Like Typewriter, Secret Obsession is a movie of which bits and pieces remind you of different films which means the story has nothing new to offer.
The plot of Secret Obsession is such that even though you have read or seen the story somewhere else before, it still holds the power to send shivers down your spine. Just imagine constantly watching a girl who met with an accident while running for her life being in the wrong hands all the while, knowing she can either be killed or harmed in one or the other way; you wish her parents or her partner shows up soon. Then you wish the Detective finds out what’s wrong as soon as possible and tell her that the man she is living with isn’t her husband.
What goes against the film? The constant fear that the viewers should feel while watching a story like Secret Obsession, they do not feel it. The film should have been jam-packed with heart-racing and nail-biting moments. Unfortunately, there weren’t any.
It would have been a one-time watch if there wouldn’t have been any loopholes, like:
1) How does Russell (the impostor) manage to know Jennifer’s whereabouts and then reach the hospital in time?
2) How does he manage to morph the pictures and bring the entire photo album to the hospital when he has been with Jennifer in the hospital all the while?
3) How does he get to the eyewitness and kill him on the road? He then buries him in his own backyard.
4) How did the detective manage to come out of a locked box?
5) How did Russell break the locked door?
I also felt that Detective Page could have been a strong pillar of the film. His story looked more interesting but they did absolutely nothing out of it. Why would you start a backstory which you do not intend to do anything with?
It looks like no attention was given to the details. There was no proper build-up.
Also, the filmmakers should keep in mind that when they reveal the whole story in the trailer, they better save some sort of mystery for the film. If no, do not reveal much in the trailer. I guess if people didn’t already know that Russell wasn’t Jennifer’s husband, it would have given them something to look forward to – maybe, the shock, thrill, fear, and the hair-raising moments that were necessary for the film’s success.
Where to Watch? Netflix