'Obsession's Telephone Scene, Explained: Where Is Nikki Really?
A man sits in a car and calls up a customer service number. The man seems unnerved, like he’s been through something rough. An agent picks up the phone. The man asks if he can alter a wish that he’s made, to which the agent replies that it isn’t possible. The man on the phone begins to question if what’s happening to him is real, and if “her love” is real. The agent’s reply says it all: “Just because you chose this for her doesn’t make it less real.”
That is how most audiences were exposed to Obsession (2026) back in December when the film’s teaser trailer released online. It was intentionally vague and channeled the cryptic teasers of Weapons (2025), leaving audiences to ask plenty of questions. Now that the film is out and fans finally have the context of the scene, it has only raised even more questions. Who is the man on the phone, and what exactly is happening in the call? Not a whole lot of answers are given, but with some internet sleuthing and good old-fashioned speculating, there are a few things that we can figure out about that eerie phone call in Obsession.
The ‘Obsession’ Phone Call, Explained
In order to understand the phone call and the implications of what’s going on in the larger plot of Obsession, some context is needed. Earlier in the film, a man named Bear buys a toy at a shop called One Wish Willow, which can grant the wish of whoever breaks it. Bear contemplates giving it to his childhood crush, Nikki, but in an act of desperation after botching his opportunity to ask her out, he wishes that Nikki loves him more than anyone else in the world.
Almost instantly, she begins to reciprocate his feelings, but something isn’t quite right. She develops violent mood swings, lies, and, well, becomes obsessed with Bear at the detriment of her own physical and mental well-being. It gets so bad that Bear, now put off by Nikki’s behavior, privately calls the customer service hotline for the One Wish Willow to see if he can change his wish.
From there, the scene plays out almost exactly as in the teaser trailer. Some random guy picks up, offers some pretty unhelpful information, and says a few cryptic things to Bear that make it sound like Bear made a deal with the Devil. This interpretation is later reinforced by the voice on the phone directly talking about Nikki as we hear her scream in agony over the phone. Bear hangs up, terrified, and the call is never mentioned again.
Who Is The Person On The Phone?
Scary phone calls have been a staple of horror movies for years. Whether it be Scream (1996) or Black Christmas (1974), you better believe that a phone call in a horror movie will rattle viewers, but who exactly is on the other side of the phone in Obsession?
Technically speaking, it’s the director, Curry Barker! Barker opened up in an interview shortly after the film’s release that while editing, he did the voice work for the customer service representative and added his own unique flair, making the agent seem like a disinterested teenager working a minimum wage job.
But as to who the person on the phone is within the narrative of the film, that’s a bit open to interpretation. We only hear them twice, once through the phone exchange during the film, and a brief 47-second message if you decide to call the customer service hotline in real life. Some theorize that the representative is a demon, but that doesn’t line up with how the One Wish Willow is presented. The One Wish Willow is not demonic in nature, just magical, so calling the representative a demon fundamentally misrepresents what the One Wish Willow is.
Personally, I ascribe to the belief that he’s the magical entity that gives the One Wish Willows their magical touch, growing more apathetic to the needs of man and how they seem to be continuously regretting their decisions. It would explain how he knows so much, why he’s so ambivalent to Bear’s pleas, and why he actually picks up the phone in the dead of night. Of course, that’s just one interpretation, and Curry Barker has left it intentionally ambiguous. So, until a second film expands on it, feel free to draw your own conclusions as to the representative’s identity.
Why Do We Hear Nikki Screaming On The Phone?
One thing that we know about the customer service agent is that he can’t be just some random guy. After all, how was he able to put a screaming Nikki on the phone? In fact, why do we hear her scream at all?
This ties into a common misconception about the film, one that Curry Barker has gone on the record to explain. Obsession is not a possession film. A supernatural force is not taking Nikki’s soul away, but instead, the One Wish Willow’s magic corrupted a part of it. Her true self is still within her, but it’s unable to break free, and when it does, it’s either when her body is asleep or for brief flashes before being repressed again. Think of it like the Sunken Place from Get Out (2017).
If we’re running with the theory that the representative is the magical being bestowing the One Wish Willows with its power, then channeling Nikki makes some sense. He’s not dangling her soul in front of Bear to taunt him, but rather letting Bear have a peek at what her soul is experiencing. Bear is obviously showing regret for his actions. Why else would he call asking to alter the wish? The agent is just showing him what his selfishness has caused Nikki. She’s a prisoner of her body, and he’s showing Bear the reality that he wants to ignore. Even if that theory is dead wrong, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an effective scare in a film absolutely loaded with disturbing moments.
