Steven Spielberg Reveals His Official Verdict On New Horror Movie Obsession

A new horror movie that’s taking the world by storm has also won over the Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg.

The director became an icon for producing blockbusters like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and the Indiana Jones franchise, and his ability to jump between multiple genres proved his worth as one of the best Hollywood filmmakers. However, even his humble beginnings consisted of making short films as a kid before going professional in television, and then his first major feature, The Sugarland Express. Now, a new generation of filmmakers is following a similar journey, as a wave of indie horrors becomes theatrical hits.

Given that Spielberg endured a similar venture, he spoke about two rising filmmakers, Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, who made box-office hits Backrooms and Obsession, respectively. While speaking with Pop Drop, the Hollywood icon was “happy for them” and that “it’s so fantastic” that their movies “had basically, very little money.” While Spielberg admitted that he has yet to see Backrooms, the legendary director “loved” Obsession.

I’m so happy for them. I think it’s so fantastic, and I think it’s great that they had basically, very little money. Especially Obsession had under $1 million, and the other film had maybe 10 or nine, and they’re doing so well, and I just applaud them. I haven’t seen Backrooms. I am going to see it when all this is over. But I have seen Obsession, and I loved it.

Spielberg knows the feeling given his own journey to success. While in his late 20s at the time, he made a low-budget shark movie, Jaws, and despite multiple filming struggles, it turned out to be a major blockbuster. It earned $495 million and was the highest-grossing movie of all time for a while before Star Wars broke that record.

There has been a recent trend as YouTubers are quickly growing into sensational filmmakers. For instance, Parsons created the web series Backrooms and published videos on YouTube, which built a following with Gen Z audiences. It then spawned into the A24 movie of the same name, which recently became the studio’s highest-grossing movie of all time at $154 million globally in just two weeks.

Similarly, Barker’s career started with the sketch comedy channel, that’s a bad idea. After making a series of short films, he made his directorial debut with Milk & Serial before eventually making the overnight sensation Obsession with Blumhouse and Focus Features. In fact, the supernatural horror earned early critical acclaim at TIFF in September 2025 and then won over audiences following its theatrical release in mid-May of this year.

While Obsession had a $750,000 budget, it has made over $179 million so far, making it one of the most profitable films in history thanks to word-of-mouth and the Gen Z turnout. While there are already calls for early award consideration, Barker is working on his next movie, Anything But Ghosts, set in the same universe and starring Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard.

As the new generation of filmmakers stir Hollywood, veteran director Spielberg is still going strong five decades later. The icon is currently promoting his upcoming sci-fi movie Disclosure Day, starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Colin Firth. It will release in theaters on June 12, 2026.

Birthdate

December 18, 1946

Birthplace

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA