clear that she never sets an Easter egg that links back to her personal life, as that’s off-limits, stressing that they are created for “professional projects” only.
According to McCullough, this would likely apply to Swift’s wedding dress: “That’s something that I actually really love about her — there is professional Taylor, the performer, and then there’s Taylor, the person.”
“I think there may be something sentimental that only she and Travis know about, something that we may see but never really know what it means,” the bridal stylist added. “Maybe it could be something passed down from her family, such as a piece from her mom or grandmother’s veil, or an item like that which can be sewn inside her dress. Or special initials embroidered inside her gown.”
The Singer’s Wedding Gown Will Be As Romantic As Her Love Songs, Expert Claims
According to experts, a major theme to expect to see featured in Swift’s wedding dress is love and romance.
McCullough notes that since the pop star began her music career, she has made sure to include themes of love in most of her songs, so it’s no surprise that the tradition will continue into the special gown she decides to wear for her walk down the aisle to say “I do.”
“Since Taylor started making music, she has always included themes about love,” the expert noted, adding, “for her to finally have this beautiful moment is something that’s massive for her, and I’m sure it’s something that she has had planned out since she was a child.”
Taylor Swift Might Not Have ‘Too Many Outfit Changes’ On During Her Nuptials
A recent trend among brides, especially famous ones, is to wear multiple designer gowns on their wedding day, which they switch into at different moments.
Examples include Jennifer Lopez and Swift’s close pal, Selena Gomez, who are said to have commissioned three dresses from Ralph Lauren for the wedding ceremony.
However, while Swift may also join the trend and have multiple gowns, bridal stylist McCullough noted that the singer would most likely keep it simple at her nuptials.
“The Eras Tour showed us that Taylor is the master of quick changes. She’s got it down to a science,” the expert told Page Six.
She added, “However, she’s also the type of person that seems she would want to be very present at her wedding, so she may not have too many outfit changes.”
While there has been no official date announced yet, reports claim Swift and Kelce will tie the knot in New York City on July 3, surrounded by their friends and family.
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