July 2026 Movie Reviews: Obsession, Carolina Caroline, Backrooms
This July, we’ll take a look at three independent, low-budget films. Two are horror movies that performed far better than anyone expected at the box office. The third is a romantic crime thriller. All three are worth considering as now streaming titles to watch.
Obsession (2025)
Blumhouse Productions, 109 minutes
There’s a decent chance you’ve already seen Obsession. Strong positive word-of-mouth led to a huge turnout for the film in theaters earlier this year. Despite having a production budget of only $750,000, the movie went on to gross $374 million worldwide. Not too shabby a return for the first theatrical release from filmmaker (and comedy Youtuber) Curry Barker.
So, is the film actually any good? Well, if you’re a horror movie fan, I have positive news for you. Because Obsession is a clearly above-average film in the genre. In my Hokum review last month, I mentioned how that movie told a familiar horror story but was well-crafted with quality acting that made it worth watching. That’s similarly the case here.
Obsession tells a classic be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale. At the start of the film, Bear wishes that his crush, Nikki, will fall in love with him. He soon learns, however, that some wishes come with a high price.
The film is superbly made with outstanding acting, particularly from Inde Navarrette as Nikki. Barker has some real talent as a filmmaker too. He’s great at playing with the audience’s emotions. Obsession has some genuinely funny moments that are quickly followed by disturbing or uncomfortable ones. If you’re looking for a truly horrific tale, Obsession definitely lives up to the hype.
Grade: 8/10
Carolina Caroline (2025)
Magnolia Pictures, 106 minutes
Carolina Caroline is a romantic crime thriller. The film is basically a Bonnie and Clyde-type story in which a couple pulls off different cons, escalating until they’re robbing banks.
At the start of the film, Caroline works at a gas station in rural Texas. One day, she meets Oliver, a con artist who does a quick-change scam on the man working the counter. From there, they begin a relationship with Oliver teaching Caroline the different ways he makes money. It’s a fast-paced and engaging story.
Samara Weaving stars as Caroline and Kyle Gallner plays opposite her as Oliver. Both are actors I enjoy, and they deliver above-average performances here. The two have good chemistry and they help elevate the film into very good territory.
Carolina Caroline isn’t amazing by any means. It’s not the type of film you’ll be thinking about for weeks on end after the credits roll. However, it’s still entertaining, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for this sort of romantic crime film.
Grade: 7.5/10
Backrooms (2026)
A24, 110 minutes
Backrooms is a low-budget horror film that, like Obsession, did phenomenally at the box office. The film made back over 38 times its roughly $10 million production budget. There’s clearly an appetite with audiences for these original horror movies.
The movie is based on creepypasta. Creepypasta is a term for a type of horror story that has been shared on the Internet. Often these stories are built upon by different users to create a sort of lore. The most famous example of creepypasta is probably Slender Man. As it pertains to “Backrooms,” the idea originated on a 4Chan message board in 2019. Backrooms, the movie, takes this idea and adds unique characters.
The idea in question is a creepy one. It’s that there’s a series of impossibly large, weird, extradimensional rooms that can be accessed through a hidden entranceway. In the film, a man named Clark accesses the backrooms through a wall in the basement of his furniture store.
Overall, the movie does a good job showcasing this eerie concept. Still, it feels very much like an off-putting bit of Internet lore adapted to the screen than like a typical three-act feature film. Backrooms is unique, but I don’t think that the movie does anything that really elevates the original bit of Backrooms lore to another level. This is more the type of movie you watch to experience a creepy concept. The characters and additional story added are just okay, but it’s likely worth a viewing since it differs greatly from most horror movies out there.
Grade: 7/10