Inde Navarrette as Nikki Freeman in 'Obsession.' Focus Features Logo text Universal’s annual Halloween Horror Nights is looking like an even scarier place to have a nice daaaate.
Nikki from the breakout hit Obsession will make her debut as a character at the theme park spookfest. The announcement was made by John Murdy, the creative director and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood during a panel at MidsummerScream on Sunday. The audience was told by Nikki added very late in the event’s planning process: “Nikki is out there somewhere, you need to get into a Where’s Waldo?-type mentality,” Murdy said. “She might be looking for her next obsession, and I’ll leave it at that.”
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Mesmerizingly played by Inde Navarrette in the film, Nikki is cursed after her friend-zoned co-worker uses a One Wish Willow to wish that she would love him more than anybody else in the world.
Some of the fan reactions to the announcement on Reddit included, “Great worker, won’t even take bathroom breaks” and “Packs her own lunches too!”
That said, the character is a somewhat eyebrow-raising addition to Universal Hollywood’s otherwise campy, monster-filled lineup because — unlike the villains who typically roam horror attractions — Nikki is the innocent victim of the extremely dark consequences of her friend’s wish, with much of the film playing more like a psychological thriller.
In an apparent acknowledgment of this, Universal’s press release described Nikki as “the latest victim of the One Wish Willow’s terrifying curse.”
Murdy told Inside Universal, “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.”
Obsession was written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Curry Barker and grossed an incredible $475 million globally on only a $750,000 production budget.
Halloween Horror Nights starts Aug. 28, at Universal Orlando and on Sept. 3 at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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