Curry Barker Releases $1 Million 'Obsession,' Lands New 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre'
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 14
Curry Barker Releases $1 Million 'Obsession,' Lands New 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre'
4 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 14
$15 million pickup momentum has carried 26-year-old Curry Barker from YouTube shorts to this week's release of horror debut "Obsession" and a directing job on a new "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."
"Obsession," made for under $1 million, premiered at Toronto and holds a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, with Barker saying it is tracking to earn far more despite recent festival-horror box office misses.
An initial NC-17 rating forced cuts to a head-smashing scene before the film secured an R, while its story of a coerced romance has also drawn online discussion labeling it "incel horror."
Barker has already wrapped follow-up thriller "Anything But Ghosts" with Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard, and says he is now quietly rewatching all nine "Texas Chain Saw" films while avoiding fan discourse.
His rise places him among a new wave of Gen Z horror directors emerging from YouTube, as he argues theatrical moviegoing still has staying power and says he is wary of AI in filmmaking.
Can a filmmaker who started with YouTube comedy successfully reboot the legendary 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' franchise for a new generation?
As his 'incel horror' film debuts, what uncomfortable truth about modern desire has its 26-year-old director accidentally exposed?
With studios now hiring YouTubers, is the internet the new film school for Hollywood's next generation of directors?