HORROR-THON 2026 • NO EXIT
9/10
DIRECTOR: Curry Barker
STARRING: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson
RELEASED: 2026
RUNTIME: 1 hr 29 min
WATCH ON: Peacock, Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango at Home
SCARE LEVEL: High
MAKING WISHES ABOUT YOUR COWORKERS: HR would like a word.
A shy guy buys a little toy at a crystal shop. It’s called a One Wish Willow, and you break it to make a wish. He wishes that his coworker would love him more than anyone else in the world. She does. That’s the problem.
Bear is sweet, quiet, and painfully in love with Nikki, a coworker who barely notices him. After he breaks the Willow and makes his wish, Nikki suddenly can’t get enough of him.
At first, it’s flattering. Then she’s always there, always calling and always watching. Bear starts to realize that someone loving you more than anyone else is not the same thing as someone loving you.
MY HUMBLE OPINION
Curry Barker made his name on YouTube, and he made this for about $750,000. It made almost $500 million worldwide. Hope for all of us, really.
Inde Navarrette as Nikki is the reason to watch. She takes “devoted girlfriend” and slowly turns it into something you can’t look away from, smile first.
One behind-the-scenes detail I really loved once I saw it: before the wish, Barker had her shoot the scenes two ways. In one, Nikki is into Bear, and in the other, she couldn’t care less. Then he cut them both into the movie. We’re stuck in Bear’s head, so we never know which Nikki is real, and neither does he. If you have seen American Psycho, it’s similar to Willem Dafoe’s detective, and it works just as well here.
Like many other modern movies, it can be slow at times. The first half takes its time, and I can see why a lot of people checked out before it started getting good. Bear just isn’t easy to root for either. Whether that’s the point or just bad writing depends on how much patience you brought with you.
And the car scene..well, you’ll know when you see it.
A FUN FACT FOR YOUR NEXT DINNER PARTY:
Curry Barker minimized cuts and omitted shots except those where the character looks; the film is entirely from Bear’s perspective.