Curry Barker Releases New Horror Short Film Mama Bear

All eyes have been on director Curry Barker since the release of his indie horror movie, Obsession. It had an astonishing box office run and earned critical acclaim, holding a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Barker creates one-of-a-kind ideas, which is why fans welcomed the news that his new short film, Mama Bear, would be coming their way right before Halloween.

Mama Bear premiered on YouTube on Oct. 29. In less than a day, it reached over 950,000 views. Similar to Obsession, the short film features horror elements and an unsettling atmosphere. Within its five-minute runtime, the project conveys deep character distress and uncovers a dark reality while keeping much unexplained.

Spoilers for Mama Bear ahead.

Mama Bear could be set in the same universe as Obsession

The short follows Floyd. He falls asleep on the job as a housecleaner and wakes up to his phone blowing up with calls from Lacy. A friend warns him that Lacy is trying to find him and kill him. Floyd seems confused at first and does not take the warning seriously because he does not know what Lacy thinks he did. Then he notices bloody footprints on the floor and a blood-covered wrench on the table. In the corner of the room stands a strange entity in a blood-stained shirt that makes weird poses and moves in an eerie way. The owner of the house returns, followed shortly by Lacy. She is armed with a gun and starts shooting wildly until she kills Floyd. The camera then reveals that the figure in the corner looks exactly like Floyd covered in blood.

The short is cryptic and unsettling. Fans have already started to formulate theories using Barker’s other works, especially Obsession, as clues. Some viewers believe that Floyd broke a One Wish Willow, which is the same wish-granting item that appears in Obsession. Because Floyd works as a house cleaner, he might have wished for someone to “do the cleaning,” and the item twisted that wish into something sinister. Based on the title Mama Bear, another theory proposes that Josh had an unwanted child with Lacy, and the doppelgänger summoned by the wish killed the baby. That explains why Lacy shoots without asking questions and why Floyd does not panic immediately upon seeing the figure in the corner.

Overall, Mama Bear follows Barker’s style of mixing psychological horror with absurdist humor. The short might simply be an idea the director harbored for a long time, or it could tease future projects. Fans would welcome an expanded backstory, perhaps explored in a standalone sequel to Obsession.

Source: Polygon