Netflix’s new psychological thriller “Secret Obsession”, directed by Peter Sullivan, is one of those films that try too hard to justify the genre but could not, as it becomes predictable with no surprises.
The film, starring Brenda Song, Mike Vogel, and Dennis Haysbert, follows a young woman Jennifer (Song) trying to escape an unseen attacker, but only to hit by a car. The next, she opens her eyes in a hospital bed with no memories at all.
Then a man named Russell (Mike) appears in the hospital identifying himself as the husband of Jennifer. With confusion, she allows him to take care of herself, as he was loving and caring.
Jennifer starts doubting the actual intention of her supposed husband Russell when she gets discharged from the hospital. Russell takes her to a remote apartment where not only there is no internet, no cell service but also no neighbor nearby.
Watch the movie trailer here:
As time moves, with limited resources inside the home, and with no outside contact, Jennifer begins joining the dots. She realizes that Russell, who claims to be her husband, has some sinister motives.
On the other hand, a local detective Frank (Dennis Haysbert) from the very beginning has been constantly following the case of Jennifer’s accident.
So, when he does not get any clarity on the whereabouts of Jennifer after her discharge from the hospital, he too becomes sure that there is something seriously wrong.
“Secret Obsession” – No effort on characterization
The key evil character here, Russell, looks one dimensional without any clear background of his manic behavior. Moreover, we do not see any depth in the acting, everything looks mechanical – not sure if this suggests the psyche of such character.
While there was much scope to sketch Jennifer’s role as someone in pain and confusion, the use of cheap family dynamics does not help the purpose. At the same time, there is another family angle to the detective character, who seems to have gone through some family trauma.
The whole point is if we are not too sure to explore such a secondary angle, why to bring these to the fore? I guess this also does not help in the overall narration, as after a few minutes it was all over the place.
In addition, in the story, we see neither the cops nor the hospital admins were serious in verifying the identity of the husband, in a case where the wife remembers nothing and there is someone to take her home. Moreover, everything from the very beginning was very much predictable.
If you like a genuine psychological thriller, “Secret Obsession” is not one of those. There is nothing imaginative in play, which should be the essential ingredients of every thriller/suspense. This is our opinion about the film if you have watched the film, please let us know your feedback in the comment section below.
Read about another Netflix film ‘Point Blank’.
