How ‘Obsession’ Uses Uncanny Valley Makeup to Create One of Horror’s Most Disturbing Faces
In Curry Barker’s 2025 horror film Obsession, the character Nikki does not rely on traditional demonic possession effects to unsettle viewers. Instead, the filmmakers deliberately push her appearance into the uncanny valley — a psychological phenomenon that explains why something almost human can feel deeply wrong.
The result is one of the film’s most memorable and disturbing visual signatures.
What Is the Uncanny Valley?
First described by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, the uncanny valley refers to the sharp drop in comfort people feel when a human-like figure looks nearly real but not quite. Affinity rises as an object becomes more human-like, then plunges into unease or revulsion when subtle imperfections remain, before recovering once the figure becomes fully indistinguishable from a real person.
Filmmakers have long used this effect in animation, robotics, and horror. In Obsession, it becomes a central tool for building psychological dread.
How the Film Creates the Effect
According to reports, the most unsettling looks for Nikki (played by Inde Navarrette) were achieved primarily through practical makeup rather than heavy computer-generated imagery. Key makeup artist Kate Oja and the production team drew inspiration from a TikTok beauty trend known as “uncanny valley makeup,” which gained popularity in 2023 after videos by creator Emilia Blarth went viral.
The technique involves enlarging certain features such as the mouth and pupils while softening or covering others — including lips and eyebrows with skin-tone makeup and painting false eyes onto the eyelids. The effect creates a face that registers as human at a glance but appears lifeless or mannequin-like under the right lighting, especially in darker scenes.
Behind-the-scenes images shared by the makeup team after the film’s release show how Navarrette’s features were altered to produce this distorted, almost artificial quality. Many viewers initially assumed the look involved CGI, but the work was largely practical and budget-friendly.
Subtle visual effects from Queen Studio, supervised by Peter Timberlake, further heightened the discomfort. Rather than exaggerating expressions, the team often reversed them — closing wide eyes slightly or tilting a smiling mouth downward — so the face’s surface signals conflicted with the emotions underneath. The incongruity makes Nikki’s presence feel off without audiences always identifying why.
One frequently discussed example is a restaurant scene in which Nikki’s original mischievous smile was adjusted in post-production so the lips tilt downward, creating the sense of a frown that still carries an undercurrent of a smile.
Why It Works
The combination of TikTok-inspired practical makeup and restrained digital adjustments allows the film to enter the uncanny valley without tipping into obvious artificiality. Nikki remains recognizable as human, yet her face and microexpressions never fully settle into natural behavior. This mismatch has been widely credited with making certain scenes linger in viewers’ minds long after the film ends.
By grounding its horror in a documented psychological response and executing it through accessible, creative techniques, Obsession turns the uncanny valley from an abstract idea into a precise and effective storytelling device.
Sources
- BriefLedger: “Freaky Nikki’s Uncanny Valley Makeup in Obsession Was Inspired by TikTok” – https://briefledger.co.uk/freaky-nikkis-uncanny-valley-makeup-in-obsession-was-inspired-by-tiktok/
- Blue Screen Reveals: “Peter Timberlake: The Invisible VFX of Obsession” – https://bluescreenreveals.com/peter-timberlake-the-invisible-vfx-of-obsession/
- Film Stories: “Love from the uncanny valley: Obsession and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence are the same movie” – https://filmstories.co.uk/news/love-from-the-uncanny-valley-obsession-and-a-i-artificial-intelligence-are-the-same-movie/
- CG Garage podcast discussion with VFX supervisor Peter Timberlake on the film’s invisible visual effects
- Historical background on Masahiro Mori’s 1970 essay on the uncanny valley
