'Obsession' Director Curry Barker Revealed His Dad Helped Write a Crucial and Creepy Scene

People who followed writer and director Curry Barker before Obsession came out might know his particular brand of horror pretty well. They also know his humor, thanks to his sketch comedy YouTube channel That's a Bad Idea. But who are Curry Barker's parents, and do they have anything to do with the entertainment industry like their son?

After Curry wrote and directed Obsession and it became a fast hit in theaters worldwide, he gained a slew of new fans who want to know all about him. Some of his more longtime fans might already be a bit familiar with his private life, but others have questions about the man, and the brain, behind Obsession and sketch comedy, both of which are vastly different but have garnered Curry serious fame and recognition.

Curry's parents not only support their son's work, but they were also part of his first feature film, Obsession. His mother, whose name appears to be Karen Barker, is a graphic designer who created the design of the One Wish Willow prop.

Curry and his dad, Jeff Barker, discussed Karen's role in helping with the design during an interview on Jeff's YouTube channel, The Screenplay Lab.

"When I met your mom in college, she was like one of the best artists I've ever seen," Jeff told Curry. He later asked, "And she was involved with Obsession with the One Wish Willow…What it is today and the form it is today that everybody in the world's playing with it, talking about it, how similar is that to what she made?"

Curry said the design as we now know it is exactly what his mom created. And for his dad Jeff's part in Obsession, he helped write the creepy and downright horrifying scene in the movie where Nikki recites her version of the Hansel and Gretel story. Curry spoke to Polygon about tapping his dad to help with the scene.

"My dad had just started his screenwriting journey and I was like, 'Yeah, if you want to give it a stab,'" Curry explained. "So I let him write it and he did some really creepy stuff."

Jeff is a writer and actor like his son and his YouTube channel is full of content related to breaking down different blockbuster movies.

Before Obsession ever came out, Curry was knee deep in comedy on social media, and plenty of users saw his content blow up on TikTok. But he also wrote and directed multiple short horror films. One of the films, Milk & Serial, came out in 2024. It's a 60-minute found footage movie starring Curry and Cooper Tomlinson, who also co-star in Obsession and are his partners in That's a Bad Idea.

Curry also directed The Chair, a short horror film that's around 24 minutes long and features an ominous antique chair that seemingly creates psychological chaos when a man brings it home after finding it on the side of the road. So yes, Curry was making plenty of horror before he was finally able to take one of his stories to the big screen. And his parents have been with him every step of the way.