Focus Features and director Curry Barker's horror hit, Obsession, took the box office by storm earlier this year, so we probably shouldn't be too surprised that the movie has become a haunted experience at this year’s Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights.
Not only that, but Universal has added Nikki Freeman to the event as an interactive roaming character.
The decision to include "Freaky" Nikki alongside the other classic monsters and villains in the HHN lineup did raise a few eyebrows, as she is ultimately the victim of Bear's wish and is not in control of her actions. That said - possessed by a wish demon or not - Nikki is a pretty damn creepy character in the movie.
“It’s a specific choice of which version of her we wanted to really focus on, and it’s the version at the very end of the film where she’s all bloody, she’s taken her friend’s dress, and she’s drawn the tattoos all over her body," said John Murdy, the creative director and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights.
"It really was our fans," Murdy said of Nikki's late addition. "They sent me a video of Curry Barker talking about Halloween Horror Nights, and he said it would be his dream to have Nikki at Halloween Horror Nights... so, we really rallied really fast, of course."
In related news, Variety is reporting that Nikki actress Inde Navarrette, who was recently cast as Rogue in Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot, will campaign in the best actress category this coming awards season.
"It is a seismic full-court press studios reserve for a title they believe can go the distance. Alongside Navarrette, the distributor plans to campaign Barker as a rare triple threat in best director, original screenplay and film editing, the same three categories Sean Baker swept for his best picture winner Anora (which he also took alongside one more as producer). It is a combination of above-the-line and below-the-line recognition that positions him as one of the season’s marquee multi-hyphenate stories."
You can check out a first look at the actress playing Nikki in the videos below.
After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic gets exactly what he asked for. However, he soon discovers that some desires come at a dark and sinister price.