2026 is turning out to be a phenomenally good year for horror directors who got their start on YouTube, as Curry Barker’s Obsession joins Kane Parsons’ Backrooms in cheerfully kicking the shit out of more established franchises and filmmakers at the box office. (Both movies have managed to beat The Mandalorian And Grogu with their domestic takes, for instance, while Barker’s film will be running neck-and-neck with Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day to see who comes in second to Toy Story 5 this weekend.) None of which has missed the notice of Barker’s partners at Universal, who have now tossed a reported eight-figure deal at the 26-year-old director for his next film.
To be clear, this deal is in connection to Barker’s third studio film; he already worked with Universal-owned Focus Features to make his second studio movie, Anything But Ghosts, back before Obsession started delivering its “Oh shit, that’s a better than 300-to-1” return on investment. (Barker also previously released a feature-length found footage movie, Milk And Serial, on YouTube in 2024, after struggling to find distribution for the movie; the fevered fan reception to the movie helped secure independent funding for Obsession, with Focus buying in on after the film had a strong opening at TIFF in 2025.)
As with his previous films, Barker will be making the untitled movie in association with Blumhouse, releasing a (slightly vague) statement this weekend in which he praised the horror studio. “This film is something I’ve been excited to make for a while,” Barker noted, “And I’m thrilled to be reteaming with Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Film Group for it. They’ve built the kind of home for bold, original storytelling that every filmmaker dreams of, and I couldn’t imagine better collaborators for this film.” No plot details for the movie are being even vaguely hinted at, beyond it being an “original horror idea” disconnected from Barker’s earlier work. (Meanwhile, he’s also supposedly on the hook to make a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie for A24, although it’s currently unclear how that’s going to fit into Barker’s increasingly busy schedule.)
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