Filmmaker Curry Barker credits his horror instincts to comedy’s underlying “darkness,” then points to a path toward franchising after “Obsession” delivered strong critical and commercial results, following his no-budget start with “Milk & Serial.”
When Curry Barker first dipped into horror, it wasn’t with a splashy studio launch. It was with a no-budget YouTube sensation, “Milk & Serial,” and a sketch comedy duo called “That’s a Bad Idea.” The move felt like a leap—until Barker explained why he thinks the crossover makes sense.
“There’s a darkness in comedy,” Barker says. “So you see those [horror] sensibilities there already.” He frames it as something he’s been practicing for years as a comedian: “As a comedian. you’re constantly studying the human condition. you’re constantly studying ‘how can I make fun of humans?’ When you’re always studying the psychology of why people do things. [those skills] lends itself really well to horror.”.
Barker is far from the first comedian to aim for the big screen in horror. His theatrical debut. “Obsession. ” is arriving amid a run of comedy-to-horror pivots that includes Jordan Peele. Zach Cregger. and the Philippou brothers. But what makes Barker’s story resonate is how his earlier work still echoes in the way he talks about craft—especially his surprise at how “Milk & Serial” was received.
“Milk & Serial” landed on Variety’s list of the best horror films of 2024, sitting alongside releases like “The Substance” and “Nosferatu.” Barker didn’t sugarcoat the shock.
“I can’t believe [Milk & Serial] is being compared to movies with huge theatrical releases… There was zero budget for it. it was a hobby project. ” he said. “Not only did it not feel like a real movie to me. it felt like an old movie [Barker sat on the movie for a year]. Posting it online was like a ‘whatever.’”.
That “whatever” energy doesn’t describe “Obsession.” The film has already grown into a critical and commercial success, with reviews that score better than any other horror film of the year. Even so, Barker says its origin was modest: it began as a short film concept he pitched and expanded.
He took “Obsession” to producer James Harris as a feature idea. “I pitched him Obsession, and he liked it enough,” Barker said. “He said write the script and we’ll see.”
Now that the film is in theaters everywhere—“Obsession is in theaters everywhere,” the announcement notes—Barker is already looking forward, not just to future projects, but to the possibility of building a recurring world.
Asked about what’s next, Barker says he’s been tapped to write and direct a “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie for A24. But his bigger franchise instinct may be tied to the film’s mythology: the “One Wish Willow.”
“When we created the One Wish Willow, it was something that I kind of thought ‘wouldn’t it be cool if it became a thing?’” Barker said. “And now, [the One Wish Willow] is almost an IP. … Any wish is kind of selfish… So there’s a lot of stories to explore with that.”
If the pitch is about wishes with consequences, Barker’s follow-through looks like it could include more than one story. The film’s ending—and what it opens up—was part of the conversation on “Seen on the Screen. ” the Universal Entertainment and Fandango podcast series hosted by Jacqueline Coley. Awards Editor at Rotten Tomatoes. In the episode. Barker also talks about “Aaron Sorkin. ” what it was like to shoot at the same music shop as “Wayne’s World. ” and the movie’s ending.
For viewers hoping the monkey’s paw doesn’t stay put, Barker’s answer lands with the same mix of humor and dread that drew him into horror in the first place. One wish, he says, is selfish. Now he’s talking like that selfishness might be the start of something recurring.
Curry Barker Obsession Milk & Serial horror comedy franchising Texas Chainsaw Massacre A24 One Wish Willow Seen on the Screen