Obsession's Music Store Was Featured In A Beloved '90s Movie

Curry Barker's "Obsession" is the latest low-budget horror phenomenon. The monkey's paw yarn, which goes gloriously heavy on the gore, grossed a surprising $18 million against a $1 million budget over its opening weekend. Given its combination of a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score and an A- CinemaScore (which is particularly high for a horror movie), moviegoers' obsession with the film could linger for a few more weeks, making it one of the most financially successful fright flicks we've seen in a while.

What's the appeal? Well, you can rarely go wrong with a monkey's paw hook (see 2025's "The Monkey"), and, of late, you're in good hands horror-wise when the writer-director hails from the world of sketch comedy. Like Zach Cregger, the filmmaker behind "Barbarian," "Weapons," and the forthcoming "Resident Evil" (and formerly of The Whitest Kids U' Know), Barker made his bones as a funny fella. Along with Cooper Tomlinson, he became a YouTube sensation as a member of the troupe "that's a bad idea." Barker, whose third horror feature, "Anything But Ghosts," is already shot and in post-production, has a sharp pop culture sensibility and a bit of a vicious streak. 

These combined elements are striking the right macabre notes with viewers, but Barker's secret sauce might be the music store location he selected for the "Obsession" protagonists to work. It's none other than Cassell's Music, the same location that was featured in the 1990s classic "Wayne's World."

Cassell's Music was the store that housed Wayne Campbell's "Excalibur," aka the 1964 Fender Stratocaster in classic white with triple single coil pickups and a whammy bar. ("It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.") That's a classic axe once wielded by Jimi Hendrix, and it'll set you back as much as $30,000 if it's in mint condition. Unfortunately, if you're looking to buy one, you won't be able to get it at Cassell's, which, according to entertainment journalist Eric Goldman, closed its doors in San Bernardino in 2025 after 78 years in business.

Some of my colleagues have been remarking on the fantastical notion that the fictional version of Cassell's seen in "Obsession" can afford to employ four employees and a manager working the same shift in the year of our lord 2026, and they're not wrong. Nowadays, you're lucky if you can walk into a Walgreens and find a non-pharmacy employee. This is, of course, a sign of a high functioning society, one that collectively made a wish and plummeted us into our current living hell. Horror's hugely popular for a reason, folks!

"Obsession" is in theaters now.