tech
March 3, 2026
Obex review
Director and star Albert Birney goes through the looking glass to tackle a Zelda-esque dog rescue quest inside his 80s gaming machine in endearingly imaginative fantasy
TL;DR
- The film "Obex" is described as analogue surrealism with elements of dot-matrix horror.
- Director Albert Birney stars as "Computer Conor," a recluse who creates ASCII art and consumes media from a three-television stack.
- Conor becomes involved with Obex, a mail-order video game that leads to surreal events, including his printer issuing a command to "Remove your skin" and his dog being taken by a demon.
- The first half of the film is compared to "Eraserhead" in its depiction of a tightly wound protagonist in his personal microverse.
- The latter half transitions into a live-action homage to role-playing games, with elements resembling Guy Maddin's silent-movie picaresque style.
- Despite its inventive execution and retro appeal, the film's narrative resolves conventionally, serving as a cautionary tale about vicarious escape into virtual realities.
Continue reading the original article