NBCUniversal and A24 have revealed that the prequel limited series CRYSTAL LAKE will premiere on October 15th, exclusively on Peacock. They also promised a trailer but that has not risen from under the cold New Jersey waters just yet. Luckily, we’ve learned an intriguing little tidbit to tide us over for now: Pamela Voorhees’ backstory will include her trying to become a singer who has to change her tune after the birth of Jason.

Panos Cosmatos, the man behind the waking Giallo-inflected nightmares of BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW and MANDY, is finally back behind the camera for a new horror project. According to FANGORIA, Kristen Stewart and recent Oscar-nominee Wagner Moura have been cast in FLESH OF THE GODS as a 1980s couple looking to spice up their marriage, only to end up in a polyamorous vampire cabal. Seems like a good time at the movies to me!

Tomorrow, Curry Baker’s much-hyped theatrical debut, OBSESSION, lands in theaters. It’s the story of a “nice guy” (Bear) trying to find the courage to confess his romantic feelings to his close friend (Nikki), but rather than just spit it out already, he turns to a commercially available magic spell (the “One Wish Willow”) to make her fall in love with him instead. Big mistake. Huge. I got the chance to see an advance screening, and it rips. OBSESSION is another in a long list of horror films and thrillers that use the psychological phenomenon of persistent, preoccupying thoughts about people, careers, and celebrity as a driving force in the narrative. These movies range from the parasocial (think INFLUENCER, CREEP, and CAM) to characters driven over the edge of sanity by the desire to transform into their perfect selves (BLACK SWAN, SAINT MAUD, and LAST NIGHT IN SOHO).

Like most horror films, the sub-genre of obsessions is a dark reflection of real-world issues. We’ve all been “obsessed” with something to the point where it dominates our every thought, whether we’re binging a new series, playing a song we just discovered on repeat, or even spiraling over someone’s perfectly curated life on social media and wondering if it could be within our own reach. It’s when obsessions start to control us that a “fan” becomes fanatical.

The horror movie has been a showcase for romantic obsession since the silent era, with one of the biggest examples being the 1925 adaptation of Gaston Leroux's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The Phantom’s fixation on the singer Christine Daaé becomes a violent compulsion, turning the Paris Opera House and the sewers beneath it into a labyrinth of terror. He is so focused on possessing her and the idea of making beautiful music together that he’s willing to drop chandeliers on anyone who gets in his way.

The Universal Monsters era also gave us the "Mad Scientist," a character obsessed with conquering the laws of nature. Victor Frankenstein’s obsession with overcoming death itself is the quintessential example of intellectual hubris. This infatuation with unchecked scientific power would morph over the years, from Claude Rains in THE INVISIBLE MAN to Lew Ayers trying to keep a millionaire’s unattached noggin alive in DONOVAN’S BRAIN. Alas, none of these brilliant minds ever considers the sage advice of JURASSIC PARK’s Dr. Ian Malcolm, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

It’s the late 1950s and early 60s where we begin to see the psychosexual thriller break through. Certainly Hitchcock’s titanic PSYCHO leaps to mind. Michael Powell’s PEEPING TOM is a groundbreaking film from the same year that offers some of the earliest examples of the next two decades’ slasher trope. Photographer Mark Lewis is so obsessed with capturing the image of beautiful women dying that he builds a hidden knife into his camera’s tripod and uses it to knock off aspiring models around swinging London. The movie caused such a fuss in the UK that Powell had trouble finding film work after, but it’s now risen from cult object to horror classic.

1962’s CAPE FEAR is more of a revenge thriller, but the formula of a fixated individual’s obsession becomes a running theme in Martin Scorsese's films like 1976’s TAXI DRIVER, and 1983’s THE KING OF COMEDY, where media attention becomes an integral part of the plot. 1971’s PLAY MISTY FOR ME is another fantastic example, especially Jessica Walter’s wonderfully unhinged performance as one unlucky DJ’s #1 fan. The Obsessed fandom angle blossoms a decade later with movies like THE SEDUCTION (see above), and 1981’s grimy VISITING HOURS, and the same year’s THE FAN, which also features one of the most bonkers Broadway numbers you’re ever going to witness. Watch below and thank me later.

These early 80s films are merely a warm-up for the bunny-boiling wake of 1987’s FATAL ATTRACTION. Romantic obsession became Hollywood’s fixation, with films like BASIC INSTINCT, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, FEAR, UNFAITHFUL… and that’s before we get to the direct-to-video knock-offs that flooded video store shelves.

In recent years, the obsession genre has delved even further into the darkness particularly with characters who desire to unlock a professional goal, which leads them to make some very bad choices. Think the ballet hysteria of BLACK SWAN, the “if it bleeds it leads” news coverage of NIGHTCRAWLER, and even Jill’s desire to overtake Sydney’s lead character status in the ahead-of-its-time SCREAM 4.

And hey, if you’re jonesing for even more Bad Romance horror picks, may I recommend checking out my Twelve Months of Screaming guide. Get yours and get obsessing over what to watch next.

Just one meme that made us laugh this week…