{"id":590106,"date":"2026-05-18T06:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T06:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/590106\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T06:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T06:32:19","slug":"inde-navarrette-lives-to-scare-people-after-her-obsession-breakout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/590106\/","title":{"rendered":"Inde Navarrette lives to scare people after her ‘Obsession’ breakout"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re discussing light spoilers for the new horror movie \u201cObsession\u201d<\/a> (in theaters now<\/a>), so beware if you want to go in totally cold.<\/p>\n

Inde Navarrette<\/a> has reached that special point in every young actor\u2019s life: She can\u2019t talk about her next project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it’s just a little me, myself and I. A little secret,\u201d she says with a giggle.<\/p>\n

That may be under wraps but her talent isn\u2019t anymore. Navarrette turns in a multifaceted, star-making performance in the horror film \u201cObsession.” But this scream queen is far from a final girl. She\u2019s the one doing the scaring.<\/p>\n

In director Curry Barker\u2019s take<\/a> on the \u201cmonkey\u2019s paw\u201d trope, awkward dude Bear (Michael Johnston) has a crush on his co-worker Nikki (Navarrette). Using a mysterious One Wish Willow trinket, Bear wishes that she will love him more than anyone else in the world. It triggers something in the down-to-earth Nikki, who becomes a devoted girlfriend, going to terrifying extremes to show her adoration and keep others away from her man.<\/p>\n

Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Inde<\/p>\n

Inde Navarrette has a chilling, and star-making, turn in the horror movie “Obsession” playing a young woman terrifyingly affected by a friend’s wish.<\/p>\n

Nikki cackles, sobs, screams (a lot), begs, rages and everything in between. There\u2019s something definitely wrong with her, and Navarrette, 25, captures a lot of it just in her vivid expressions. \u201cMy mom’s always said that I am an open book on my face,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can just read what I’m thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

After appearing in the TV series \u201c13 Reasons Why\u201d and \u201cSuperman & Lois\u201d and the Dave Bautista action flick \u201cTrap House,\u201d Navarrette tried out horror and now is hooked: \u201cI\u2019d do it for the rest of my life. It’s the best.\u201d Here\u2019s what else her new fans need to know if they\u2019re obsessed:<\/p>\n

Inde Navarrette connected with the themes of \u2018Obsession\u2019<\/p>\n

With \u201cObsession,\u201d \u201cI wanted to try something new and this was nothing but new,\u201d Navarrette says, and with Nikki, \u201cthere’s six different characters in one person.\u201d On one hand, it\u2019s a simple story of a love gone wrong, but the movie deepens thematically when it\u2019s revealed that the real Nikki is trapped in her body. The actress saw it as \u201ca terrifying betrayal of somebody who’s supposed to love you and protect you.”<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a moment when someone says to Bear that it seems like Nikki\u2019s not taking care of him. \u201cIn all actuality, she’s the one that’s being hurt,\u201d Navarrette says. \u201cI really wanted to make sure that it was gut-wrenching and real and raw and vulnerable. I’ve heard a lot of people say that this movie has made them sick, because it’s such an innate fear of everything being out of your control and not being protected but being manipulated.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gets a kick out of scaring people \u2013\u00a0just not herself\"Bear<\/p>\n

Bear (Michael Johnston) makes a wish that Nikki (Inde Navarrette) would love him and it goes eerily awry in the horror movie “Obsession.”<\/p>\n

One new thing Navarrette realized about herself making \u201cObsession\u201d is \u201chow much I would be excited about scaring people.\u201d The way Nikki looks at Bear or screams in his face, or even just wears the most chilling perma-grin you\u2019ve ever seen, leads to some of the film\u2019s most unnerving moments.<\/p>\n

There is one scene, however, that even she refuses to watch: Bear wakes up in the middle of the night, and there\u2019s a goosebump-inducing moment where Barker cleverly plays with shadows and an unseen Nikki is talking to Bear from a completely dark corner. On the set that day, she caught \u201ca glimpse\u201d of the scene on a monitor, and now never wants to see it again. \u201cSometimes your performance is for other people. I don’t need to experience it, because I think it’s such a scary thing to be scared of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Inde Navarrette\u2019s earliest inspirations? Natalie Portman\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Curry Barker (far left) attends a LA screening of “Obsession” with his stars Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston.<\/p>\n

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Navarrette \u201cping-ponged\u201d across the country when she was growing up because her dad\u2019s a Marine, and she first tried out acting in summer YMCA camps. There, Navarrette would re-enact scenes of the movies that she\u2019d watch with her mom like \u201cGladiator.\u201d She recalls, even as a young child, “understanding what the movie was about and feeling really warm in my body. Like I, too, wanted to express that emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Navarette also found inspiration watching Natalie Portman in \u201cLeon: The Professional.\u201d One reason was \u201cshe looked like me,\u201d Navarette acknowledges. Also, it “was the first time that I had ever seen myself in a film, being like, \u2018Wow, it’s a young girl, and she has these kind of adult problems,\u2019 \u201d says Navarette, who moved to LA with her mom and \u201cofficially\u201d started acting when she was 18.<\/p>\n

Another fun fact: She earned the nickname \u201cInde\u201d very early in life. The actress, whose legal name is Danielle Fabiola Navarette, explains that the first two words she said were \u201cI do.\u201d Her \u201chands-on\u201d mom \u201cwould want to do my hair and help me with things, and it was just, \u2018No, Mommy, I do,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cShe was like, \u2018Yeah, she’s so independent.\u2019 So then it just turned into Inde. People think it’s for Indy 500 or Indiana Jones, and sometimes I just go, \u2018Yeah!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Exclusive peeks at summer’s top movies \u2013 from ‘Moana’ to ‘Supergirl’<\/p>\n

1 of 46<\/p>\n

Dwayne Johnson reprises his animated role as trickster demigod Maui in the live-action “Moana.” Check out exclusive peeks at the latest Disney film and all the other movies you need to see in theaters this summer.<\/p>\n

\u2018Obsession\u2019 actress ready for a roller-coaster of roles<\/p>\n

Navarette\u2019s next film is the upcoming thriller \u201cInvertigo,\u201d about a group of teens who sneak onto a theme-park ride before it debuts and get stuck high in the air courtesy of a system failure. She filmed in Thailand and, yes, rode a roller-coaster quite a bit. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved them, because I love the feeling in my belly,\u201d she says. (Her fave: the big drop on Disneyland\u2019s Guardians of the Galaxy ride.)<\/p>\n

As far as future roles, she recently rewatched \u201cErin Brockovich\u201d and wouldn\u2019t mind playing a similarly grounded character in a real-life drama. But really, from action to fantasy, she\u2019s game for \u201ca little bit of everything,\u201d Navarette says. \u201cYou go make a dragon movie, or you go whoop some butt, and then come back to a psychological thriller.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Obsession’ star Inde Navarrette breaks out in ‘real and raw’ role<\/a><\/p>\n