Curry Barker: From YouTube Filmmaker to Hollywood Horror Director with 'Obsession' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Reboot

Curry Barker’s childhood wish came true on Friday, October 11, when his horror film Obsession premiered in theaters across the U.S. The 26-year-old filmmaker wrote, directed, and edited the movie, which follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a young man whose desperate wish for his best friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to love him “more than anyone in the whole f—king world” spirals into disaster.

“(Being here is) insane. It’s life-changing.”

Barker shared this sentiment with TheWrap at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. His rapid ascent didn’t end with Obsession. Before the theatrical release, distributor Focus Features acquired his next feature, Anything but Ghosts, and A24 tapped Barker to reboot the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise—an opportunity he called a “dream come true.”

Barker’s journey began not with a wish, but with a camera. After moving from Alabama to Los Angeles at 18 to attend film school, he and his creative partner Cooper Tomlinson—who stars in Obsession as Bear’s friend Ian—began uploading sketch comedy and short films to YouTube under the duo name That’s a Bad Idea. Their online following became the foundation for Hollywood success.

“I moved out here when I was 18 and started making stuff right away,” Barker told TheWrap. “It’s even shocking when I look back at it myself. We started making Roommates, like, that week. It’s really crazy looking back at how quickly we got started.”

Tomlinson echoed Barker’s excitement at the premiere. “This is something we’ve always wanted,” he said. “That’s how we gravitated towards each other the first day we met. We knew we wanted to make movies and television. Now we’re here. It’s just insane.”

Barker’s early career included starring in many of his own shorts and sketches, but when developing Obsession, he chose not to play Bear himself. He cited the influence of filmmakers like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, and Zach Cregger as reasons for stepping behind the camera instead.

Obsession isn’t the only recent example of online creators transitioning to Hollywood. In recent months, YouTube critic Chris Stuckmann made his directorial debut with Shelby Oaks, while Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) saw box office success with Iron Lung. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kane Parsons is set to release a feature-length adaptation of his Backrooms web series as A24’s youngest director yet.