Highly Anticipated 2026 Horror Movie Almost Got an NC-17 Rating, Here’s What Had to Be Removed

Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ Trimmed After NC-17 Rating From the MPA

The best horror film I saw at last year’s fall fests was “Obsession,” Curry Barker’s feature debut, which premiered at TIFF’s Midnight Madness on a Friday night. No surprise—it sparked a bidding war. Focus Features ended up nabbing the film in a deal said to be around $15M.“Obsession” has been getting strong reviews from critics and is set for a theatrical release this summer, but sadly it won’t be the same version I saw last year.According to D…

Highly Anticipated 2026 Horror Movie Almost Got an NC-17 Rating, Here’s What Had to Be Removed

Photo Credit: Focus Features An upcoming 2026 horror movie nearly received an NC-17 rating. Obsession is a new horror movie that is being released in United States theaters later this spring by Focus Features. Written, edited, and directed by Curry Barker, the movie stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter. “After breaking the mysterious ‘One Wish Willow’ to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless roma…

‘Obsession’ Had to Cut “6 or 7” Gory Head Smashes to Avoid NC-17 Rating

Following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and subsequent acquisition by Focus Features, Obsession had to cut down one of its most shocking scenes in order to avoid a dreaded NC-17 rating. “There was about six or seven more smashes,” writer-director Curry Barker told the SXSW audience (via Deadline) over the weekend. “And we were getting an NC-17 rating. And so they were like, ‘You’ve got to take out some of the smashes.’ …

'Obsession' Director Curry Barker Trimmed Graphic Head Smashes to Avoid NC-17

Obsession director Curry Barker says he cut “six or seven” head smashes from one gory scene to avoid an NC-17 rating. After premiering at TIFF, Curry Barker’s buzzy horror Obsession arrived at SXSW with a slight edit… trimming several head smashes from what’s likely the film’s most brutal scene and biggest jump scare. In Toronto, where Obsession screened at the Midnight section, “there was about six or seven more smashes,” he revealed during the…