Obsession Director Curry Barker Announces Next Movie Anything But Ghosts for May 2027

The most improbable success story in recent horror history is getting a follow-up. Curry Barker's next movie, Anything But Ghosts, will be released in theaters May 7, 2027 by Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, according to a September 29 report — and the cast is a serious step up in star power.

Barker and longtime collaborator Cooper Tomlinson will lead the cast, joined by Violet McGraw, Chris Reinacher, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Aaron Paul. Barker co-wrote the film with Tomlinson, who starred in Obsession as Ian, continuing one of the most productive creative partnerships in indie horror.

The Premise

The logline is pure Barker: a group of fame-seeking wannabe "ghosthunters" find themselves in over their heads, and things spiral wildly and terrifyingly out of control. It's a setup that lets him do what he does best — take internet-age narcissism and curdle it into genuine terror.

This is Barker's follow-up to the smash hit Obsession, which grossed $519 million worldwide on a budget of less than $1 million — the kind of return on investment that gets studio executives to answer your calls. Obsession is also getting Oscar buzz for Barker's writing and Inde Navarrette's lead performance, an almost unheard-of awards trajectory for a micro-budget horror film.

From YouTube to the Big Leagues

The Barker-Tomlinson origin story remains one of Hollywood's best. The two previously launched the "That's a Bad Idea" YouTube channel after meeting at film school at the New York Film Academy's LA campus — going from DIY internet horror to a Focus Features/Blumhouse theatrical release in the span of a few years.

With Howard and Paul lending mainstream credibility to the ensemble and a prime May 2027 date on the calendar, Anything But Ghosts looks like the moment Barker's cult becomes a movement. The ghost hunters should be worried. Everyone else should be excited.

The Barker Bet

Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster aren't just buying a movie here — they're buying a trajectory. Barker's leap from the "That's a Bad Idea" YouTube channel, launched with Tomlinson after the two met at film school at the New York Film Academy's LA campus, to a $519 million theatrical phenomenon is the kind of origin story studios dream about, because it comes with a built-in audience that already speaks the filmmaker's language. Obsession's numbers — $519 million worldwide on less than $1 million — represent a return on investment that borders on the absurd, and the Oscar buzz for Barker's writing and Inde Navarrette's performance has given the whole enterprise a prestige sheen that horror rarely enjoys this early. The Anything But Ghosts package reflects that new reality: Bryce Dallas Howard and Aaron Paul bring mainstream credibility, Violet McGraw adds genre heat, and the May 7, 2027 date plants a flag in prime blockbuster territory rather than the traditional horror corridors. The logline — fame-hungry ghost hunters in over their heads as things spiral wildly and terrifyingly out of control — plays directly to Barker's strengths: internet-era vanity curdling into dread. If Obsession was the proof of concept, this is the victory lap with a budget.