OBEX Review
Reviewed based on a screening at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Movies about characters being pulled into video games have existed almost as long as video games themselves, but few capture the charm and creativity of OBEX. While films like Tron and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle often fall short of fully embracing gaming culture, writer/director/star Albert Birney gets it right with a scrappy, heartfelt take. Initially reminiscent of Joel Potrykus' gripping Relaxer, OBEX begins as an intimate character study before expanding into a wonderfully bizarre 8-bit world. Shot entirely in striking black and white by cinematographer and co-writer Pete Ohs, the film is a hidden gem that understands not just the mechanics of games, but also their emotional pull.
The story starts in a mix of haunting and humorous tones. Set in 1987, Conor (Birney) lives in near-total isolation with his only companion, his dog Sandy. The internet is still years away from widespread use, yet screens dominate Conor’s life—he wakes up to three stacked televisions, flipping through channels in a series of unexpectedly funny, blink-and-you-miss-it moments. His daily routine consists of brief interactions with a neighbor who delivers his groceries, watching late-night horror movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street alone with Sandy, and creating intricate portraits using only a basic word processor. The immersive sound design amplifies the solitude, blending cicadas’ hum with the rhythmic clatter of his keyboard—until everything changes with the arrival of a new computer game: OBEX.
While it takes time before Conor is fully pulled into the game’s digital world, OBEX uses this deliberate pacing to establish his deep yearning for connection. The film’s opening act may feel slow at times, but it lays the foundation for the more surreal and emotionally resonant second half. Through dreamlike sequences where Conor drives down an empty road with his mother, an undercurrent of loneliness emerges, making his eventual descent into OBEX feel all the more inevitable—especially after Sandy mysteriously vanishes into the game.
Once inside, OBEX transforms into a loving tribute to classic gaming tropes. Conor encounters staple elements of retro RPGs: a kind-hearted tavern NPC, a quest to rescue a companion, and enemies that feel plucked from the Legend of Zelda universe. However, these characters also serve as reflections of Conor’s real-world isolation. His closest ally? A man with a giant TV for a head—a clever yet eerie metaphor for Conor’s one-sided relationships with his screens. Is he truly forming connections, or is the game simply mirroring his inner struggles?
OBEX is a lo-fi stunner of a video game movie.
Rather than offering clear-cut answers, OBEX leans into ambiguity, letting its dreamlike imagery and layered storytelling speak for itself. The game world is filled with mysterious, poetic touches, from a final boss lurking in the shadows to a chilling sequence where the game (and Conor’s perception of reality) begins to glitch and unravel. These moments flirt with full-blown horror but remain rooted in a deep love for gaming and its storytelling potential.
At its core, OBEX is more than just a fun fantasy adventure—it's about longing for connection, escaping reality, and the emotional journey of finding one’s way home. Whether Conor returns to solitude or discovers a new path beyond his comfort zone remains an open question, but the film ensures every step of his journey is a delight. Birney and his team have crafted not just one of the most charming video game movies ever made, but one that fully understands the medium’s power to reflect and reshape the world around us.
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