Curry Barker Directs and Stars in Anything But Ghosts, His Obsession Follow-Up
Curry Barker has directed and leads Anything But Ghosts, his next horror film for Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, Deadline reported on 18 September 2026. Barker also wrote the script and plays the central role. The film has no release date yet.
The story follows ghost hunters who are hucksters, meaning fakes who sell a scare. It takes place in the same universe as Obsession, so characters and rules carry over from Barker's breakout film. Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard co-star, alongside Cooper Tomlinson appearing with Barker.
Obsession was made for US$750,000 and took half a billion dollars at the box office, according to the same Deadline report. That low cost and huge return organised Barker's fast rise. He discussed the follow-up at the Toronto International Film Festival, one year on from Obsession's premiere there.
The new shoot was tight. Barker said Anything But Ghosts had a 130-page script and 26 days to shoot. He kept every page because he wanted to film all of it. He also said he has more lines than anyone else in the cast, which added to the load.
That decision went against direct advice. Horror film-maker Zach Cregger told Barker to cut 30 pages from the script. Barker's manager gave the same note. He said no.
At a Directors Guild panel at the festival, hosted by Deadline, Barker said the hardest day on Obsession was the easiest day on Anything But Ghosts. It is a short line. It says a lot about the step up in scale and pressure.
Barker had already finished filming months earlier. He told Interview Magazine in a conversation with Cregger published on 18 May 2026 that the film had wrapped three weeks earlier. The piece, titled "Curry Barker and Zach Cregger Swap Horror Stories", also has Barker saying he wanted to edit the film while he was on a press tour.
What makes this stand out is the organisation around it. A self-made hit, a shared universe and a wider cast lift expectations. For fans, this means a familiar world with new faces, and a wait for a date on the calendar.
