TL;DR – A wildly imaginative, if slow burn look at the blurred lines between the real world and a video game.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – This film contains scenes which may cause distress.

OBEX Review Introduction –

This year, Iron Lung taught me one very important lesson. That is, some of the most interesting work in the cinematic landscape is coming out of the work of small teams. Working on bringing a very niche thing to life can be rewarding when you take some big risks. Today’s entry OBEX looks to be doing just that as they mix horror and nostalgia together in a retro landscape.

So, to set the scene, it’s 1987, and Conor Marsh (Albert Birney) is an agoraphobic who lives alone, making a living out of creating ascii art, and spending much of his time playing these new-fangled video games on his computer. He would have been a complete recluse had it not been for Sandy (Dorothy), his dog, who is his one joy in life. However, when he opens the new video game OBEX, the line between reality and fiction starts to blur as technology starts going awry and thinking for itself.   

Nostalgia

One of the things that OBEX is leaning into heavily is nostalgia, back at a time when that save icon in your Word document was actually a physical floppy disk, though I also remember a time when floppy disks were actually floppy, but then I am ageing myself with that omission. There is something almost comforting about a wall full of VCR tapes filled with movies recorded from television, like it was a step back into my childhood. I would say that most of the video game elements and the screen interactions do feel contextual to the time, if maybe a touch more refined around the edges in places. Also, shout out to all the ascii artists out there because you are bringing the charm.   

Presentation

The black-and-white presentation could feel a bit forced at times, but here I think it works given the subject matter. It is holding us back to that early time of computers, where limitations bred amazing creativity and the future potential felt limitless and optimistic. It helps that the musical score reinforces this feeling with tones of computers whirling, printers working, and disks spinning. They also film everything quite close up, creating a level of intimacy that helps bring you into this world of a guy that is not too dissimilar from me, which was a lot to process at times. When we get into the game proper, it comes alive with possibilities that are a delight to watch.   

Structure

One thing you probably need to know before you dive into the film is that the first half of the film is a very slow burn. It’s all about situating you in the time period, and also the life of Conor. You will learn more about cicadas than you will ever want to know about cicadas. This means that you have to wait for quite a while for the inciting incident and for the film to get as weird as it promises to be. Once it makes that shift, it comes alive with the possibilities, but it is asking a lot from its audience to get to that point.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend OBEX? Yes, if you fit the following criteria. If you are interested in psychological horror films that don’t go too deep. Or if you are interested in period video game culture. Or if you are interested in weird Indie films, going wild with their premise. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, then the slow burn might be too much to recommend to you.   

Have you watched OBEX? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked OBEX, we would recommend Hundreds of Beavers, as it is not only playing in the black-and-white surreal space. It has a love for video games and chaos that fits very well here.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of OBEX
Directed by – Albert Birney
Written by – Albert Birney & Pete Ohs
Music by – Josh Dibb
Cinematography by – Pete Ohs
Edited by – Albert Birney & Pete Ohs
Production/Distribution Companies – Cartuna, True Friend, Spartan Media Acquisitions, Salem Street Entertainment, Ley Line Entertainment, Oscilloscope, & Lightbulb Film Distribution
Starring – Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley, Paisley Isaacs, Paul Oh, Tyler Davis, Nicholas Gurewitch, & Dorothy
Rating – Australia: MA15+; United Kingdom: 15;