Where Curry Barker’s Obsession Was Filmed: Inside the Chilling Real-World Locations

Here is the part that sticks with me about Obsession: the movie gets under your skin not just with ghosts and dread, but by making everyday SoCal hangouts feel like a trap. It had a buzzy festival run, rolled into U.S. theaters recently, and has been punching way above its weight at the global box office. And the creepiest twist? You might have driven past half these locations on your way to pick up dinner.

From small-town nightmare to suburban squeeze

Director Curry Barker first wrote Obsession for a tiny, isolated southern town. Real life (read: money and logistics) nudged the micro-budget production in a different direction, so the whole feature was shot around Southern California instead. According to The Credits, Barker and his team leaned into familiar pockets of Burbank and the San Fernando Valley, then shot them to feel tight, gritty, and suffocating — a neat trick for places that are usually buzzing with traffic and late-night pizza.

'When I wrote it, it took place in a very small town, and if I had my way completely, we would have shot it in my hometown in Alabama,' Barker said.

That pivot turns into the film ’s secret weapon: classic horror vibes hidden in neighborhoods you pass every day. Audiences are showing up for the supernatural hook, but the sense that this could be your block is what lingers.

Where they actually filmed the scares

• The music store: Cassells Music in San Fernando, a legit historic spot, doubles as the in-movie instrument shop.
• Date night: Little Toni's in Burbank — the cozy pizza joint where Bear and Nikki share a quiet moment before things go sideways.
• Trivia bar: The Roguelike Tavern, sitting on a strip right next to the famous Bob's Big Boy, hosts the quiz-night sequence.

None of this was the original plan, which is exactly why it works. Turning busy LA suburbs into an isolating maze is a flex, and it gives Obsession an uneasy realism that sticks with you after the jump scares fade.