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Amy Robach
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human latte iced coffee espresso. Your new Nespresso Vertuo up machine makes the perfect cup for every morning. One button press and you can brew any coffee, any size your way. New Vertuo up press to explore shop now@nespresso.com if audiobooks are your thing or you've been meaning to listen to more of them, you should check out a podcast called Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club Host. Hosted by Cal Penn.
Cal Penn
Each episode spotlights standout audiobooks on Audible across all kinds of genres Sci fi, comedy, romance, thrillers and more, with Cal talking to guests who help break down what makes each story worth listening to.
Amy Robach
It's a fun, easy way to discover your next great audiobook.
Cal Penn
Check out Earsay on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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TJ Holmes
Hey there folks, it is Friday, May 22nd and we have a guaranteed winner for you this this weekend at the movie theater. And we are, as they say, obsessed with that. Welcome to this episode of Amy and tj. I am digging Robes Being able to
Cal Penn
give a movie review on a Friday.
TJ Holmes
Going into a holiday weekend, a lot of people are going to be looking for a movie to see. I know a couple of big movies are coming out. This is the first thing everybody should see.
Amy Robach
I agree. And look, we have gone into movies that have been and this one wasn't and hasn't been necessarily. Well, no, it has been critically acclaimed. Oh yeah, I've seen some. I've seen some negative reviews, but look, with a 90, 95, 95, 95 and 95 on Rotten Tomatoes. Look when I see those Numbers. When we see those numbers, we go into the movies with high expectations and oftentimes we're disappointed. I do think sometimes when something gets hyped up and talked about so much, you end up thinking this is going to be great. And then it just isn't what you thought it was going to be. This time I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. I was entertained, I was scared, I was laughing, I jumped. I made noises that I didn't even know I could make in the movie theater. I was embarrassed at one point I was like, I don't even know what guttural yell came out of me. But it was. I started laughing at myself afterwards. It was that good.
TJ Holmes
Yeah, it was embarrassing for everybody seeing New Year as well. But this
Malcolm Glebel
robes,
TJ Holmes
a unbelievable experience for us. And folks, the movie we are talking about is Obsession. And even if you're not a horror movie fan, this is one we can highly recommend to everybody for a whole bunch of reasons. And robes, you just listed so many things. You were in there laughing, you were scared, you were all these things. You know what else you also did? Probably we were thinking, because even the premise will spark conversation.
Amy Robach
Yes, it was engaging, it was entertaining. I never once felt bored or like this was such a non formulaic movie. I think that's one of the reasons why I liked it so much. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know where it was headed. I didn't know how they were going to end. It couldn't figure out who necessarily was going to die. And it just kept me so interested and entertained from start to finish. And that's rare in a movie. And especially as tired as we are with as much as we work, we saw this at the end of the day. We usually do not do that.
Blue Square Alliance Representative
No.
Amy Robach
Because we get up so early and to go to a later movie is really dangerous because I say you got at least a 50 chance that one or both of us is going to fall asleep for some part of or all of the movie.
TJ Holmes
Movie better be good. Big theater. This is the most comfortable chair in the darkest room I've been in all day.
Amy Robach
And we've just been working our butts off. But that said, we were engaged. I came out of there fired up. This was definitely the best movie we have seen this year.
TJ Holmes
Okay. And robe, you said we did it in the evening after a very difficult day. This was our escape. And we did have high expectations of really being taken away from our world, the horrors of our life and this thing Delivered. So a lot of folks that this might be familiar, and I didn't pull up the clip here to run for you all to hear, but if you've been to a movie recently, and certainly a horror movie in the past few weeks or month or so, there's a preview that plays before your movie. And it was promoting this movie obsession. And the trailer is unique. Robes and memorable because it wasn't flashy. This and that. It just showed one kid sitting in a car.
Amy Robach
It's hilarious. So you've got the main character. His. The character's name is Bear, and you can tell that he's made a wish he wants to take back. And so he looks on the back of this box, he buys this wish maker, basically, at a magic store, and he makes a wish that he wants to take back. So there's like a customer service number on the back of this. This wishbox.
TJ Holmes
Even in the trailer, we don't know all that backstory. It just shows you a kid sitting in a car on speakerphone talking to somebody.
Amy Robach
Customer service.
TJ Holmes
Customer service.
Amy Robach
And this dude seems, like, so uninterested. And it's really funny because it mimics, like, so many experiences a lot of us have had. And, like, yeah, we don't really do that. Like, can I get the wish? Can I amend my wish? I believe we hear him say, it's like, yeah, we don't really do that. He's like, well, can I cancel my wish? We don't really do that either. Like, so basically, it just. It's so. It's funny. There's real comedic elements to it. And it's interesting when you're watching the trailer because you're thinking, obviously, this is a horror movie, so it's going to be scary, but it's funny, too. Sign me up. And it really was comedic throughout. At the same time, it was disturbing.
