Most people use reaction GIFs of celebrities to make a point in the family group chat. Inde Navarrette has a slightly better option: she can send her dad a GIF of herself having a complete meltdown in a horror movie.
The breakout star of Obsession has revealed that one of her character's most recognisable moments has found an unexpected second life in her personal messages. And yes, she really does use it.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Navarrette explained how her sudden internet fame has made family conversations considerably more entertaining.
Whenever she wants to discourage her father from doing something, she can now send him a reaction GIF featuring Nikki, her character in Obsession, repeatedly saying, "No, no, no, no, don't do that."
Asked whether she genuinely sends memes of herself to people, the actress enthusiastically confirmed that she does. As far as she's concerned, anyone with their own collection of reaction GIFs would probably take advantage of them.
The disturbing movie scene behind the family joke
There's something particularly funny about Navarrette using that specific moment for an everyday disagreement.
In Curry Barker's supernatural horror film, Nikki becomes the subject of a disastrous wish made by Bear, played by Michael Johnston. What initially appears to be a romantic fantasy develops into something considerably more disturbing, with Navarrette's performance shifting between affection, confusion and outright terror.
The repeated "no" sequence is among the film's most unsettling moments, but the actress previously explained that the repetition was far more deliberate than viewers might realise.
During a July interview with Extra, Navarrette revealed that she gave different emotional meanings to individual repetitions of the word. Each response reflected a different thought or reaction taking place within Nikki, rather than simply repeating the same expression of panic.
It's a surprisingly detailed piece of acting that has now been repurposed into a convenient way of telling her father to stop whatever he's doing.
How Inde Navarrette is handling becoming an internet meme
While Navarrette clearly enjoys seeing her performance transformed into GIFs and reaction images, she also recognises that viral fame comes with a less entertaining side.
During the same Hollywood Reporter conversation, she explained that she's learning to separate the fun of public attention from the pressure of constantly following what people say about her.
Her approach is to enjoy the positive experiences without treating every online opinion as something that requires her attention.
It's a distinction that makes sense for an actress whose performance has become recognisable well beyond the audience that originally watched Obsession.
And while millions of people might associate Nikki's frantic reaction with one of the movie's most disturbing sequences, somewhere in Navarrette's family messages, the very same moment has a considerably simpler purpose: telling Dad he's making a questionable decision.