TJ Holmes
Yeah.
Amy Robach
And that's pretty brilliant to be able to put those two things together.
TJ Holmes
Rooms the movie was great, but that trailer was amazing because it didn't hint at horror, but there was intrigue. And like you said, there was a bit of dread that you felt that he pulled that off perfectly. So we were curious about the movie, but we didn't go on opening weekend, but the Thing did. Gangbusters Robes on opening weekend. And a big part of it is what's happening right now. We got so excited that we hopped on and. And wanted to tell everybody about it.
Amy Robach
Exactly. So word of mouth is really fueling this film because it was up against juggernauts, and it still came in third. And this thing is the little engine that could. And it's really cool to see a YouTuber right turned filmmaker. And this is an indie film. It's as indie as it comes. When you have excellent writing and you have great actors, you can kind of make movie magic. And that's exactly what happened here. The script was incredible. The acting was so authentic and natural. You don't need a bunch of, you know, effects and I don't know, all the things that cost a lot of money when you make movies. A big set and big effects and there was none of that. It just was so it was great storytelling.
TJ Holmes
This was, as you mentioned, don't need all the effects and whatnot. This movie was made on a budget of $750,000. $750,000. It is the lowest budget to make it to the top of the box office since paranormal activity almost 20 years ago.
Amy Robach
And that has some of those vibes, but with a comedic through line there, there is a similar feel to it. What was the other one where they looked up when they're running through the woods and the light, the flashlights up above them and that was a low budget one as well. No, you do I. Why can't I think of the name?
TJ Holmes
I don't know. You got me on the flashlight above them when you're running through the woods.
Amy Robach
They've got the up light on their face when they're running through the woods.
TJ Holmes
Oh man, you got me on this. I got to hear that one from you. It's not often that you stump me on a horror movie, but you got me right now, baby. But the actoring, the acting, we turned to each other at one point while we were sitting there watching Obsession and said these two were perfectly cast. And there are I guess three main actors in this movie but the two, the leads are perfectly played off each other and they're not people who are known entities, if you will, when it comes to big budget movies and Hollywood blockbusters. But they was very cute to see them play off of each other. And now I'm fans and want to look them, look them up and see them do more things.
Amy Robach
Oh, I can't wait. Oh yeah, it was the Blair Witch Project is what was trying to come up with. But I obviously did a horrible way of explaining it. But I was like, you know, the, they were lit up like the Blair Witch Project and they're running through the woods. That was a low budget film that was spectacular to watch and very entertaining. It, it just, it remind it had Those types of vibes where it really does feel authentic and real. It almost as if I was watching somebody actually going through the experience rather than seeing a Hollywood movie take place.
TJ Holmes
And we should give you the synopsis even yes, the movie because it's a little. Don't want to give away too much heroes. And I'm not sure if we were even clear on exactly what did we know.
Amy Robach
No, we knew it was about a wish I think. I think I had in my head. It was one of those be careful what you wish for movies. And that's kind of exactly what it was. I had no idea it. Where it would go and how creepy it would get. But the synopsis is this. After breaking the mysterious one wish Willow to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for. But soon discovers that some desires come at a dark sinister price.
TJ Holmes
It is so simple and brilliant and beautiful in how this thing is done. Now I'm sure that movies and can go back and things similar to this have been done in one way form or fashion. Robes. This was. And I. We spoke about this earlier there I. I jumped out of my seat with conjuring and insidious because there's new original stuff that like this is cool. You know when you see a good, A good one. Robes. This is up there immediately for me. This thing was brilliant. Every shot. The way sometimes she was just standing in a silhouette. Oh my God, the way they made her move a little weird. Every, just the smallest little thing. This was some brilliant, brilliant horror movie making.
Amy Robach
Yes. And you know what, you said this at the beginning and I definitely thought this throughout. Look, cat lovers beware. The opening scene and a couple scenes throughout the movie are really gonna probably disturb you. And if that's gonna disturb you, then this is not the movie for you. Because there are a couple scenes that involve cats that might upset some folks who are animal lovers. But the young woman in this indie. I don't know how to say her last name. Navarette. Indy Neverett. She carried. So I mean look, I know that Michael Johnston, the guy who played Bear was the lead and he was perfect like this affable, likable, like big hearted boy next door. You want to root for him, you're rooting for him. And then Indy Neverett is just this cool, just fun girl, but she turns on a dime and is just amazing at suddenly became becoming obsessed. And it's basically every. I shouldn't say just guys. I think it's every girl's worst nightmare In a sense, like, yeah, you love love, but when love turns to obsession, that's a whole other can of worms.
TJ Holmes
It brought up a lot of questions about free will, about choice, about morality. It did. Robes and wow. There were times where he had choices to make and I, it did, it brought up, it was fascinating some of the things, some of the conversations that it would spark about just, just human nature.
Amy Robach
Can't say that often about a horror movie where you're entertained, you're laughing, you're creep the heck out, you're, you're making crazy noises because you're so jarred by what you're seeing. And then when you walk away, it actually is conversation making. There's a lot of what ifs and what did you think about that? This really just was for me, my favorite movie I have seen in a very, very, very long time.
TJ Holmes
It is Romes and I'm telling y', all, it's I will this. I was looking at her particular going, is that an award winning performance?
Amy Robach
It seemed like it was to me.
TJ Holmes
Is it, will it be dismissed because it's a horror movie perform? I don't know. She was incredible. She was incredible. Robes. Will this get any award attention?
Amy Robach
I would love to see it happen. But it will be interesting because when we come back, I mentioned the YouTuber we're going to tell you about the filmmaker and this blew my mind. This brilliant piece of entertainment. And you're talking. This is from two people who have seen pretty much every horror movie under the sun. This brilliant piece of filmmaking came from a 26 year old. We'll tell you all about him when we come back. If you're always on the lookout for a great audiobook or just want help figuring out what to listen to next, there's a podcast you should know about.
Cal Penn
It's called earsay, the Audible and I Heart Audiobook Club. Hosted by Cal Penn.
Amy Robach
Each episode takes a closer look at some of the most talked about new audiobooks on Audible, spanning a wide range of genres, from sci fi and literary fiction to rom coms, thrillers and comedy.
TJ Holmes
Kyle is joined by guests who dig
Cal Penn
into what these stories are about, what makes them stand out as audiobooks, and why they're connecting with listeners right now.
Amy Robach
If you're looking for your next listen, this is a great place to start.
Cal Penn
Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Malcolm Glebel
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Stefano Pallard
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Malcolm Glebel
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Stefano Pallard
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Malcolm Glebel
You've got Ferrari, which is a long history, design history, and now you're interacting in a kind of digital space. I'm curious how you balance those two traditions.
Stefano Pallard
When it comes to fan engagement, it's really digital technology and digital channels are being able to create a deeper connection with our fans.
Malcolm Glebel
To learn more about how Ferrari and IBM are using technology to build deeper connections with fans, visit IBM.com Ferrari
Cal Penn
Amazon Pharmacy presents Painful Thoughts it's been a
Plant Killers Podcast Host
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Cal Penn
Next time skip the pain and get fast free delivery with Amazon Pharmacy. Health care just got less painful.
Amy Robach
Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ where we are talking about our obsession for the movie. Obsession. It has legs. This movie did well in its opening weekend on a shoestring budget. There were definitely trailers. We definitely saw the trailer for this but didn't see a ton of promotion for it beyond that that. So a shoestring budget. It came in number three in a huge weekend with powerhouse movies. Oh, I don't know, Devil Wears Prada too. And oh, what was that other movie, Michael. So for it to come in three is pretty impressive for a horror movie period. But for a small budget, non publicized movie, this is pretty remarkable. And now that we've gone and seen it, we understand why this. I hope this movie does well again this weekend and the one after that because this is just pure entertainment and it was brought to us by 26 year old curry Baker.
TJ Holmes
I did not know this dude has been getting the attention he's been getting. We're not big YouTube folks. We don't keep an eye on it. But he produced a movie on YouTube that he essentially was dismissive of and just threw it up. He said it was some old movie he had. He just threw it up for shits and giggles. It ends up getting gangbusters. Getting so well reviewed and getting him so much attention. Robes. I had no idea.
Amy Robach
It's called Milk and Cereal.
TJ Holmes
Milk and Cereal.
Amy Robach
S sorry, S E R I A L like serial killer. So Milk and Cereal, it was a YouTube hit. In fact, it was on Varieties list of best horror movies of 2024. We have not seen that, but obviously we're going to watch it. Now we have to watch Milk and Cereal because Obsession. I am so impressed with this young man. He is 26. You have to be smart as hell to put that together because it was just so clever in its concept. But the dialogue, the dialogue was so good.
TJ Holmes
She switched back and forth in a way that was disturbing. Like she. She freaked out every guy watching. Who's dating a woman for the past three months?
Amy Robach
Yes.
TJ Holmes
Only right.
Amy Robach
Because there's a version of her that's trapped in this other version. Again, don't want to give away too much, but she would slip in and out of basically her old self and this crazy. Yes. A person who's under a spell, basically. So it was really creepy to watch her be able to do that. I mean, it was chilling. And sometimes it would be, as you pointed out, like in the back of a room or just right out of the perspective of the center. So you'd have to kind of look for it and all of a sudden you'd realize she's just standing there. It was looking. It was so good. Now this is kind of cool. So Curry Baker had this amazing movie that we're gonna have to check out on YouTube in 2024. Now he's got obsession and he is now going to write the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.
TJ Holmes
Yeah, he's got another. A couple other big time gigs lined up. Yeah, he's 26 and pulling this off. He pulled off something special. Keep your eye on Curry Baker. This is where they come from. And his background is as a comedian. He's a comedian and he actually spoke about. Yeah, the reason we can do this and we're good at this is because we usually come from a pretty dark place. We talk about this all the time with comedians and so he was able to weave what. What the. The comedy. The horror comedy. Our new genre.
Amy Robach
Oh, yeah, it's our favorite new genre that we love.
TJ Holmes
This is straight horror. But he blended these comedic, even romantic sometimes and human elements in this movie. I would never put this one in the category of horror comedy, but I laughed throughout this movie.
Amy Robach
Oh. So we saw it in a New York City movie theater, as we pointed out, and it was. What would you say? I mean, this was like a 5 o', clock, 5pm movie on a Wednesday. So it wasn't packed, but there were people in the theater and we kept hearing them laughing out loud, which is making me laugh, too. And look, most horror comedies, the reason why you're laughing is because they get silly, right? They get physically silly.
TJ Holmes
Yes.
Amy Robach
So you end up laughing. This was not that there was no physical laughter. There was no physical comedy. It was comedic in the dialogue.
TJ Holmes
I'm trying to think of, though, a joke, Right? Horror comedies do crack jokes. This movie, I don't remember them cracking a single one, but the dialogue was hilarious.
Amy Robach
And when she goes into her manic, what happens is she becomes obsessed. I don't think that's giving away too much because of the title of the movie, but when the female character gets obsessed, she becomes so crazy that it. It's so scary that it's funny.
TJ Holmes
Good. It's.
Amy Robach
It's so scary, it's funny.
TJ Holmes
Would you agree, though, there were not jokes?
Amy Robach
No. This movie's hilarious, so well done.
TJ Holmes
Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. I cannot wait to see what's next from this young man. And there's going to be a ton from him.
Amy Robach
And he's 26, so we get to enjoy hopefully his incredible works of art and entertainment for decades to come. Yay, Obsession. We're obsessed.
TJ Holmes
Oh, I should mention robes. We talked about the weekend it came in number three. However, what's today?
Amy Robach
Today? Well, we're recording this just coming into this weekend, the following weekend.
TJ Holmes
Let me get my days right then. Because it started, they have this box office. They do it by the day. It came in number three over the weekend, but the latest numbers from Monday and Tuesday, it's number one.
Amy Robach
Wow.
TJ Holmes
So it's beating Michael and Devil Wears Prada Monday and Tuesday at least.
Amy Robach
That's kind of awesome.
TJ Holmes
It is awesome.
Amy Robach
We will. We will definitely be following up on our Monday morning run. We'll be able to get the box office results. So maybe, hopefully this helps get the word out. Go see Obsession this weekend. You will not regret it. And with that, everyone, thank you as always for listening. To us. I'm Amy Robach. On behalf of TJ Holmes, we will talk to you soon. If audiobooks are your thing or you've been meaning to listen to more of them, you should check out a podcast called earsay, the Audible and I Heart Audiobook Club. Hosted by Kal Penn.
Cal Penn
Each episode spotlights standout audiobooks on Audible across all kinds of genres. Sci fi, comedy, romance, thrillers and more. With Cal talking to guests who help break down what makes each story worth listening to.
Amy Robach
It's a fun, easy way to discover your next great audiobook.
Cal Penn
Check out Earsay on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Amy Robach
This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Date: May 22, 2026
Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts
In this lively and engaging episode, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes dedicate their show to an in-depth and glowing review of “Obsession,” the new indie horror film that’s taken audiences (and them!) by surprise. “Obsession” is lauded for its unique blend of horror and comedy, smart writing, and standout performances on a modest budget. The hosts discuss their cinematic experience, provide insights into the film’s creative origins, remark on its word-of-mouth box office success, and champion its rising young filmmaker, Curry Baker.
Recommendation:
“Go see Obsession this weekend. You will not regret it.”
— Amy Robach [24:30]